Badami caves are located in the Bagalkot district of North Karnataka in India. Formerly it was called as Vatapi. Badami Chalukyas had this place as its capital between 540 AD and 757 AD. This place is quite popular for its cave temples that are cut out of sandstone rocks which surrounds the Agastya Lake. Three among the four cave temples are dedicated to deities of Hinduism and one temple is dedicated to Jainism. A flight of stairs within connects these cave temples to each other. The first temple is dedicated to Nataraja, the second and third cave temples to Lord Vishnu and the fourth temple to Lord Mahavira the founder of Jainism. The Government of India has declared Badami as one of the heritage cities in India.
