Hampi ? Haven’t heard about it ? Then my friends you have missed on to some really beautiful ruins from our Indian history .
Hampi or better known as the city of ruins is a UNESCO world heritage site situated at about 340 kms from Bangalore , this place is a historical delight for the travelers . The nearest railway station in hopset and the nearest airport is Hubli .
Let me take you all to my 4 days trip to hampi through this post and hope that this gets your bags packed .
Day 1
We took a bus from Bangalore to hopset which is an overnight journey and then from hopset you can either take a bus or auto as per your convenience. The bus I is a cheaper option if you are on a budget . After checking into our home stay Padma guest house , we started our day by visiting the Virupaksha Temple . You can find the famous Lakshmi Elephant here and seek her blessings .
We walked towards the Vijay Vitthala Temple , making a brief stop at The Achyutaraya Temple which is on the way . This is a quite place , not much frequented by tourist and hence makes a really nice place to click some good photos or just relax for a while .
Moving on towards the Vitthala Temple , you will find many small locations and temples mentioned in the guide books . Once in Vitthala temple hiring a guide is advisable ( don’t forget to bargain for the price ) as the temple has so many stories to leave you in awe . The famous stone chariot on our 50 rs note is here.
Just a quick advice here is to visit the temple in the first half of the day as the weather’s more pleasant .
In the evening we climbed the hemakuta hill for a beautiful view of the sun set . Make sure to reach there a bit early to get your favourite spot of the scenic view .
We stared our day at 9:30 , and moved towards the Virupaksha Temple to meet our group for the cycle tour and our guide for the day . You can also hire a guide and an autorikshaw separately but hey the real fun is in cycling through the beautiful ruins of Hampi.
You will be covering most of the locations on this day starting with Sasive Kalu Ganesh – Kadale Kalu Ganesh – Krishna Temple – Lakshmi Narshimha Temple – Badavilinga – Sister stone – Underground Shiva Temple – Hazarama Temple – Royal enclosures – Zenana enclosures.
You can take the cycles with you for further exploration or return to the place you picked up the cycles from and have a tummy full food in Mango Tree Restaurant ( must visit on your trip to hampi )
We chose to again watch the sunset because who gets to do that admits the busy city life .
Started our day at 6:00 AM and climbed up the Matanga hill for sunrise and trust me , this is coming from a person who has never seen a sunrise in her entire life , it is truly the most beautiful thing in the world .
We came back to our home stay and had breakfast which is the best here at Padma Guest House and make sure you try the dosa here and the coffee made by aunty which is one of the best coffee in all of hampi .
Today we have planned to go to Hippie Island which is on the other side of Tungabhadra River . You can get a ferry near the hampi bazar area , which goes after every 10-15 minutes . Hiring a Two wheeler here is advisable which cost around 200-300 rs but you can always bargain .
As the name says it all it’s a very chilled out and relaxed location .
You can visit the sanapur lake and go coracle riding or cliff jumping . We went on a Monday and the place was quite deserted . Here a waterfall too nearby which is said to be very beautiful but we chose skip it .
Next you can climb the 575 steps (easily doable) to reach the birthplace of lord Hanuman . Be ready to make some monkey friends jumping around, which is why it is also called the money temple .
You can also relax the day by taking an ayurvedic body massage, there are many centres in the market area Lotus Ayurvedic centre being a good one.
The last ferry goes at 5 pm so if you have time you must visit e laughing Buddha cafe . Enjoy the beautiful view of the Tungabhadra river and Virupaksha temple with a glass of chilled beer or a cup of coffee as you may please.
We hired an auto to go to the Archeological Museum , Kamalapur which is maintained by the archaeological survey of India. The museum is open between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM and is closed on Friday’s. If you have time you can also visit the Sloth bear sanctuary,Daroji situated at about 18 kms from kamlapura . The best time to visit is in the afternoon.
FEW THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND :
* it is very safe for solo female travelers, just advisable to avoid being out after dark as it gets a bit deserted .
* carry a nice touch to climb Matanga hill for sunrise .
* don’t forget to pack sunscreen.
* best time to visit is November to February.
Hope this helps you to plan your trip to hampi soon . Please leave comments if you liked this guide and where all I can improve. Feel free to ask if you have any doubt about the place .
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Until next time
A wandering soul ❤️
