Hampi is a UNESCO world heritage site situated on the banks of Tungabhadra river in Vijayanagara district of Karnataka, India. It is an important religious center for Hindu religion. It is a place of architectural beauty and ruins of temples from the 14th century.
One day after the stressful hours at work, we decided to take a break from our daily routine and go on a weekend trip. So, we planned a budget trip from Bangalore to Hampi. So in February 2020, we started our journey on Friday evening from Bangalore railway station and reached Hospet railway station, which is around 13 km from Hampi, the next morning. We took an auto to Vijayanagara Homestay, which I must say is beautiful, for which we had already done the pre-booking for our stay. We freshened up, had breakfast and got ready for sightseeing.
The first place we visited was VIJAY VITTHALA TEMPLE which is one of the major attractions of the town. It is famous for Musical Pillars and the Stone Chariot which you can see on the Indian currency as well. It takes around 2-3 hours to explore this ancient monument.
Tired from walking for hours in the scorching heat, we went for lunch at a nearby restaurant. Just next to it was the ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM, Hampi. So we went to visit the museum which took us about an hour.
We wanted to make the most of the day and not miss out on visiting any of the places. So next we visited Lotus Mahal, Elephant’s Stable, Ranga Temple, Queen’s Palace, Parswanatha Temple, Hazararama Temple, Underground Siva Temple, Prasanna Virupaksha Temple, Lakshmi Narsimha Temple. Trust me, we covered, learned about and enjoyed at all of those places in 4 hours. Even though all of us were so tired, but the beauty of the place was enough to fill our souls with peace.
Then we went for dinner at Old Chillout Ganesh Restaurant. The dim lights, lovely ambience, slow music and yummy food – what else can a person ask for at the end of the day!
After having a wonderful meal, we went to the local market for shopping, post which we headed to the homestay and retired for the night.
We knew we will be having a long day so we woke up early next morning, got ready, packed our bags and checked out from the hotel.
We started our day at VIRUPAKSHA TEMPLE. It is an architectural beauty and has repeated patterns that demonstrate the concept of Fractals. Hundreds of devotees had come to offer their prayers. If you are in Hampi, I’d say it is a must visit!
Next we visited Krishna Temple, Hemakuta Temples, Kadalekalu Ganesha Temple, Monolithic Bull, Krishna Bazar, Pushkarani, Queen’s Bath, Royal Enclosure, Mahanavami Dibba and Stepped Tank.
It was past noon, so we went for lunch - after all we still had a lot to explore. We wanted to spare half a day for visiting the Hippie Island.
After lunch, we hopped onto our ride and started our journey to HIPPIE ISLAND. Wow, the journey is beautiful. Tungabhudra river flowing on one side and green fields and coconut trees on the other, the view was a treat to the eyes. We reached the island and visited Ranganthaswami temple and then Chintamani Temple which is right next to the spot from where Lord Rama shot arrow to kill Bali.
The weather was hot that day and so off we went for a coracle ride. How peaceful and relaxing that one hour was! After an amazing coracle ride, we went to our next destination, ANJANA PARVATH. It is believed to be the birth place of Lord Hanuman. We had to walk over 500 stairs to reach the summit. The view was beautiful from the top. We offered our prayers at the temple and then climbed on to the rocks nearby to enjoy the scenic beauty.
It was past sunset so we descended from the hill top and went back to the city from the Hippie Island for dinner at Mango Tree Restaurant. The place was crowded but we managed to find us a table. We had amazing food and we giggled at the table remembering the last two days. On our way to the railway station, it started drizzling which made our trip all the way more memorable. Seemed like our final goodbye from Hampi.
This was my last trip before the lockdown started and was one of the most amazing trips I’ve been to pre-corona times.
I am sure my experience would definitely instigate a few to visit the place. But believe me, if you are in South India and love the ancient architecture, you must visit Hampi and I bet, you will thank me later!
- Nishtha Saluja
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