Hampi and Anegundi (Kishkindha)

Hampi and Anegundi is situated just a river apart known as Tungabhadra River, in Karnataka state. Well known for the rich heritage and history this place offers you many things all at the same time. You can enjoy sightseeing, bike riding, good and different variety of foods, temples, Indian history and much more. Hampi is a town of temples recognized as a UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE, in northern Karnataka India. Hampi continues to be an important religious center, housing the Virupaksha Temple, Vittala temple and various monuments belonging to the old city.

Starting our trip from Hyderabad we took overnight train to the main city of hospet, Hampi and reached there by the hotel check-in time. As soon as we reached there, we took a local transport and went to the river Tungabhadra. We choose to start our journey from the other side of the river and planned our stay there only. It’s just 2 min motor boat ride to the other side and here we landed to Anegundi previously knows Kishkindha, which is very familiar to us because of Ramayana. The most amazing part of this place is peace and not only Indian but people around the globe loves to visit here. All bag packers wandering, chilling and exploring the sight in their own unique way. This hippie island is flocked by hippies who stays there for months. The tourist rent two-wheelers and explore the rest of the island - mainly a lake and some temples.

One of the very famous temple which is located on Anjane hill is the one said to be the birthplace of Lord Hanuman and you have to climb 575 stairs to reach the temple. Climbing with monkeys is the most adventurous part of it, avoid carrying eatable and keep water bottle handy. Each sweaty step is worth climbing as the view above is spectacular, incredible unreal view is no less than a dream world. From the top of the hill one gets to see Hampi and many of the heritage sites. Also do not forget to see a Ram Setu (floating) stone displayed inside the temple.

This place also offer the visitors many restaurant with comfy and cozy floor seating with small table and dim lights, after an amazing day this set up was perfect to end the day with. Many different type of cuisines are served, lots of bakeries are there to explore, in short one can find plenty of veg and non veg options as per the choices.

Virupaksha temple is near to the boat taxi stand and as soon as we were one the way back to hampi we decide to start from that only. Virupaksha temple is dedicated to the Virupaksha form of lord Shiva. Muslim invaders destroyed the most beautiful sculptures and creation very systematically in 16th century, but none of the destruction affected its importance. Many pilgrims worship there and temple still attracts and prospers huge crowd.

Another very popular property is Vitthala temple, which is very famous for its stone chariot and also well known as Chariot temple. Temple is dedicated to lord Vithala a form of Krishna. This piece of art is a combination of Ramayana story and the history of Vijayanagar empire. Each and every bit will leave you mesmerized by its artistry. Words are not just enough, I wonder how amazing it must be in its complete form. Please have a look at the pictures below.