2019 was not a good one for me, emotionally broken there is little I want to remember about the 2nd half of the year, won't be right to say that I did not travel, though I think I could have made it a better year!
As the new year started I was keen on coming out of the zone and do what I have always thought of doing- explore places. Hampi has been on the list since 2017 and I finally found the courage and right frame of mind to do so..
Reached Hampi, took a bus the previous night from Bangalore- Anand Rao Circle (Majestic), preferred an ac sleeper so that I would save time on resting the other day, the bus ride was comfortable and reached Hospet by 5:30 am, from there I had an option to either wait for the bus which starts around 6:30 or take an auto, well fortunate enough to get it in 200, they usually ask for 300 whether you alone, or more.
I stayed near Virupaksha temple at Laxmi Heritage Tourist Home, trust me this stay cost be a bomb, due to the demolition on the hampi island. Almost all the pre booking was cancelled on the hampi island and people were forced to look for place on this side of the river. Nevertheless I was happy I had a place to keep my things get fresh and leave. So early morning I got my room by 7 since we already informed a day in advance about our early arrival. So before starting with the day we decided to take a stroll around to see how the place is, the Tungabhadra river crossing is just 5mins walk from the place we stayed so we spent our early morning just sitting and looking over the beautiful river. Later in the morning had a quick breakfast at Gopi's which was filling and tasty we head towards the hampi island.
There was only one boat which can take around 20 people at a time to and fro the river. People without luggage pay 20 and with luggage pay 40 for the river crossing. Once you reach the other side there are lot of people who approach for providing bikes on rent, you can bargain accordingly, since I was there during a long weekend it was little difficult to bargain and had no choice but paid 500 rs including a litre petrol for NAVI. We went to Hanuman temple which is 575 steps but it was worth the pain as the view from the top is just breathtaking, also once at the top there is a sunset point where you can spend some time to click pictures and relax. After that we went to Durga temple which is around 1-2 kms aways, but also a little walk on the hills. After spending some time there we went to Anegundi and drove around in the village, also there was Gagan palace (Gagan Mahal)- one of the palace of 16th century, but unfortunately it was under construction work and closed. Since it was already 2 in the afternoon and the day was hot we decided to visit the famous Sanapur lake, we took the long route towards the Sanapur lake since it did not make sense to come back cross Hanuman Temple and go, the route was beautiful with lake on one side and green lush fields on the other side of the road. There is small dam on the Sanapur lake where you can also do the coracle boat ride but I would suggest not to do the boat ride, I will come back later to the place where you can do the ride. So we spend our time looking over the lake, jumping and clicking photos on the rock and head back to our homestay on the other side of the river.. If you don't have a place on the hampi island, you wil have to cross the river by 5:30 as it is the last boat. I believe the boat still work later hours of the day but yes the charges are more than the double.. so calculate your time accordingly. Once on this side of the river we had our food at Top Secret which had a beautiful sitting area and great food. A lot of foreigners sit here all day reading chatting and working, it's fun to hit a conversation with them and know more about their culture. Well with this we called it a day!
Day 2 was challenging and thrilling both at the same time, we were two people so we hired an auto to go places on this side of the river. Since my friend suggested a guy she knew we paid 900 rs for the whole day, pretty decent I guess :) The first place we visited was Vijaya Vitthala Temple, this temple is known for its famous musical pillars, and the monolithic stone chariot after spending an hour or so we went towards the backside of the temple to see the King's balance stone scale that is believe to weigh the king against the gold which he gave to the priests. Even though the place is in ruins yet beautiful, I wonder what it would be like centuries ago..
A little after leaving that place we went to see Queen's bath place, its a small stone place structure with beautiful arched corridors having pillars that project balconies with windows. The beautiful part about this place is it is an open bath place with the view of an open sky! After spending some time there we head towards the Lotus Mahal which is a beautiful architectural piece of art. Unfortunately no one was allowed to step inside due to the old structure. We were only allowed to see it from the outside, behind the Lotus temple is the watch tower, it is an old structure and people are not allowed to go near to the place. Walking a little ahead is the most beautiful place with a lush green garden area to sit i.e. the Elephant's stable, as the name suggest the royal Elephants were kept in this place and taken care of. It is one of the must visit if in Hampi. The day by now was tiring and hot we stopped at one of the nearby hotel to have some snacks and cold drinks before we go ahead to visit other places.
Next stop was Pushkarani the Royal enclosure, one of the famous tourist place it has a stepped tank which is a beautiful architectural structure made which has an inlet of water and a water passage but tourist are not allowed to even near the steps let alone near the water. If you go around there is an underground chamber which we tried to go in without torch and was in utter darkness, couldn't go down beyond few steps so came up, next you will find is the Mahanavami Dibba, as the name suggest it has a flat top with the staircase leading on top. The walls are stunningly beautiful engraved with horses, Elephants soldiers, dancers etc. If you see around you will find ruins of the palace. After a little walk around the place we moved out where we found 2 granite doors one of which was broken, it is said that the elephants were brought during the festival time to open this door for the puja during those days.
Next stop was Underground Shiva Temple or Prasanna Virupaksha.. this temple remains under water throughout the year due, when asked where the water comes from, it is said that earlier it was the underground water in which the temple always remain submerged but now it is said by the locals that there is an inlet and outlet through which the Tungabhadra river flows. Not sure if this is true :) After a small chit chat with out auto guy we headed towards the Ganesh Temple, interesting part about most of the temples in hampi is that most of the idols are carved from one rock..this one is visible from the road and have lots of tourist visiting day in and out. Also a little walk to the right side of the Ganesh Statue is one of the famous sunset point, Hemakuta sunset point.. the place has many ruins around but if you want to sit and relax this is one the best place. A good view of Virupaksha temple is what you can see from this place along with the sunset.
Next we visited was Lord Narsimha, it is one of the best single stone structure in Hampi, earlier during Vijayanagara Empire, Lord Narsimha was worshipped and puja were conducted, over the years the statute was partially destroyed by Muslim invaders just like other many temples and structures in Hampi. Just next to this is a huge Shivaling also called as Badavilinga, also carved from one single stone. After a long day at being touristy the last one we visited was the Matanga Hill , this one is famous for sunrise and sunset and give a view of Hampi, this place is considered as one of the holy places in Hampi. The trek can take around 30minutes, the steps are steep and at some places you have to be extra careful but all and all worth the climb. After spending an hour or so and watching the beautiful sunset we decided to call it a day. But by the end of the 2nd day I was very sure of visiting Hampi again. I was in love with this place already!
Since this was the last day, we decided to spend it in a more relaxed way, by now we have competed almost all of the places, so we decided to go to Hampi Island once again.
After taking the bike on the other side we asked the locals what more we can see nearby and they suggested us to visit Sanapur waterfall.
We took a small road on the left parallel to the main road which was a good idea since it passed through some small villages and restaurants which up till now we were unaware of. The view of the river gushing through the rocks was mesmerizing. Once we reached there it was like a different world. There were people from different countries sitting in the water chilling, climbing the cliff and jumping in the river. It was such a relaxed feeling. This one is the best place to do a coracle ride. We gave 250 Rs for 2 people and trust me it was worth the money. After spending some time near the waterfall we went to Laughing Buddha, this place no more holds the charm like shown in the pictures on Google earlier, since a lot of places are demolished by the government on the Hampi Island. Only the restaurant was open and there were no people around.We decided to have some lunch before we go back to pack things and leave for Bangalore.
P.S: This one is a must visit and maybe I would have missed on information and places, because the post is already way to long.. Happy Traveling Everyone!
