I had been longing to explore the ruins of Hampi for a long time and I was able to do so with the help of one of my cousin – Arun. We planned a month earlier and decided to head off during a long weekend in August where the festivals of Ramzan and Ganesh Chathurthi fell on consecutive days.
We decided to travel by my cousin’s Maruti Suzuki Swift VXI. It was just the two of us at the beginning. Later, my classmate Ashish decided to join us the next day. He was returning from his internship studies in Uttarakhand. Me and my cousin packed our bags and decided to hit the highway before the first rays of the sun. We decided to take wheels after 100kms on an average. The weather was awesome and it was drizzling.
We had booked one of the homestays near Hampi Bazaar area. We decided to take Bangalore – Chitradurga – Hospet – Hampi route. Somehow, we missed the turning at Chitradurga and we reached Davangere outskirts. The locals asked us to take alternative route to Harihar and proceed to Hospet. There are no proper signboards. So, we decided to proceed slowly and cautiously, not to miss any important deviations.
We managed to catch the deviation which led to Harihar. After much difficulty and a long route, we reached Hampi. We checked-in the room and headed off to one of the sunset points. What a beautiful view of the sunset we had. There are many foreigners who visit Hampi – UNESCO World Heritage Center. There are local guides available, who charge anywhere between 500 to 800 bucks per day to show you around Hampi. Else, the best is to buy a small handbook which has the map of Hampi and the details about the places.
We decided to go for the latter. Later that night, Ashish arrived at Kamalapur and I picked him from the bus stop to our room. We finished our dinner and planned for the next day’s tour in Hampi. We rented TVS XL SUPER bikes – 2 nos (available for rent at Hampi Bazaar for about 300 bucks excl fuel) and set off with the hand book. Virupaksha temple was near our homestay. So, we covered that first.
We managed to cover quite a few places with the help of the hand book the first day and I had a merry time taking photographs of the ruins. There are quite a few places in Hampi, which I hardly can remember to jot it down here. But the most prominent ones are the Virupaksha Temple, Vijaya Vittala Temple, Narasimha Swamy statue, Badavara Linga, Kadalekai Ganesha, & Sasivekalu Ganesha.
Food around Hampi are mostly vegetarian. There are no liquor shops in Hampi. Food is affordable and tasty at few places. Do wear caps or hats as the sun gets nasty during noon. Carry some sun screen lotion if visiting during Summer season. Water is an important asset for any traveller here. Carry sufficient amount of drinking water along. Carry a camera along to capture the picturesque views and rusty ruins.
There are very few internet centres in Hampi. Mobile phone network is bad around Hampi Bazaar. But, once you are on the move, you get full network in Hampi. The next day, we took our car to visit the remaining important places in Hampi.
For any archaeological enthusiast, spending about 3-4 days in Hampi is worth it. For a normal tourist, a day or two is sufficient. The history of Vijayanagar kingdom is amazing. It was known as the Golden Era of South due to the richness which prevailed in the kingdom. We missed out on a few places across the river because no coracles were playing. The reason was strong water currents due to rains a day ago.
We left Hampi the next day early morning to reach Bangalore in the exact same route that we took. We reached Bangalore by 3:00PM.
Do check out the website: HAMPI.in for detailed information on Hampi. We did, and it paid off. We are planning for a continuation of the circuit which extends to Badami – Aihole – Pattadakal. Waiting for the right opportunity to head to the mentioned sites.
I’ve posted the photos on Picasa. Click on HAMPI to view the snaps. There are about 400 odd photos. But, they are worth it. Let me know when you visit Hampi and your experience there. You can send an email to aravindparakash@aol.in
Bon Voyage
