[SREEHARI R]

I always remember one of the famous quotes from Alen Lakein -"Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail". Me and my Better half decided to visit HAMPI to get a rift from daily routine. We were confused because of weather conditions at Hampi. People say that best time to visit Hampi is between Oct-Feb. Since we planned, we decided to go for it. We planned our excursion for two days. Below is the explicit plan of that. All the pictures were taken in my Canon 1500D and iphone 7 Plus.

DAY1:-Bangalore -- Tumkur-- Chitradurga -- Hospet -- Hampi
I am very particular about timing. We evoked our trip exactly at 5:30 AM. Took NICE road from Electronic city junction to Tumkur road. Road Conditions are extremely good till Chitradurga. Shree Rathnam- A decent place to have Breakfast, which is located in Dabbaspet(Near Tumkur).


People say while driving on NH, if your car has Fastag access, you are most likely to pass all the tolls faster. But, in NH4 people will not follow proper lane. One such thing happened to us as well. I was behind a cement truck in the fastag lane and for my bad, the truck had a breakdown. I was sandwiched between that truck and a multi axle lorry. Lost almost 30mins in that mess. Finally the toll people managed to pull that truck to lay bay.

We crossed Tumkur around 7:45AM and from then, the traffic keeps deteriorating and one can enjoy the drive.


Reached Chitradurga at 9:15 AM and hired a guide (Krishnaraj) for better understanding on this historic place. No words to describe this place. It is a Picturesque Fort of Karnataka, filled with rocks everywhere and one can have a spectacular view from the top of the Fort.

Between 1500-1800, Chitradurga was at times a province of Vijayanagara, an independent kingdom, a tributary of the Marathas, a tributary of the Mughals, a tributary of Mysore, and finally, a Mysore province. In spite of this tumultuous past, the Chitradurga nayakas have received so little attention from modern researchers that, until recently, its story was only a modest footnote in Karnataka history.



Krishnaraj gave explicit details about the history of Chitradurga Fort. He explained about "Cutting Edge" technology that was used to build the fort by breaking the huge rocks. The well planned structure of the fort is very interesting to see. It took us around 2 hrs to have detailed tour of this fort.

From there, we started our second half journey to Hampi. Coming to road condition, the new six-lanes are being constructed. For every 20Kms there is a deviation to the service road which is indeed a two way(be careful about trucks- they drive in their own style). Its about 140Kms from Chitradurga to Hampi. On either side of the road, one can have a spectacular view of windmills during journey. There are no restaurants en route to Hampi via this highway .
Finally,we made it to Hospet, finished our lunch there(Hotel Malligi), very well maintained hotel which serves both Veg and Nonveg in two separate wings. As we had booked a room at Malligi, took rest for an hour after a lavish lunch and then headed towards our main destination- HAMPI.

Vijayanagara, the capital of the mighty Vijayanagara, was founded in 1336 AD by two Hindu brothers Hakka and Bukka under the able guidance of a Brahmin priest Madhva Vidyaranya. The empire that lasted for over twenty years despite to dizzy heights culminating into the golden era of South Indian history. The Empire, that extended from river Krishna to Cape Comorin, included the modern state of Orrisa and was ruled from a capital stretched over 165 sq. miles, the central portion of which is called Hampi today.



One can reach Hampi from Hospet in 20-40Mins(based on the congestion near Railway crossing). We are lucky to escape from this junction very soon. Reached Vijayavittala temple around 4:30PM. The locals runs their business by halting tourist vehicle 1KM away from the temple. One can opt an electric auto (50/person), or can take a healthy walk(if weather is not hot).

Vijaya Vittala Temple is dedicated to Vittala, an aspect of Lord Vishnu. With the most extravagant architecture and exceptional craftsmanship, the temple is the main attraction of Hampi. Words fail to explain the elegance, grandeur and the splendor of the temple. The sprawling campus of the temple resembles a town featuring many halls, gateway towers, musical pillared pavilions and compound wall. The main attraction here is Hampi chariot and Musical Pillars. But, unfortunately, visitors are prohibited to touch the musical pillars.





After Vijayavittala temple, headed back to Hospet (Hotel Malligi), they prepare many mouth watering snacks - Akki rotti, paddu, mirchi-mandakki and many more... One must try Paddu at malligi,its just amazing .


