Visit Badami, India

The small village of Badami is typical of the region and its busy bazaar is the center of daily life.

The village was formerly the capital of the Chalukyas, whose empire stretched to Goa and Gujarat.

Temples at Badami, Pattadakal and Aihole

More than 150 temples both here and at Pattadakal and Aihole were constructed from the 6th century in a variety of structural designs, so that today the area is regarded as the cradle of Hindu temple architecture.

Many of the temples are enclosed in parkland, but the villages themselves are worth further exploration to glimpse rural Indian life.