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Bangalore - Tumkur - Sira - Chitradurga (on NH4) --> road is great throughout
Right turn from Chitradurga to Hampi on NH13 (good 2 lane road)..
For more information read the travelogue below of a friend Rahul which he sent in indiahighways group:
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Hampi - of stones & legends...
I had read somewhere - "If dreams were made of stone, it would be Hampi". This ride proved how true it was. I had been planning a ride to Hampi for quite some time now and despite everyone telling me that it'd be hot as hell, I decided to ride to Hampi. Well, it sure was hot but the ride was good. Initially, quite a few people were in for the ride but soon people started dropping out and finally it was the Dubey's who hit the road again - Vaibhav (on his RE Machismo) and me/wifey (RE 500).
17th Mar 2007
Route: Bangalore - Tumkur - Chitradurga - (moved from NH-4 to NH-13) - Hospet - Hampi
Distance: 365 kms
As always, we planned to leave as early as possible but could start only by 7:30 am from M.G. Road. After topping up our tanks at the Shell bunk (approx 4 kms before the Nelamangala junction) and bearing the usual agony of riding through the Yeshwantpur - Nelamangala stretch, we were finally onto the open highway (NH-4) thumping away to Tumkur. We halted for breakfast at Kamat's, around 20 kms before Tumkur. After filling up on dose & chai, we moved on. It started to get hotter and the 4-lane highway with the sun beating down, started to appear monotonous. Searching desperately for some shade/tree but in vain, we finally managed to spot a small dhaba with a charpoy laid out... what a relief ! We had a drink of Mazaa and relaxed for sometime in the welcome shade, before moving on. By the time we hit Chiradurga, it was close to noon. Just as one approaches Chitradurga, there is a Reliance A1 Plaza on the right hand side. We had lunch here and asked for directions to NH-13
(towards Hospet). We were asked to proceed further on the NH-4 till we hit a circle, some 5 kms down and take a right there onto NH-13. Well, so long NH-4 ! It's not all that bad actually - the four-laning is almost 95%completed (the Bangalore-Chitradurga section) with a few stretches on the Tumkur and Chitradurga bypass remaining a mess.
Riding on NH-13 was a welcome break after 200 kms of riding on the four-lane road and we were thumping our way past villages and farms. One point to note here is that there are no decent food/acco facilities from Chitradurga to Hospet, a stretch of around 140 kms. So it is advisable to do the needful in Chitradurga itself, the A1 Plaza being ideally located for the same. Another thing that came to my notice is the dense truck traffic on this highway. I have never seen so many trucks on any highway in such a short span of distance - probably because this is a majot arterial highway connecting central India to south/coastal India. After crossing quite a few villages and one town (Kudligi), we finally hit the Tungabhadra Dam circle, 5 kms before Hospet. Here, you get a grand view of the reservoir and you have to take a right for Hospet - straight takes you to the dam. Getting in and out of Hospet was a nightmare - there were no directions and half the streets in the town are
one-ways. I am seriously thinking of writing a mail to the Karnataka TDC regarding this. Finally we were able to find our way out of town and reached the arch announcing that we had arrived. We took the left turn and were greeted by unexpected greenary all around. We had taken the entrace that directly leads to the Hampi Bazar and we were soon riding past huge boulders and monuments. We rolled into Hampi Bazar around 5 pm. We had a reference from a friend for a home run joint - Ranjana Guest House. We checked in & got a room on the 1st floor with a nice balcony overlooking the Virupaksha Temple. After freshening up, we went for a stroll in the market area. The ambience was very similar to that of Goa or Gokarna... firangs roaming around in tatters and slippers, flea-markets, etc. We had some nice home made food at one of the local cafes and returned to the guest house. We sat on the balcony for some time, enjoying the cool breeze and hit the sack around midnight.
18th Mar 2007
We spent most of this day going around the "hot ruins", as they call it ! The day started with some good breakfast at one of the local joints and we started our sight-seeing with the massive monolithic Ganesha statue. We covered most of the "Royal Center" area and by the time we were through, it was almost 1 pm and it was HOT ! We returned to the base camp (Hampi Bazar) and decided to try out the much recommended Mango Tree restaurant. We had to ride through some really narrow lanes and along the river, park our bikes and walk some distance through a banana plantation. There it was - a HUGE mango tree and under it was the dining area - people relaxing on mats well laid out, enjoying the cool breeze and facing the flowing Tungabhadra river. Well, it was worth the effort and much more. We filled ourselves up with some delicious mango lassi before hogging on the Mango Tree special thali. After over-eating to the limit, we relaxed in the shade for a half-hour before moving back
to the room for a nice afternoon nap.
We slept through the sweltering heat of the afternoon and got up around 4:30 pm. After freshening up and a mazaa to cool ourselves, we went to check out the Virupaksha Temple. Another marvel of architecture and culture, this temple had its own elephant - and no ordinary one at that - it used to accept chadhawa (donation), hand (rather trunk) it over to his owner and then bless the devotee with its huge trunk - quite a scene. After spending some time there, we moved on to the Hemakuta group of structures, situated atop the Hemakuta hillock. It was a short climb up the hill and we got wonderful views of the surroundings - Virupaksha Temple, the market area and the structures atop the hill. We sat there, amidst many tourists, to watch the sun set, soaking in the calmness that was creeping in on the town with the cool breeze ruffling our hair. After the sun set, we were again down in the market, roaming around. Soon it was dinner time and we had pancakes for a change. After
some more strolling around, we hit the sack around mid-night.
19th Mar 2007
Route: Hampi - Hospet - Chitradurga - (moved from NH-13 to NH-4) - Tumkur - Bangalore
Distance: 365 kms
By the time we hit the road, after a hearty breakfast of masala-dose's, it was 9:30 am. Negotiating through Hospet was again a terrible experience and we heaved a sigh of relief once on the NH-13. We clicked some more snaps of the T.B. Dam reservoir and were again thumping away amidst the hundreds of trucks crawling on the highway. By the time we hit the A1 Plaza at Chitradurga, it was around 1 pm. We had a stumptuos lunch and relaxed for some time before hitting the road again. The heat was taking a toll on us and we had to stop more frequently for water-breaks. Nearing Tumkur, it started to get cooler and by the time we hit Nelamangala, it was around 6 pm, much to our relief. Traffic was surprisingly low and we were at M.G. Road by 6:45 pm. From there on, it was stop and go and by the time we were home (Marathahalli), it was around 8 pm.
Another wonderful ride and kudos to my Bull, it never missed a beat !!
Till the next ride... happy thumping !!
Rahul
PS - Stay tuned for the pics, coming up soon...
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23rd August 2007, 20:44
, things like if I would need more time at Hampi to admire the place better or otherwise.
