Weekend Travel to Lord of Historical Monument Hampi_Vijaynagar dynasty_ Karnataka_India

Best time to visit: July to Jan of the year

How to reach: By train _ Nearest Railway station Hospet Jn. Often connectivity from the cities like Banglore , Hubli and Madagoa ( Goa). 

Nearest airport is Hubli domestic airport. 

Ideal transportation for the budgeted traveler would be the train to Hospet Jn. According to the current railway timings, you will reach Hopset jn in the morning around 8am. From there you can go by walk to bus station, it is just 1.4km away. And do not forget to have your breakfast at Naivedya restaurant which falls on the way to bus station. Bus fare to Hampi would be 16rs from Hospet.  

Accommodation : You can enjoy the homestays and hostel near the Tungabadra river sides or else you can take hotels near Kamalapur which is cheaper and 4km away from the Hampi temple complex. Since the bus facility is fantastic to reach Hampi , kamalapur would be ideal location for the stay.

How to roam around: There are many ways to travel around like, by walk (If you are staying for 7 day mins ) , by taking the bicycle for rent where you need to pay 150 rs per day ( If you are staying min for 4 to 5 days) and faster way to explore would be the local autos where they charge 1000rs to 1200 rs for a day. But you can also have a brief of Hampi within 2 days.

Best restaurant to enjoy the food is Mango Tree near Tungabadra river and Virupaksha temple.

About Hampi, The Great Vijaynagar Dynesty:

Vijay nagar empire was the second richest kingdom after Beijing during 15th century.  The city has been compared to Rome in its richness, size and attractive art and culture of the kingdom. During this time, more importants  has been given to the Art and sculpture, roads and infrastructure. Vijaynagar architecture was the dravidian style earlier and later scattered to whole Hampi including temples, palaces, bazaars, mandapas, gardens and military structures. Where some of the monuments where the Jain style ( Hemakuta temple complex) and also indo-islamic style (Lotus temple and the Elephant stable) architecture. You could see the huge  art and cultural diversity within the empire. The group of monuments here were included in UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites in the year 1986. And almost 5 year back from now Archelogycal department has been taken over the ruins. Before this , around 340 families used to stay near the hampi bazar place right infront of the Virupaksha temple. Later as per the order passed, families has been shifted to alternative place to make the bazar as the tourism place.  Almost all the monuments are ruined by the Islamic empires like khaljis and Tughlaqs during 13th century and again in 15th century attacks (Talikote attack) respectively. They say it took almost 6 months to destroy the heritage with the help of coalition of muslim sultanates, where the heritage was huge and  rich enough to give a tough time to the destroyers. This is one of the significant character of the heritage.  There on wards it was just a hidden heritage or you can say forgotten place till 1856 . Later a famous photographer called Alexander Green law had visited the place and captured the wealth of the ruins in his camera. You can still see those photos at the exhibition place near the Hampi police station at the market place. This is how again Hampi got stand its name back and research on the place has began. Nevertheless number of excavations carried out during the research. Now what ever you see over there as ruins were,once up on a time the flouring kingdom with prosperity. Each monument, each broken idol over there tells the hard story behind the ruins.  Adding to this, apart from main temple, Virupaksha and few once , no pooja would be performed since there is no idol inside the Garbhagraha in most of the temples. In Hinduism, if the idol is broken or fallen down , no worship would be performed or continued. After visiting the place , you will definitely experience mixed feelings where one side you are very proud of history and other side the ruins will remind you the destruction story of the rich art and culture of Vijaynagar dynasty.

Some pics during my visit 

·        Virupaksha temple

It is part of the Group of Monuments at Hampi, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site . Enjoy the view from the Hemakuta Hill temple complex. Sit and relax on the rock mountain . 

Hemakuta hill and temple complex

Hemakuta temple complex has combination of Jain and Dravidian architecture. 

·        Matanga Hill ( Sunrise and Sunset)

From Hampi bazar you could turn right and start climbing the hill which is Matanga . It takes around half an hour to climb and 10 mins to descend . Make sure that you reach the spot before sunset to enjoy the ethnical beauty of the Hampi ruins.

·      Tungabadra riverside and Kodandarama temple (Best to visit in evening time)

Visit during the evening. Best place to meditate. Here in you are interested you can go for boating. But they ask for more. Here you can test your bargaining skills. This place is just 1km away from the Virupaksha temple . Just walk towards the Hampi bazar and turn left before the Hampi Police station. From here you can walk towards the Pushkarani and from there to Achyutaraya temple.

·        Achyutaraya temple

After visiting the Achyutaraya temple , you can afford to do a small trek to climb the uphill and come towards the Hampi bazar top. 

·       Vijay Vittala temple and Talari Katta

·        Lotus Mahal

Palace place! Rich in carvings and architecture. No Palace remained touchable. This was a Gazebo for recreational activities.

·        Elephants stable

Elephants kept here for the Navaratri preparation.

·        Mahanavami Dibba

As name indicates this was the place for worship during Navaratri. All the cultural programme during this time used to performed over here.

·             Queens bath

This was the swimming pool of the queen. Where water supply was channelized from the water source which was 2km away. However you could able to see the drainage system and water supply system even though.

·       Remember one thing, Hampi is a celebration each time you visit , you enjoy different blossom.