Agastya Lake, also called Agasthya Tirtha, sits at the centre of Badami's visual drama. The cave cliffs rise on one side, the Bhutanatha temples sit near the water, and the ghats pull daily life right into the archaeological landscape.
Walk around the lake in the late afternoon when the red sandstone warms in the light. It is the best way to understand Badami as a whole rather than as a list of monuments.