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After reading so much about Hampi, it was just a matter of time before we visited this ancient empire. The plan to visit Hampi finally materialised during the Christmas break when we finally got the chance to visit this historical place. This is my first travelogue on Team-BHP. Kindly excuse me for any shortcomings.
Besides Hampi we visited Badami, Aihole, Pattadakal and Chitradurga.
Initially the plan was to stay at Hospet for 2 nights and then head to Badami and stay there for another night before returning to Bangalore. So, we went ahead and booked a room for 2 nights at Royal Orchid Kireeti in Hospet (22-24 December). The journey from Badami to Bangalore is 450 odd kilometres and we wanted to visit the Chitradurga fort enroute. This way we wouldn’t be able to spend enough time at Chitradurga so we changed our plan and decided to go to Badami and return back the same day and stay at Hospet itself. Went ahead and booked a room for another night (24-25 December) at KSTDC Mayura Bhuvaneshwari in Kamalapur as Royal Orchid was completely booked by then.
Route Plan:
After going through the route queries here on Team-BHP decided to take the Bangalore-Chitradurga-Mustur-Kudligi-Hospet route. We stuck to NH50 from Chitradurga to Hospet and did not take a diversion at Mustur as indicated by google maps.
Our Drive:
The Hyundai Creta Petrol
Day1-Saturday,22nd December
Bangalore-Hospet-Anegundi-Hospet
We started from home at about 5:45 am. There was a slightly long line at the first toll on Tumkur road but thereafter after crossing Tumkur the traffic became slightly lesser. Some parts of the highway was covered in fog and visibility was reduced to about 300 metres but was not a problem at all. It was smooth sailing till Chitradurga.
Some pictures taken on NH48
After crossing Chitradurga we got onto NH50. The NH50 is still not fully completed and there are n number of diversions. The road conditions were partly bad but the only boon was that the traffic was less. It was 70% of truck and bus traffic. The truck traffic was disciplined and hence it was not much of a problem along the entire route.There are hardly any family restaurants after crossing Chitradurga. Most of them are shut due to the road work that is going on.
Some pictures taken on NH50
The bad sections
The almost finished sections that rarely come by
A tunnel just before entering Hospet
We reached Hospet by 12:40 pm and check into our hotel. After a little rest and freshening up we went to have lunch at a nearby restaurant and were done with our lunch by around 3:30 pm. From there we went onto Anegundi.
Anegundi
Anegundi is the part of Hampi that situated on the northern bank of River Tungabhadra. Anegundi is believed to be the monkey kingdom of Kishkindha in the epic of Ramayana. Anegundi is about 27 kms from Hospet.
First we visited the 64 pillar mantapa which on google maps is named as Sri Krishnadevaraya Tomb which I am not sure whether true or not.
The next stop was Anjanadri Hill which is believed to be the birthplace of god Hanuman. One needs to climb 550 odd steps to get to the top of Anjanadri Hill. There is a temple atop the hill. Anjanadri Hill is considered as one of the best locations in Hampi to witness the sunset from. You get to admire the vast expanse of boulders around you with the Tungabhadra River flowing along. One can also see the Vijaya Vithala Temple from atop the hill.
Covered with boulders as far as the eye can see The Vijaya Vithala Temple
You can also spot the famous stone chariot in the above image.
The Creta shot from atop the hill A beautiful tree Few shots of the mesmerizing sunset
Try and take time to visit Anjandri hill as the view of the surrounding areas and the sunset is truly worth it.
After witnessing the sunset we had dinner at Hospet and returned to our room.
Day2-Sunday,23rd December
Hospet-Aihole-Pattadakal-Badami-Hospet
We had breakfast and left from Hospet by 7:45 am. We did not take our Creta but rented an Etios for the day’s journey. Aihole is about 130 kms from Hospet. Reached Aihole by around 10:00 am.
Aihole
Aihole was an early medieval era meeting place and a cradle for experimentation of Hindu arts, particularly temple architecture by the Chalukya Dynasty. Inscriptions dating back to the 6th Century have been found. During the course of perfecting their art of building temples, many temples were built at Aihole by the Chalukya Dynasty. So Aihole represents the early phases of the Chalukyan architecture before they eventually moved onto Pattadakal in the 8th century, which represents the mature phase of Chalukyan architecture.
After the Chalukyas, the region became a part of the Rashtrakuta Kingdom who ruled in the 9th and 10th century. In the 11th and 12th century, the Late Chalukyas ruled over this region.
In the 13th century and thereafter, the Malprabha valley along with much of Deccan became a target of raids and plunder by the Delhi Sultanate armies devastating the region. From the ruins emerged the Vijayanagara Empire which built forts and protected the monuments, as evidenced by inscriptions in the fort at Badami. [source-wikipedia]
Durga Temple Complex
It has a misleading name, because the temple is not named after goddess Durga.
A few of the many carvings that are present outside the Durga Temple
Few other temples near the Durga Temple A stepped well near the Durga Temple A museum is present within the complex
From Aihole we went to Pattadakal. The distance between Aihole and Pattadakal is about 13 kms.
