Ruins at their best. Review on Hampi

Trip Chart

Left Bangalore by Hampi Link exp at 10:10pm, Aug 12th

Reached Hospet at 7:45 am Aug 13th

# of days in Hampi = 2 days

Travel: The train from Bangalore-Hampi is convenient to make a weekend trip. On route (in the morning), we passed by numerous sunflower fields. This is probably the best way to start a day.

Disembarked in Hospet, (the train goes upto Hubli) around 7.45 am. Kannada is not my language. I expected this to pose problems for us. But the locals seem to be catering to foreign tourists for sometime - their english was remarkable.

The auto guy charged Rs 100 for a trip to Hampi. It took about 45 min to reach Hampi. We got down in Hampi Bazaar

Hampi Bazaar: The spine of Hampi where one gets to see all the action. This is the main street which leads to the famous Virupaksha temple. Along the street are numerous eateries, rent-a-cycle shops, bakery and everything else that a small town requires.

Stay

Numerous guest houses are available, ranging between 200Rs to 400Rs (Also rates vary depending on the number of tourists that day). We stayed in a place called Gopi guest house, in a street parallel to the bazaar. We paid 300Rs for 2 days and 1 night. The small window in the room faces the temple gopuram. A bucket of hot water costs Rs 10.

Food

If you are the South Indian that you are, who eats idlies for breakfast, you are the most unfortunate. Hampi caters to 2 kinds of people (in my opinion) - the locals and foreigners (outside India).

So you could either buy Chili baazi for breakfast or settle for pancakes/cereals/fruit salad. This was probably the most surprising element in my stay.

You get bottled drinking water, so just stick to it.

Transport:

We rented a TVS champ/XL for Rs 150 per day plus petrol. You can also choose to rent bicycles for Rs 40 a day, or bikes for Rs 250 a day. Or you could walk down, if you have the energy and time.

HAMPI

Now that we are done with the basics, lets move on.

This is my second visit to Hampi. The Archeological department seems to have been doing extra-ordinary work in excavating and conserving Hampi.

There were quite a few new excavations and a lot of development. The place is easily navigable, with good signboards.

I suggest you either buy a good book on Hampi and read-up before you go there, or hire a guide.

If you have no inclination towards history or architecture , stay away from Hampi. We are the sentimentalists, we dont like people making fun of history or mocking at the rocks! or scribbing their names on the monuments.

There are the usual places to see, which include -

1) Virupaksha templa

2) Vittala temple (currently under conservation) - This is away from most of the oft visited sites. You could take a walk from the other end of the bazaar to this temple. This is a fascinating walk. You get to walk along the Tungabadra river via lot of other temples. Its an easy 40 min walk. So leave by 4.30 pm and catch the sun set on the Tungabadra.

3) The stepped tank, royal enclosure, lotus mahal etc... a huge list and not easily missed.

4) Archeological museum: If you get a chance, visit this place the first day. There is a huge model of Hampi, which can give you a very good orientation to the place. And there after you can explore on your own.

5) Matangi Hill:

We started climbing at 5:30am and reached the top of the hill by 6:10am. The sun rises over the empire. Its truly amazing. The trek is a little steep and a bit risky. So be careful. The path is marked and hence can be trekked. There arent many people during the mornings. Am not sure, but I guess more people trek the evenings to catch the sun set.

There is more to do, if there is time and love for the place. This place is no place to hurry. The people are laid back. So if you want to eat half hour later, make your order now. No one is in a hurry. And isnt it the best way to see any place?