Archaeological Museum

The Archaeological Museum of Badami is a home to rare and ancient specimens. The moment you enter the museum you will be greeted by a beautiful statue of Nandi, the vehicle of lord Shiva. The museum was set up in the year 1979 by the Archaeological Survey of India. Initially it was a place to store and preserve the explored materials, sculptures and  inscriptions. Finally it was transformed into a full-fledged museum in 1982. The museum displays a rare collection of local sculptures such as the Lajja-Gauri images of fertility cult and pre-historic inscriptions from 6th to 16th century. The visiting hours of the museum are from 9 A.M. To 5 P.M.

The Archaeological Museum houses four galleries. Some of the exhibits in these galleries are the sculptures of Siva in several forms, Ganapati, sculptures of lord Vishnu,and  panel depicting Bhagwat Gita scenes. Shidlaphadi Cave, a pre-historic rock shelter in one of the galleries takes you to the pre-historic age. The hero stones, inscriptions and a pair of attractive Dwara-palaka figures are displayed  on the pedestals of the open air gallery in the museum.

Although all the artefacts in the museum hold sheer historic importance but the ones which grab the attention of all the visitors are the Lajja Gouri, exquisitely carved Makara Torana, panel depicting Bhagwat Gita scenes and animal dummies such as lion and elephant.