Team-BHP - Chennai - Hampi : Route Queries

Sorry for bumping an old thread.
I am planning to do a road trip in the last week of December, from Chennai to Hampi. anyone recently did this trip? would like to get the best (good road condition) possible route to do this trip.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gmano (Post 2975847)

Standard Route ;

Chennai - Chotoor (or Krishnagiri) - Tumkur - Chitradurga - Hospet - Hampi

If you take the Chitoor road, then you should get off 4-lane at Hoskote, take th NH207 to Devanahalli-Doddaballapur-Dobbaspet.

At Dobbaspet you join NH4 and continue there on to Chitradurga.
Thats the best way to bypass Bangalore (if you choose to come via Chitorr).

route link

Quote:

Originally Posted by ampere (Post 2975909)

hmm,door to door, thats about 700km (686 as per gmaps). How many hours does it take?

Quote:

Originally Posted by phamilyman (Post 3329088)

hmm,door to door, thats about 700km (686 as per gmaps). How many hours does it take?

That would be about 10-11 hours. About 6 to Bangalore and then another 5 to Hampi.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ampere (Post 3329120)

That would be about 10-11 hours. About 6 to Bangalore and then another 5 to Hampi.

Thanks. Help me understand this further.

The NICE entry is around 4 hours. Add another 40 mins for NICE including the toll plazas. Is Hampi just 5 hours (driving time) from there?

For such a distance, we would need about 2 hours in three breaks. That gets the total to around 12 hours of door to door time, which is ideal.

Quote:

Originally Posted by phamilyman (Post 3329144)

That is the exact logic. Two points to note

- After crossing NICE; Nelamangala to Tumkur might take some time thanks to heavy traffic.
- Tumkur Chitradurga is a brilliant 6 Lane. Bliss
- You get on to the 2 Lane NH13 at Chitradurga. 2 Lane drive may take some time. 5-6 hours in total.

Quote:

Originally Posted by srishiva (Post 3334539)

Been to Hampe last weekend. The road as you near Hospet is full of craters. Travelling during night time on this section would be very dangerous. Need to be careful and drive left and right to complete this section.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ampere (Post 3329148)

How good or bad is it to plan a 3-4 day trip to Hampi from Chennai end August (i have an easy schedule at the end of Ramzan)? how bad would the rains be especially if we plan to leave from chennai at 1-2am?

Quote:

Originally Posted by phamilyman (Post 3465556)

August is a good time to go to Hampi,the heat wouldnt kill you.and you should be able to reach Hampi for an early lunch.Rains-thats a million dollar q.

Quote:

Originally Posted by phamilyman (Post 3465556)

A very good time. If there have been good rains, you would see a full Tungabhadra. The place would also be devoid of excessive heat.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ampere (Post 3465590)

A very good time. If there have been good rains, you would see a full Tungabhadra. The place would also be devoid of excessive heat.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ranjitp1 (Post 3465577)

August is a good time to go to Hampi,the heat wouldnt kill you.and you should be able to reach Hampi for an early lunch.Rains-thats a million dollar q.

So assuming we spend 1.5 days in Hampi (26/27 July), what else can we do on 28/29 July on our way back to Chennai?

My current worry is that our son (3 years old) may just get bored by Hampi in 1 day itself. What can we do to engage him better? He's okay with nature and loves animals- the coracle ride should be fun.

How good would the sightings in the Daroji bear sanctuary be?

Normally in Europe, we carry our pram and move our son around in it between destinations. Is the pram of any use in Hampi at all, or do you go from point to point in the car only?

thanks!

Quote:

Originally Posted by phamilyman (Post 3473625)

Try the Vani Vilas Sagar Dam near Hiriyur. For a visit while on the road to some other place its a worthy detour. The other place is the fort at Chitradurga.

Quote:

Originally Posted by phamilyman (Post 3473625)

Hampi is rocky terrain.Pram is of no use there.

Daroji,the bears have a feeding time.Going to the sanctuary without powerful binoculars is a waste of time.You are guaranteed a sighting as the bears are fed around 2pm or slightly later.Dont go with high hopes about the sanctuary.

There is nothing great to see or do enroute except for the C'durga fort.IMO Hampi is not a place to go with infants or kids.Go only if you are prepared to spend long hours outdoors,plenty of walking and interested in history.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ranjitp1 (Post 3473745)

Exactly. That's our interest. Even in historical sites, he is happy wandering around for 20-30 minutes. We are thinking that we'll need to do something different to keep our son busy on 28 and 29.

Let's see. Maybe we can just do Coorg for these four days and keep sir happy all four days! :p

Quote:

Originally Posted by phamilyman (Post 3473625)

So assuming we spend 1.5 days in Hampi (26/27 July), what else can we do on 28/29 July on our way back to Chennai?

Not exactly on the way. But you could explore Western Ghats or KA beaches if you travel west from Hampi. We did Hospet-Hubli in 2.5 hrs and Hubli-Ankola would be 3 hrs. Monsoons are beautiful in KA and GA. Mine enjoyed both our monsoon drives when she was 2 and 3 years old. If you head Hubli or Yellapur on 27th evening, that would give you more time to explore on 28th and 29th.