Rock climbing is a thrilling sport where participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. This is a physically demanding sport and it exercises all the muscle groups. It also tests your endurance, agility, balance, and strength.
Rock climbing is growing in popularity and many competitions are also held regularly. These competitions test the climbers’ ability to scale the wall or their ability to reach the summit of a difficult route in the least number of attempts.
Rock climbing isn’t a new sport and has a long history dating all the way back to 200 BCE. Natural rock formations are difficult to scale and can be quite exhilarating. There are many places in and around Bangalore that are suitable for rock climbing. Badami is a beautiful place offering the ideal conditions for rock climbing.
More about Badami
Badami formerly known as Vatapi is located in Karnataka in Bagalkot district. This scenic place offers the best location for rock climbing as it is surrounded by beautiful hills and hillocks.
There are many rock climbing routes and spectacular bouldering as well. Rock climbers of all styles can certainly give his place a try. Located to the north West of Hampi, this place is also a heritage city under the HRIDAY scheme of the government of India.
In the next section, let’s discuss when is the best time to visit Badami for rock climbing
When to visit Badami for rock climbing?
You can visit Badami throughout the year but summer months in North Karnataka are very hot and the temperature reaches as high as 40 Celsius. The best time to visit Badami would be from November till March.
January is the coolest month, but many climbers still get up early in the morning to rock climb as it gets very hot in direct sunlight. Let’s discuss how to access this historical place in the next section.
How to get to Badami?
It is easy to reach Badami and there are many modes of transportation available.
- You can easily go to this place by train. Badami railway station is 5 kms away from the town of Badami and many trains stop at Badami railway station.
- You can go to Badami by bus just as easily. The bus stop is in the center of Badami town. There are also many direct buses from Bijapur and Hubli as well. Direct buses including sleeper coaches ply from all major cities including Goa, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mumbai.
- You can also travel by domestic flight. You can take a flight and reach the nearest airport which is located in Hubli and Belgaum. From there you can travel by train or by bus to reach Badami town.
In the next section, let’s discuss where to stay in Badami.
Where to stay?
Badami has lots to offer other than rock climbing. So, when you visit this place make sure to spend a good amount of time here so that you can visit beautiful places like the stone cut temples. Going to Badami should never be a short trip as you won’t be doing justice to the place.
That is why it is necessary to stay in hotels so that you can take your time exploring this historical place. Hotels like Rajsangam regularly welcome rock climbers as their guests and offer them discounts as well. You can try different types of rock climbing here including sport climbing, trad climbing and bouldering.
Another often overlooked but great spot for bouldering is Hampi.
Hampi
The first thing that comes into anyone’s mind when Hampi is mentioned is the ruins of the great Vijayanagara empire. It is a heritage site and a tourist destination. But only nature lovers and avid rock climbers know that the terrain of Hampi offers the ideal condition for bouldering.
This place has some really challenging climbs that beckon most adrenaline junkies and thrill seekers to give it a try. There are many resorts in Hampi that are comfortable to stay in and the best time to visit this place is from October to February.
Conclusion
Badami is a beautiful place famous for its red sandstone cliffs. It is a popular spot for rock climbing and many international rock climbers can also be seen here scaling this place. There are over 150 routes for free rock climbing.
So, if you want to rock climb and get close to nature at the same time then Badami is a must visit. You can enjoy the beautiful architecture of the stone temples as well. Don’t forget to give Hampi a try as well, especially if you are into bouldering
