“Where there is ruin, there is hope for a treasure”
Hampi is a story of a civilisation which saw its pinnacle and downfall spanning over more than 300 years. It is a saga set in stone which looks no more than ruins from outside, but the ruins tell a very intricate story of what mankind is capable of achieving. Hampi also has a special place for pilgrim as the Kishkindha-Kshetra of Ramayana.
This blog post is about our 5D/4N trip to Hampi from Bangalore in the month of March 2021. This was the time of global Covid-19 pandemic. After remaining in absolute home isolation for almost an year, we decided to break the monotony by taking this short road trip. Sumit and Vinita Dubey, with their little daughter, accompanied us. We narrowed down on Evolve Back Hampi for our stay. The distance from Bangalore is ~350 kms with excellent road conditions and can be covered under 6 hrs non-stop. We left Bangalore around 7:30AM in the morning via Nice road and reached Hampi around 4PM. There are not many options to eat on this route, especially once you get past Chitradurga.
We took multiple stops along the way and thoroughly enjoyed the drive.
There was not much left to the day by the time we completed the check-in formalities. We simply explored the resort and gathered information from staff historian to plan our next day.
Day 2: The musical pillars of Vijaya Vittal Temple
Most of the heritage sites in Hampi can be visited by private vehicles. In few cases, to support local economy, government ferries small battery operated cars at reasonable fares. Vijaya Vittal Temple has a large complex and hosts two of the most iconic elements of hampi visit – SaReGaMa pillars and Stone Chariot. The uniquely carved pillars can fascinate anyone by producing different sound notes when tapped.
Vittala temple complex also boasts of iconic two storey Hampi Bazaar spread over more than 3 kms. The Bazaar ruins, now recognised as one of Unesco World Heritage sites, had travellers and traders coming from all parts of the world. As the story goes, Vijayanagara rulers paid so good a price for Arabian Horses that traders never went to the neighbouring muslim Bahmani Kingdom. If during the voyage, horses died, traders used to cut and keep the tails and get paid in full. This was a form of insurance in those ancient times!
After a tiring first half of the day in dust, heat and sweat, we decided to get back to our stay and treat ourselves with a sumptuous lunch.
Our resort had a special story telling session in the evening where the historian did a brilliant job in bringing back the glorious past and rise and fall of Vijayanagar kingdom in front of us.
Day 3: Virupaksha Temple
Virupaksha Temple is the only temple in entire Hampi where a deity is still worshipped. The temple lies on the banks of Tungbhadra river, which purposefully provided the kingdom natural defence. The temple has an active bazaar where all sorts of souvenir can be purchased.
We started our day by visiting Virupaksha temple and following the trail upto Queen’s bath, which has all these sites lined up (in order): Lakshmi Narsimha or Ugra (Angry) Narshimha, Badavi Linga, Royal Enclosure and Queen’s bath.
We returned back to our stay by late afternoon and decided to call it off a day. Evolve back had made good dinner arrangement for its guests by the poolside accompanied with traditional programmes.
Day 4: Hemakuta Hill Sunset
We were looking for a spot to watch sunset in Hampi which can be an easy climb with small children. We were lucky to have come across a suggestion to go visit Hemakuta hill, a decision which I can claim to be the best part of our visit.
Hemakuta or Hill of Gold has mythological significance as well. It is said that Lord Shiva consented to marry Pampa Devi (Interestingly, Hampi name has its origin in Pampakshetra and evolved from it) on this hilltop. That day, gold rained on this hillock.
Before we even started our climb, we were rewarded with a mesmerising view of Sasivekalu Ganesha – a single monolith Lord Ganesha Statue, just near where the steps started. It was an easy and safe climb up the hill and we were glad to reach there in time.
We returned back to our stay and decided to indulge in another culinary journey by choosing Bahmani restaurant as our destination. The name itself calls for an irony as we were celebrating the kingdom which caused the downfall of the very city. Nevertheless, the dinner experience with a handpicked custom menu had a lot of interesting savours.
Little did we know that a surprise awaits us when we return back to our room. Sumit and Vinita had arranged for a toast to our friendship, a gesture which delighted us all.
Next day we started our drive back to Bangalore around 10 AM and reached back post 9 PM. What took us so long to drive back? It was a small coffee mishap which took us to detours around Tumkere, partly for which google was responsible and partly for which I was responsible.
GB Hacks:
- Hampi is dry and hot almost all time of the year. It is best to not undermine the heat and plan site visits accordingly.
- Though Hampi can be covered in 2 days, adding few more days to the trip is a good idea keeping first tip in mind.
- Hippie island can be skipped. After Karnataka Govt decided to end up the illegal business on the island, there is nothing left to it.
- As recommended by a friend, there is a good book to read about Hampi, before the visit preferably.
- Most sites have a closing time of 5PM.
Kedia's Travelogue 