Ready for a climb? The stone steps start near the Archaeological Museum and squeeze through narrow clefts in the red rock. This is the North Fort, known locally as Bavanbande Kote, the fort of fifty two rocks. Badami's cliff inscription of King Pulakeshin the First, dated 543, is the earliest record of Vatapi being fortified. As you climb, you pass old walls, bastions, watch posts and stone granaries. Pause at the Lower Shivalaya, where only the towered sanctum survives. Then keep going to the very top, to the Upper Shivalaya. Despite its name, scholars believe it was a Vishnu temple, and its walls show Krishna lifting Mount Govardhana. Now look west. On its own giant boulder sits the Malegitti Shivalaya, the best preserved early Dravida style temple in Badami. Catch your breath and enjoy the whole town and lake spread out below you.

Best time to visit: 6 AM, 7 AM

Estimated from day, hour, season, holidays & festivals, blended with live visitor reports.

How crowded is it right now?

Rate 1 to 10 — 1 is almost empty, 10 is packed.

Accessibility

Difficult for wheelchairs · ~300 steps (approx.)

A steep 30 to 45 minute climb on uneven, narrow stone steps through rock clefts, with little shade (step counts reported by visitors vary from about 250 to 400). Not suitable for wheelchairs or visitors with limited mobility; the museum at the base and the view of Malegitti Shivalaya from below are good alternatives. Carry water and wear sturdy footwear.

Key facts

• Badami has two hill forts about 300 yards apart: the larger northern Bavanbande Kote ('fort of 52 rocks') and the southern Ranamandala Kote ('fort of the battlefield').
• According to the ASI, the Badami cliff inscription of Pulakeshin I, dated 543 CE (Shaka 465; some sources give 544), is the first epigraph to refer to the fortification of Vatapi; heritage writers place it in the North Fort area.
• Pulakeshin I's Badami inscription also records that he performed the Vedic Ashvamedha (horse) sacrifice.
• The Upper Shivalaya (about 600–625 CE) crowns the highest point of the northern hill; despite its name it is considered a Vaishnava temple, with Krishna legends, Ramayana scenes and a panel of Krishna lifting Mount Govardhana.
• The Lower Shivalaya (early 7th century) stands on a rocky terrace below; only its towered sanctum survives, and its outer walls and hall are lost.
• The Malegitti Shivalaya (about 625–675 CE) sits on a huge isolated boulder beneath the western flank of the North Fort and is the earliest surviving and best-preserved Early Chalukya Dravida-style temple in Badami.
• Malegitti's hall walls carry large panels of Shiva on the south and Vishnu on the north, and a perforated stone jali window.
• Fort remains include walls, bastions, observation posts, granaries, rock-cut passages and a cannon on one of the ramparts.
• Pallava forces of Narasimhavarman I captured Vatapi in about 642 CE after defeating Pulakeshin II; the ASI notes a brief Pallava occupation from 642 to 654 CE.
• The fort was later held by the Vijayanagara Empire and the Adil Shahis of Bijapur; Tipu Sultan captured Badami in 1786, after which it passed to the Marathas and then the British.
• The ASI Archaeological Museum at the foot of the hill, formally established in 1982, displays sculptures and inscriptions from Badami and is closed on Fridays.