Pattadakal
Pattadakal is situated on the west bank of the Malaprabha River. Pattadakal got its name because it was a place of coronation of the kings. It is considered as a holy place because the Malaprabha River in this region flows from south to north. Pattadakal has also been recognised as a UNESCO world heritage site. The temples here are a blend of northern and southern architecture. There is a mix of both Aryan and Dravidian architecture. Hence Pattadakal represents the mature phase of Chalukyan architecture.
Galaganatha Temple A damaged shivlinga in one of the temples A blueprint of the entire Temple complex Virupaksha Temple
It is the largest and most sophisticated of the monuments at Pattadakal. The temple is notable for its range, and quality, of construction exemplifying a well-developed Dravidian architectural style. It is the only active temple within the whole complex since both the Shivlinga and Nandi are completely intact. Inside the temple there are carvings showing certain snippets from the Ramayana, Mahabharata and Panchatantra.
Carvings that represent tales from the Panchatantra
The famous story of The snake and the Mongoose
The Nandi in front of Virupaksha Temple
The attention to detail is just fantastic.
From Pattadakal we went to Badami which is about 20 kms away. We had lunch on the way before going to the famous Badami Cave Temples.
Badami
The Badami cave temples are a complex of four Hindu, a Jain and possibly Buddhist cave temples.
Cave 1 is dedicated to lord Shiva, while Cave 2 and 3 are dedicated to lord Vishnu. Cave number 4 is dedicated to Jainism. The caves are carved out of soft sandstone.
Nataraja or Dancing Shiva Lord Vishnu Narasimha Roof carvings in one of the caves Bahubali in Cave 4 Bhutnatha Temple Complex near the caves
Later we visited the Badami Banashankari Temple and returned back to Hospet by 7 pm. That brought an end to Day 2 of our trip. The next day was for exploring Hampi.
Nice log there Futurestan you've covered almost all of the important places in and around Hampi. I don't think you could've have done more in the 4 days available to you. The only thing you could've done was have lunch at the Mango tree restaurant in Hampi :)
I spent 4 years of my student life in Bellary and every year on Holi I used to visit Hampi to avoid playing colours. Whenever I visit, I feel time has stood still. A movie plays in my mind on the grandeur of the Vijayanagara Empire
Any reason why you rented out an Etios instead of driving your own Creta?
Quote:
Originally Posted by hemanth.anand
(Post 4523190)
Nice log there Futurestan |
Thank you!
Quote:
Originally Posted by hemanth.anand
(Post 4523190)
The only thing you could've done was have lunch at the Mango tree restaurant in Hampi :) |
Yes, we visited Mango tree restaurant on the third day. I felt it was a little overpriced for what was offered.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hemanth.anand
(Post 4523190)
Whenever I visit, I feel time has stood still. A movie plays in my mind on the grandeur of the Vijayanagara Empire |
Yes, there is a lot to be imagined as to how grand Hampi was at that time and age. It is very beautiful.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hemanth.anand
(Post 4523190)
Any reason why you rented out an Etios instead of driving your own Creta? |
Nothing in particular. A part of the road from Badami to Hospet is single laned and driving at night after all the exhaustion is what we wanted to avoid.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Futurestan
(Post 4521790)
This is my first travelogue on Team-BHP. Kindly excuse me for any shortcomings. |
Beautiful first travelogue . This brought back very fond memories of the trip and beloved Punto. When we went the road conditions inside the city were great with newly laid tarmac at most places. This is one place I would definitely love to visit again.
My thread : https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...deep-dive.html
Sharing few pictures of Punto in the terrain.
Thanks for bringing back great old memories.
Keep travelling and sharing such wonderful experiences.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ARAY
(Post 4529587)
Beautiful first travelogue . This brought back very fond memories of the trip and beloved Punto. |
Thanks for the appreciation. I had gone through your travelogue before our trip and it helped in planning out our trip. The pictures in your post are amazing!
Is it advisable to go Hampi next week given the flood conditions? I have a booking and looks very difficult to go there.
planned to drive from bangalore to hampi.
Quote:
Originally Posted by avimal
(Post 4637662)
Is it advisable to go Hampi next week given the flood conditions? I have a booking and looks very difficult to go there. planned to drive from bangalore to hampi. |
Can't say about next week, but as of now, the situation is bad in both Hampi and around Badami. Tourists had to be airlifted from Virupapur Gaddi (the 'island' side of Hampi). Flooding was also reported from the main side, even the police station was flooded.
Around Badami, Pattadakal was also under a lot of water and roads around Badami were blocked.
If more rains (and not necessarily in those two areas) are in store, then more water will be pushed into the reservoirs near Hampi and they will be forced to release more which will lead to flooding.
[On a related note, hope the district administration FINALLY wakes up to the need for a pedestrian bridge from the Virupaksha Temple side to Virupapur Gaddi in Hampi. How easy it would have been for those 300 tourists to cross over if there had been a bridge, instead of the need for emergency boats and for airlifting, wasting resources and risking people!]
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