Well...This is my first travel Blog but coudnt express in words the zeal that I felt writing about a visit to one of the most finest place in South India : Hampi which is a small town in karnataka literally meaning "Champion"  :) . After my visit, many of my friends have asked me details of stay and places to visit in Hampi . So hoping this blog will also help them to plan their trip to Hampi.

So it all started with a thought of having a solo trip when Bored of my daily routine software Job , one fine day I decided to step out from a coffee-sipping deadline-crazy digital cage (Office :P)  to a natural haven with only 5000 bucks in pocket and with no prior hotel booking :)


Reaching hampi 

hampi being a small town, the nearest accesible Railway Station/Bus Stand is HOSPET (12 kms from Hampi).  Once in Hospet, you get taxi , buses , autos and Six siters to reach Hampi within 30-45 mins.

Since I planned just a day before, I took a non-AC night bus from Hyderabad to Hospet.

Based on online knowledge, I divided my 3-day trip into following groups to visit maximum of places :)

Each group means they are close to each other and can be covered together.

group1 : Lotus mahal ,watch tower ,Elephant stable ,Gaurds Quarters, Underground Temple

group 2 : Queens Bath , mahanavmi dibba, King Audience Hall , Hazar Rama temple

group 3 : Achyutaraya temple , Courtesan's Street , Kodanda Rama Temple , vittal temple
Group 4 : hemakuta Hill , Sasivenkalu Ganesh , Kadalekalu Ganesh ,Virupaksha Temple ,Hampi Bazar
Group 5 : Tungabhadra Dam in hospet

Day 1 : 

after reaching hospet, Took a bus to hampi which was 30 mins journey.

All buses, taxis and autos will take you to Hampi Bazaar which is the central place of commute , locating at walking distance of Virupaksha Temple whose high rising Gopuram Is visible from distance.

Virupaksha temple 

You will find plenty of Small and medium size guest houses at very less price in hampi bazaar area.
Most of them are like independent houses where owner stays in groud floor and rooms on above floors are rented out to travellers.

I took up one such small room along side river. And after a desi breakfast with a large cup of ginger tea , I started exploring hampi :

lemon rice with Ginger Tea @Hampi Bazar Restaurant

I started walking along the hemakuta hill and first attraction was Sister's Stones and then laxmi narsimha temple which is 6.7 meter high monolithic statue  :

Sister's Stone 

Laxmi Narsimha temple 

Next was an undergroud Shiva temple. I enjoyed clicking pics here since it was partially filled with water (around 2 feet)  :)

Underground Siva temple

200 meters walking and I reach one of the ancient and graceful place enclosed in what is known as zanana enclosure  : lotus mahal and elephant Staple. You will have to take a ticket ( 10 rupees ticket) to visit this enclosure

The architecture was simply brilliant and the humble cleaning ladies there clicked some very good photos of mine :)

Lotus mahal 

front gate of lotus Mahal

Elephant Staple

Coming out of Royal Enclosure , there is a Massive Stone Gate which I really liked :

Stone doors

Come outside the Zanana enclosure and nearby you will find another interesting architectural marvel known as Hazara Rama Temple. The speciality of this temple is that on its walls and pillars, entire ramayana is depicted in form of sculpted fiezes.

pillar with sculpted fiezes in Hazara Rama Temple

Hazara Rama Temple

On a little walk on a muddy track , a number of thnigs are seen . few of them are mahanavmi dibba from which the king used to watch the military parade ,  the geometrically thrilling stepped tank ,underground chambers and massive aquatic complexes.

Stepped tank 

 .

View from top of 8 meter high mahanavmi dibba 

Mahanavmi Dibba 

One more interesting structure was Queen's Bath. This was  swimming pool sized bathroom enclosed with pillars all around :)

Queen's Bath

all the above attractions were part of my session which took around 3-4 hours to cover.
Next I went again to hampi bazar for lunch. There are numerous restaurants here which offer deliciously cooked food and you can enjoy north and south indian food, mexican ,chinese, israelly food as well as continental :)

DAY 1 ; SESSION 2 : TREKKING ON MATANGA HILL

A trek up the mesmerising Matanga Hill offers a picturesque view. There are steps so treking becomes little easier. As soon as climb up few steps , you see a large Stone bull and as you keep walking upstairs , from atop the hill , you can see Achutraya temple and an amazing landscape.

Onset of matanga hill

View of Achutaraya temple

Achyutaraya Temple 

Achyutaraya Temple Main Gate

matanga Hill 

1.5 km trek on a zig zag way from Achutaraya temple , one of the finest attraction of Hampi comes : Vittala Temple . It houses a Stone Cart and Musical Pillars.

Stone Cart @vittal temple,Hampi

Vittal temple Complex

Stome Cart :)

Pillar @ vittal temple 

DAY 2  : OTHER SIDE OF RIVER ,CORACLE RIDE AND CYCLING 

on day 2 , I decided to rent a cycle and explore the other side of river which happened to be 14 km cycling experience.  I had taken lot of oranges and 3 watter bottles to keep me hydrated in the scorching sun :)

What i most loved was the round shaped boat (known as CORACLE)  which is used for crossing river. So i hired one , put my cycle and bag on it , and enjoyed the early morning coracle ride :)

CORACLE RIDE 

Cycling along the river

After about 5 kms of cycling in lush green farms along the side , I reached hanuman temple which was atop a hill. This took 500 steps to reach and is believed to be birthplace of hanuman.
The view was Amazing , all around were paddy fields and lovely trees.

Hanuman temple 

Paddy fields view from hanuman Hill

electric car 

Laughing buddha restuarant was one good place to eat on other side of River (also known as Virpappur Gadde) . There will come 3 hills as you cycle along the river on the other side , all three hills famous for ancient temples.

after  few kms of cycling, i again crossed the river with cycle on a motor boat which left me near Vittala temple  :)

This time I cycled on hilly area , sometimes lifting cycle as matanga hill is quite sloppy and came back towards Virupaksha temple.

My next destination was Hemakuta Hill which is adjacent to Virupaksha Temple. This hill is famous for sunset point and numerous Rocky Structures and picturesque views.

Hemakuta Hill

Sunset View from Hemakuta Hill

There are two good restuarant in Hampi Bazar : Trishul Restaurant and Mango Tree Restaurant.
you will find lot of foreign tourists , boulder enthusiasts , adventure lovers and architecture photographers here in hampi

DAY 3 : HEMAKUTA HILL in Rain  AND  TUNGABHADRA DAM 

Luckily it was raining in hampi on my 3rd day , so I decided to enjoy the early morning rain time on hemakuta Hill again.

Ganesh Monolithic statue @hemakuta hill

Scenic view of hill during rains :)

Atter a delightful trip of Hampi ,  I left for Hospet which is 12 kms from hampi.  I visited Tungabhadra Dam there :

MY TIPS FOR YOUR SAFE AND BEST HAMPI EXPERIENCE :

1) nearest ATM from hampi is 4 kms away .So make sure to carry few thousands of cash , as such hampi is low cost place so much cash wont be required.

2) To experience archiological marvels , it is best to explore the town on cycle. Cycles are easily available for rent in hampi.

3) Places to eat :
  These were 3 of my favourite places to eat :  Trishul restaurant , mango Tree restaurant in Hampi bazar
and laughing Buddha restuarant on the other side of River


Hope my experience and this blog helps you to plan and enjoy the scenic Hampi and As they say in hampi , "DON'T WORRY , BE HAMPI !!"  :) :