Weekend trip to Hampi

It should be hard to find someone who does not like to visit new places. My wife and I are not exceptions. Although, hill stations or beaches seem more exciting to us, we fell in love with historic places and the ancient artwork once we visited the temples at Belur and Halebid. Probably, I'll write about those sometime later. Hampi being UNESCO world heritage site and part of the capital of the famous Vijayanagara Empire, naturally attracted us. Reference of the Hindu epic Ramayana in Hampi added more excitement.

The stone chariot inside Vittala Temple

We went to Hampi on a weekend. Reaching there on Saturday morning and leaving on Sunday night. There are hotels available at Hospet (nearest railway station, 13 kms from Hampi), but we preferred to stay at the hampi village. The auto-rickshaw driver helped us to find a place there. People in the village let out few rooms of their house for accommodation of tourists. These rooms have very basic facility; You get a bed just sufficient for 2 people, basic electrical fittings and an attached bathroom. If you are lucky, you can get air-conditioned rooms. However, that's the only option to stay in the village.

The main attractions in Hampi are located close to each other. However, it'll take a full day to visit all of them. Bicycle is the most preferred way to visit the places. It was a sunny day, so we chose an auto-rickshaw for a more comfortable journey. Umbrellas would have given us more comfort inside the ruins. We purchased a small guide book to know more details about the places. However, a personal guide would have added more color to the stories around them. I'm just listing the places of attractions with some photos. Follow the link the in caption to know about them in detail.

Kadalekalu Ganesha

Sasivekalu Ganesha

Krishna Temple

Lakshmi Narasimha Temple

Badavilinga Temple

Band Tower

Hazara Rama Temple

Mahanavami Dibba

Lotus Mahal inside Zenena Enclosure

Elephants stable inside Zenena Enclosure

Vittala Temple

Kings Balance

Purandaradasa Mantapa

We were amazed to see the sculptures/stone carvings in the temples. Those in the Vittala temple are the best. The stone chariot is a masterpiece. Even the musical pillars will leave you speechless.

We finished the day taking a coracle ferry ride in the river Tungabhadra. The most exciting part was after reaching the middle of the river, the boatman swirled the boat vigorously using the paddle for few mins. The ride would not have been so interesting without that.

The day was very hectic but we covered all the attractions. We went to bed confused - what to do on the next day!!!

Hampi Bazar after the rain

Tungabhadra river

The next day was cloudy with some rain overnight. A great weather in Hampi. After breakfast, we took a look at the guide book and found one interesting route to the Vittala temple from the bazar(Kampa Bhupas Path). It is 2 kms walkable-only route beside Tungabhadra river. We went for the trekking. Slight drizzle made the river look beautiful and the rocky road slippery. We had to stop at a small tea shop near the Kodanadarama temple as the rain increased. Once the rain stopped, we continued with the trek over the slippery rocks and finally reached Vittala temple through the two storied gateway. The next few hours passed silently soaking our feet in the cool streams of river Tungabhadra and gazing aimlessly at the Angeyana hill in the opposite bank. We would have stayed like this for long but hunger compelled us to return back to take lunch. Afternoon was spoiled due to rain and we headed towards Hospet for the return in the evening. It was a great outing with a small disappointment not to watch the sunset from the Hemkuta Hillock.

Those who want to visit Hampi, here are few suggestions:

Transport:

The best way to reach Hampi is through rail. The nearest station is Hospet (Station code: HPT). You can also avail buses to reach there.

Accommodation:

If you are not accompanied by a kid, the best option is to stay in the village in similar rooms. But please take mosquito repellent creams with you as power cut is a regular affair.

Other options include staying in KSTDC guest house in Kamalapura which is 4 kms from Hampi. However, it is not very close to the attractions. Finding local transport can be a bit difficult there.

Better hotels can be found at Hospet.

Food:

The restaurants in Hampi serve only vegetarian food. Probably, you can get some egg items as well. However, the taste of the food is very good. A lot of foreigners visit Hampi, so you'll get variety of dishes specially continental. Chicken items are only available at KSTDC guest house in Kamalapura. If you are carnivorous, you need to travel some distance.

Temple in Angeyana Hill

Activities:

Go for 2 days only. Visit the ruins on the first day. On second day, go for the trekking on the rocky road from bazar to Vittala temple. Be a little careful of monkeys on that road. You can also cross the river on coracle ferry service to go to the other side to  visit temples. in the Angeyana hill. It is also great to watch the sunset from the Hemkuta hillock. More than 2 days is going to make the visit boring. It's a perfect weekend destination.

For more detailed information visit

http://www.hampi.in

http://wikitravel.org/en/Hampi