Hampi - was once upon a time considered as world's second largest medieval era city that attracted traders from Portugal, Persia and other places of the world. To this present day, it can be best described as a UNESCO World Heritage site, an ancient village with ruined temple complexes, a capital of the historical Vijayanagara Dynasty and of course a perfect place for a weekend getaway and a great historic location for pre & post nuptial photoshoots.
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| Representative Image-Pexels |
Best Time to Visit:
Hampi is usually very hot and dry throughout the summer months. Hence, the ideal time to visit Hampi would be the winter months starting from November to February.
Getting There:
Railway: Hospete is the nearest Railway Junction to reach Hampi and is well connected with all major railway stations. Hampi is approx 13 km from Hospete and one can easily hire cabs or local buses on reaching Hospete. Alternatively, you can also rent a private vehicle from Hospete.
Road: By road journey from Mumbai to Hampi is of approx 14 hours (approx. 740 km). We (Sreejith Chandran & family) decided to take an overnight bus from Mumbai to Hospete which was a very comfortable ride.
Air: One can also take a flight to Hubballi airport (nearest airport to Hampi) and then take a cab from the airport to Hampi. The cab ride from the airport takes about 6 hours to reach Hampi.
Accommodation:
There are a plenty of small Homestays and Hotels/Tents at Hampi. But if you want a little bit of luxurious stay, then you would need to stay at Hospete, which has comparatively better options to stay. We stayed at Hotel Hampi International, and it is one of the best hotels at Hospete.
Sightseeing:
Day 1:
On the first day post lunch we made our way to the Tungabhadra Dam, which is a short 15 minutes ride from the Hotel. The dam is scenic! There is a small lighthouse on the top that gives a good view of the surrounding.
The sunsets here are beautiful with a perfect glimpse of Vijaynagara. There is a beautiful Garden with a small Zoo nearby, and one should not miss the light show in the evenings here.
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| A Beautiful Sunset |
Day 2:
Hampi is best
explored on foot, and while you would need an auto/car to reach the Temples,
you would still need to walk a lot to explore inside the complex. On our first
trip to Hampi we had first visited the Virupaksha Temple, and while it is
stunningly beautiful, the Vitthala Temple was the one that stole our heart. This
time we decided to visit Vitthala Temple first and this turned out to be a very
good idea, since almost everyone was visiting the Virupaksha Temple first in
the morning and we had the entire Vitthala temple complex to ourselves. The
famous Stone Chariot that is now imprinted on our Rs. 50 note is also inside
this Complex.
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| Stone Chariot (Captured by Gauri Sreejith) |
We then made our way to the surreal Stepped Tank of Hampi. The symmetry on the tanks here, is a marvelous work of art!
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| Stepped Tank |
Few other places that we visited, are the Queens bath, Ganesh Temple, Badavilinga Shiva Temple and lastly the Virupaksha Temple. Virupaksha Temple is one of the main attractions and one of the few active temples at Hampi. Sunsets here present golden hues in the sky at the background and the Temple in the foreground and one should not miss it.
Day 3:
On the last day, we decided
to climb the 575 steps to reach the Anjaneya Hill Temple dedicated to Hanuman,
the monkey warrior god. The hill can easily be spotted from a distance, and the
temple on the top is completely whitewashed. Once on the top, the view is
mesmerizing! One can see the ruins, huge boulders and rocks scattered across.
But Hampi is not all about the ruins.
Sanapur Lake stands out amidst the ruins. The water is calm and surrounded by
green trees. You can also experience the Unique Coracle ride here, a round boat
with a unique rowing style to move it forward. It is a must try when in Hampi.
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| Coracle Ride |
Earlier we had the Hippie Island, just a boat ride across the Hampi Village, which further added to the charm. The Hippie Island was all paddy fields with small cottages, shops and cafes scattered in between. The paddy fields in itself had some spectacular views. Unfortunately, now all the Cottages and Cafes here are shut down by the authorities and while some cafes and shops have relocated near the Sanapur Lake, their charm is unmatchable to the Hippie Island.
Food:
Hampi being a Temple town, finding non-vegetarian food can be a challenge, but a simple Veg Thali on a banana leaf is something that is easy to find and lip-smacking at the same time.
Contributed by: Sreejith Chandran
An avid reader, part time traveller, football enthusiast and a photographer who is married to Gauri Sreejith - a travel planner. Starting their own travel business - 'Paakhi Travels' has been a dream come true as they are now getting into doing what they love the most i.e. travel. They have been traveling on their own for a while now and understand the problems faced by fellow travellers. Their motto is to make travelling easier and a hassle free experience for all.
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Edited by: Pooja Fernandes
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