Archaeological Museum

A place of unique tourist attraction, Badami in Karnataka is blessed with a long list of must visit places. The Archaeological Museum of Badami is located at the foothills of Badami Fort, on the northern banks of Agasthya Lake. Established in the year 1976, the Archaeological Museum is a treasure trove of pre-historic artifacts that include stone implements, sculptures, architectural parts, inscriptions etc, dating from 6th to 16th century AD.

About Badami
The city was ruled from 6th to 8th century AD by the early Chalukyas. The ancient name of Badami was Vatapi, Vatapiadhistana and Vadavi. The place is adorned with excavated rock caves of Brahmanical, Buddhist and Jaina affinity, massive sculptures, and structural temples of Dravida Vimana type.

About the museum
The Archaeological Museum of Badami was established near the stunning Pallava Narasimhavarmman's inscription in the northern hill. The museum was established with the intention to store explored materials, sculptures, inscriptions, pre-historic stone implements, hero stones etc. It was in the year 1982 that it got transformed into a full-fledged museum.
The museum’s entrance has a Shiva’s bull welcoming the tourists. Housing four galleries, each gallery exhibits the local sculptures; including the notable Krishna panel, and other panels depicting scenes from the Ramayana, Mahabharata & Bhagwad Gita. The museum also houses various sculptures of Shiva in different forms, Ganapati, forms of Vishnu, panel narrating Bhagavata scenes, Lajjagauri, etc. One of the four galleries has a scaled model of a pre-historic cave.
Objects and sculptures displayed in the open verandah and the open-air gallery includes hero stones, inscriptions, carved architectural member and pair of interesting dwarapalaka figures on pedestals. Epigraphy and architecture have been organized in a new gallery. The most interesting pieces include Lajja Gouri, Makara Torana, narrative panel depicting Bhagavata, animal figurines like lion, elephants, Kalarimurthy, Tripurantaka Siva and Bhairavi.

Museum Timing and Entrance Fee
The museum is kept open from 10am to 5pm every day except Fridays.
It charges an entrance fee of Rs 2 per head. Children up to the age of 15 are free to enter.