[ampere]

Wow! The TB dam in full glory. But alas it has brought grief to so many.


About Hampi: I had been there 6 years back almost as a college trekker. We started on a late evening whim. Took a bus to Hospet from Bangalore; reached Hampi next day morning, took a small room for rent in the village and went around in a hired bicycle for 2 days. It was really an amazing moment.

The only thing I felt bad at that time was that I could see only foreigners visit this place more than us Indians. So much of history to be assimilated, but no takers. I dont how is the situation today.

[vnabhi]

Holy smoke, that is a hell of a lot of water on the dam, compared to my visit there on Sep 27th.
You can see only a few gates open in the dam when I went there on page 1 of my travelgogue:-
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...er-amboli.html

[predatorwheelz]

This is a mindblowing travelogue! Spent the last 2 hrs reading all the text and taking in the photos. Had a very vague idea about Hampi, now I'm dying for a visit. Wonderful work, Samurai!

And thanks to whoever posted the link to Robert Swell's book. Planning to read it with leisure (link reproduced so people don't have to search through the 7 pages)

A Forgotten Empire: Vijayanagar By Robert Swell-Book 1 Chapter 2

[laluks]

Thanks to predatorwheels, I got to read a classic from Samurai. Somehow i have missed it till now. Beautifully written. Hampi is in my list of must visits.

[bandlimitedlife]

Excellent Writeup and extremely informative thread. Thanks to Samurai et al.

Only thing that is not addressed here which would be helpful for someone like me to plan a trip is when is the best time to visit Hampi in terms of weather. I am not sure if going next weekend(long weekend) is a good idea as it may be really really hot.

Pl do throw some light on this.

[pjbiju]

Originally Posted by bandlimitedlife

...
Only thing that is not addressed here which would be helpful for someone like me to plan a trip is when is the best time to visit Hampi in terms of weather. I am not sure if going next weekend(long weekend) is a good idea as it may be really really hot.

Pl do throw some light on this.

The best time to visit is around Dec/Jan. The afternoons are manageable easily even with kids. You can also visit the place soon after monsoons.

If you go now, you can still manage if you are only adults. If you have small children in your group, you need to be more careful. Carry plenty of water, umbrellas. Drink the tender coconuts that are available at many of the spots in Hampi. And start your sightseeing of Hampi by 7 a.m., the time they open in the morning. You can then visit places till noon and then go to a hotel for lunch and then go back by evening. The ideal plan would be to stay at Mayura Bhuvaneshwari (KSTDC) at Kamlapur, so that you can relax in your room after lunch and then head back to the ruins in the evening.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by bandlimitedlife

Only thing that is not addressed here which would be helpful for someone like me to plan a trip is when is the best time to visit Hampi in terms of weather. I am not sure if going next weekend(long weekend) is a good idea as it may be really really hot.

Pl do throw some light on this.

I just got back from Hampi last weekend. It is definitely getting hot now.

If you have a vehicle to roam around in, you can still manage it. But, walking or cycling there wouldn't be a good idea.

If you're mostly adults, it would be manageable but if you're going with kids, guess you could postpone it until winter. Carry lots of water and caps and sunglasses.

[bandlimitedlife]

@ pjbiju & libranof1987 :

Thanks for the inputs. I plan to drive. But I think I will give it a pass for now till weather becomes a little better as I did like to walk around a little bit and see the place at leisure.

[msdivy]

Had been to Hampi last week. I was re-reading your travelogue. Felt I can update:

Originally Posted by Samurai

As we came out, we entered Hampi Bazaar (Hampi Bazaar). It is mostly taken over by modern shops and hotels, but one can see the fusion of old and new buildings.

See this a current slum blended into 500 year old stone bazaar.

The folks occupying the diamond & gold market in front of Virupaksha temple have been relocated. So no more blend of old & new

Originally Posted by Samurai

There is a long path in front of Krishna temple, there is even a pond, but I don’t recall the exact purpose of that place. But it is sophisticated and pretty.

That is the spice market. The pond is source of water for the traders & their rides.

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by msdivy

Had been to Hampi last week. I was re-reading your travelogue. Felt I can update:

msdivy, how is current condition there. Last week there was news of heavy rain and danger of road from Hospet - Hampi being cut off.
Also, how are the road conditions ? Iam planning of going there on 9th Aug for 2 days.

[jeethucj]

Great Narration and very nice clicks. I'm planning on a trip to Hampi sometime soon. My only worry is whether it's safe to park car while we explore this place on foot.

[King_pin09]

Originally Posted by Samurai

By this time I knew one thing about Vijayanagara empire. Civil engineering wasn’t their strong suite, they built everything in stone, even roofs and walls. The self weight of the material is very high and it is so hard to shape.

I beg to differ in opinion here. The early Vijayanagara kings were visionary to long term sustainability. Vijayanagara was at constant risk of attacks from either of the neighbouring sultanates. During warfare in the medieval era, the invading armies often resorted to destruction of state buildings especially the temples. It was common practice in those days to hide huge treasures in temple enclosures. Once the kings reclaimed their lost territories, it would often turn very expensive to restore these temples and buildings to the same state as they were earlier.

The founders of Vijayanagara carried fresh memories of the plundering of Dwarasamudra, the capital of Hoysala Empire, by Ala-ud-din-Khilji. The builders of Dwarasamudra were fond of meticulous art and therefore adapted soapstone (a soft rock) in their architecture, on which they could easily work upon. These buildings despite carrying more intrinsic work of art however could not withstand the plundering blows by the invaders.

The Vijayanagara kings therefore adapted similar approach as of Chalukyas i.e., using the hardest rock available to build the key buildings and temples, so that it would not be too easy for the invaders to destruct them. The location was also selected strategically keeping in view the availability of granite in abundance. The Vijayanagara architecture therefore reflects mass and strength but not fine art.

Originally Posted by Samurai

I agree it was the easiest building material they had available, but it must have been incredibly hard on their labour force to shape and carry stones in such a hot weather.

The early Vijayanagara Kings had hard time building the initial structures. As the empire grew richer, they began deploying skilled labour from Persia, Rome, Turkmenistan, Portugal, etc, for carrying out the building works. The water supply canals as we can see now were built by Foreign Engineers.

[procrj]

Great travelogue samurai. Never came up when I searched for Hampi travelogues before my trip. Thanks for sharing.

[mjpatel222]

Hello Fellow travellers and road jockies :-)

We are family of four (couple with sons in early 20's plus a driver) who for many years have thought about taking a long(ish) road trip and are now considering going to Hampi (and then maybe on to the Coorg country) over the Diwali break (3-11 November).

I have had a look at google maps and note the possibility of a couple of routes (via Pune or Nashik) but we would really appreciate any advice or experiences you have to share about which route to take. And more importantly any alternative routes or detours that would make this a more interesting journey (of discovering a part of India that we have never travelled to!). We are not concerned about getting anywhere by the fastest route and would really like to savour the journey that can includes short detours to nice(r) places to stay (eat great food) and visit historical or scenic sites.

We expect to have a 4x4 Fortuner but don't want do much off road driving. And nor are we that keen to take on bad roads or not so safe countryside :-)

[smartindboy]

If you can, include Badami for a day.
My parents just returned from Hampi & Badami trip and they couldn't stop appreciating Badami over Hampi.