population of 30,943, of which 15,539 were males and 15,404 were females. The population within the age group of 0 to 6 years was 3,877. The total number of literates in Badami was 22,093, which constituted 71.4% of the population with male literacy of 78.1% and female literacy of 64.7%. The effective literacy rate of 7+ population of Badami was 81.6%, of which male literacy rate was 89.7% and female literacy rate was 73.6%. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes population was 4,562 and 1,833 respectively. Badami had 6214 households in 2011. , Badami had a population of 25,851. Males constituted 51% of the population and females 49%. Badami had an average literacy rate of 64.8%, comparable to the national average of 65%; with 59% of the males and 41% of females literate. 14% of the population was under 6 years of age. The main language spoken is Kannada. Transport The nearest railway station to Badami is Badami Railway Station, which is located 5 km from Badami city. The nearest airport is Hubli Airport, which is 105 km away from Badami. The town is located on the Hubli-Solapur rail route, and is connected to Hubli and Bijapur by road. Badami can be reached from Bangalore by a 12-hour bus ride, by a direct train (Solapur Gol Gumbaz Exp - 16535), or by a combination of an overnight train journey from Bangalore to Hospet followed by a bus ride from Hospet to Badami. Another possible route is to go by train from Bangalore to Hubli (8–9 hours) followed by a bus ride to Badami (3 hours). Badami is around 110 km from Hubli. Local transport is by auto-rickshaws and city buses. Climbing Badami's red sandstone cliffs are popular amongst local and international climbers. This is popular location for free sport climbing and bouldering. The cliffs have a horizontal crack systems, similar to Gunks. There are over 150 bolted routes and multiple routes for free climbing. Gerhard Schaar, a German Climber and Pranesh Manchaiah, a local climber from Bangalore, were instrumental in setting up the sport routes by driving a project called 'Bolts for Bangalore'. The National Rock Climbing Centre, whose manager is Rajendra Hasabavi in Banshankari Road by the General Thimayya National Academy of Adventure, Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports, Govt.of Karnataka is conducting various rock climbing and adventure camps for the youth and school children. See also References External