DAY 2:- Hospet-- Hampi--Chitradurga--Bangalore

After having a complimentary breakfast at Hotel, we headed to Tungabhadra dam (Hospet). The Tungabhadra dam is also known as "Pampa sagara" constructed across Tungabhadra river- a tributary of Krishna river. It is a multipurpose dam serving irrigation, electricity, flood control etc.. The entry to the dam is restricted now as there were many threats from the people. We requested a police man who was near the check post to allow us inside just for 10 mins, surprisingly he agreed.
Below is the picture of Tungabhadra dam, we were not allowed to take dam picture, so you can see me posing..


From Tungabhadra dam we reached Virupaksha temple at Hampi around 10AM. Once you reach there, local auto drivers will request you to take local tour guide, which we denied (we wanted to roam around freely). The tower is constructed in such a way that it is hollow inside. One must not skip "Bhuvaneshwari" temple there, its very unique. Outside the temple, you can spend some time by visiting old Hampi Bazar, where people used to sell Gems and Diamonds olden days.





The Queens Bath, Lotus Mahal, Elephant Stable,Stepped Tank, Mahanavami Dibba and Narashima Statue are must visit places in Hampi.







After visiting all the mentioned places, we started our return journey from Hampi around 2PM and reached Bangalore at 8PM. Stopped for a short coffee break at Chitradurga bypass(Hotel Sarvodaya) and continued our journey.
Had a memorable trip and enjoyed each bit of it.

Total Distance Travelled: 825KMs
Travel Date: 27th & 28th July 2019

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[51morris]

Nice travelogue and fantastic pictures! I have been to Hampi a few times and each time its as captivating as ever before.

[SREEHARI R]

Thank you very much. Hampi is one such place which gives different feelings every time we visit.

[TorqueyTechie]

Nice travelogue. Hampi is one place which I have missed and keep seeing beautiful travelogues here and now yours too. Should plan to visit soon.

By the by couldn't help but notice that your car is sporting a fake LTD. Since you are now a member, time for it to sport the real one. eh!

[SREEHARI R]

Thanks for your feedback. Hampi is must visit place in Karnataka. And I have already replaced with Original LTD stickers from T-BHP.

[audioholic]

Short and crisp write up! And nice pictures too. Even I too couldnt miss the LTD sticker which is quite attenion catching

[ant_vas]

Below is the picture of TB dam, we were not allowed to take dam picture, so you can see me posing..

Is this infront of Lake view guest house on the munirabad side? the water level in the dam still seems to be low.

Beautiful pictures otherwise.

[SREEHARI R]

It is back side of Tungabhadra dam, you are right, it’s from Munirabad side..

[turboNath]

Thanks for sharing Sreehari !
After reading this beautiful travelogue we decided to start our Hampi drive in a couple of hours from now on (we were hunting for places to drive from Hyderabad since morning)!
However we haven't booked any hotel over there. Can we get accomodation on arrival ? This will be my very first drive down South.
P.S.I have also heard about a circular roti shaped boat ride on a nearby lake. Did you get a chance to try that out ?

[MSMILES]

A great place to visit if you are really interested in our history and culture. Not many would know, there are streets in Hampi where they used to sell gems and stones like how we, now, purchase vegetables in the market. Those streets, still have some of these gems hidden in them even today. Just to remember how rich our heritage was.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by turboNath

Thanks for sharing Sreehari !
However we haven't booked any hotel over there. Can we get accomodation on arrival ?

We stayed in Royal Orchid three weeks back and it was a decent place with nice rooms and facilities. Price was reasonable, neither cheap nor expensive.

[turboNath]

Originally Posted by audioholic

We stayed in Royal Orchid three weeks back and it was a decent place with nice rooms and facilities. Price was reasonable, neither cheap nor expensive.

Thanks audioholic !
Since this was an extended weekend, we managed to get a single room at Santosh hotel near Hampi bazaar. The attached cafe was pretty cool but the rooms were atrociously bad( terrible damp smell, no place to stretch legs, etc.). However I loved Hampi, as a weekend destination. The weather was not too hot and the sky was mostly a bright shade of blue throughout our stay. We will head back to Hyderabad tomorrow morning.

[gadadhar]

Originally Posted by turboNath

Thanks audioholic !
Since this was an extended weekend, we managed to get a single room at Santosh hotel near Hampi bazaar.

Nice and crisp writeup

Hyatt Place in Jindal township is a good option if you are fine to stay slighlty away from Hampi.