[pjbiju]

@libran. Nice pictures. Looks like you were the only people in the place from your photographs or like me you spend a lot of time trying to get people free shots. When we visited the place in Dec 2010, the place was milling with school children and other people because of the Christmas vacation.

Originally Posted by AvonA7

...
2 days enough to tour Hampi in detail?
Do we get local auto/taxi or better to take our own car to see places in/around Hampi?
While touring, are there any restaurants available for lunch, snacks or better to carry or return to hotel for lunch etc. ?
What are the start and end times of visiting the magnificent architectures ?
...

If you are into photography and want to study the monuments in detail, you can spend at least a week or more. If you just want to visit the most important places and take photographs irrespective of the time of the day, 2 days would be enough.

You can take your own car to all the places. That would be convenient. But if you are not inclined to drive to all the places, you can hire a taxi and probably the taxi driver can act as your guide to take you to all the important places.

For lunch you can go to Mango Tree restaurant in Hampi or Mayura Bhuvaneshwari at Kamlapur. There is another small hotel near Kamlapur Bus Stand where you get veg meals.

The monuments are open from 7.00 a.m. It would be the best to be there by that time.

I had done a similar trip in Dec 2010 from Pune where I also covered Badami, Aihole, Pattadakkal etc. You can find more info in this thread and if you need any other information, you can PM me. I have posted a map with all the monuments of Hampi towards the end of my travelogue.

[libranof1987]

Sunset at TungaBhadra Dam


Idol in the Park at TB Dam


Community Marriage Hall


Virupaksha Temple


At Virupaksha Temple - give him a banana, he'll eat it; give him a penny, he'll hand it to the mahout and give you a sweet tap on your head as his "ashirwad"; give him nothing and you'll get a hard tap on your head!


Virupaksha Temple




Ceiling at Lotus Mahal

[libranof1987]

Quarters of the Mahouts for the King's favourite 11 elephants


Tresury House; all the Queen's jewelery was kept underground





Vittal Temple


Vittal Temple


Carvings on pillars at Vittal Temple


Bala Krishna Temple


Bala Krishna Temple


One of the many railway crossings


Climb up the Anjanadri Hill

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by pjbiju

@libran. Nice pictures. Looks like you were the only people in the place from your photographs or like me you spend a lot of time trying to get people free shots. When we visited the place in Dec 2010, the place was milling with school children and other people because of the Christmas vacation.

The place was not crowded as such; guess the summer kept many visitors away. But yea, I do prefer pictures without strangers in it!

Saw your travelogue, nice set of pictures!

[hemanth.anand]

Nice pictures again.
I liked the angles from which you have taken some photos.
Inside the virupaksha temple, I don't know if you failed to take a photo or missed to see this.


Its the inverted image of the temple's main Gopura.
This and others are in my report of this trip.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post2189115

[supertinu]

nice travelogue and lovely pictures Libran.

I have been wanting to go to Hampi myself for a while now. Any specific reason why you chose NH4-SH19 route over NH4-NH13?

[libranof1987]

@ hemanth.anand : Yea, we did see it at the Temple but did not take any pics.

Originally Posted by supertinu

nice travelogue and lovely pictures Libran.

I have been wanting to go to Hampi myself for a while now. Any specific reason why you chose NH4-SH19 route over NH4-NH13?

Thanks!

Well, everyone has said that the condition of NH13 is bad. In fact, we thought of taking NH13 on the way back to come back thru' a different route but even the hotel manager in Hospet asked us not to.

[AvonA7]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

There are plenty guides available. But be sure to go to the KSTDC Office in Hampi Bazaar and ask for an official one. Chances are the person in charge will call someone whose ID card "has gone for renewal". But, the guides are generally decently aware of history. They charge 800 for the whole day. As per the guides, 7 hrs is what it takes to cover Hampi entirely.

2 days should be enough to cover Hampi; both sides of the river. You will get autos to roam around in Hampi and if you stay in Hospet, most of the hotels have attached travel desks who will arrange a/c cabs. So, it's not necessary to have your own vehicle.

You can dine in Hospet; while on the move in Hampi, the guide will take you to the KSTDC restaurant. You will get good food, don't worry. But do carry a lot of water. In Hampi, apart from the Bazaar, there is just the KSTDC rest., nothing else.

I'm not sure when the monuments open but they close at 1730.

Good luck

Thanks @libranof1987 for the response. I wasn't even aware of the KSTDC hotel. Shall keep your suggestions in mind whenever I visit Hampi.

Originally Posted by pjbiju

If you are into photography and want to study the monuments in detail, you can spend at least a week or more. If you just want to visit the most important places and take photographs irrespective of the time of the day, 2 days would be enough.

You can take your own car to all the places. That would be convenient. But if you are not inclined to drive to all the places, you can hire a taxi and probably the taxi driver can act as your guide to take you to all the important places.

For lunch you can go to Mango Tree restaurant in Hampi or Mayura Bhuvaneshwari at Kamlapur. There is another small hotel near Kamlapur Bus Stand where you get veg meals.

The monuments are open from 7.00 a.m. It would be the best to be there by that time.

I had done a similar trip in Dec 2010 from Pune where I also covered Badami, Aihole, Pattadakkal etc. You can find more info in this thread and if you need any other information, you can PM me. I have posted a map with all the monuments of Hampi towards the end of my travelogue.

Thanks pjbiju.

Yes, I followed your thread from start till end, photos, travelogue was amazing. Initially, I planned to visit Hampi during one of the coming long weekends, but these temperatures of 37/38C telling me to avoid and better visit few months later. Shall PM you before I visit, for any info. I may need.

[sree70]

Hi,
Libran 87
Nice Travelogue & Beautiful Snaps.
Thanks for bringing back the memories of my Hampi visit in 2008.
It was a Rainy day (cyclone effect) and still i can't forget that day.
Hampi - Always a wonderful place to Visit.
Regards
Sree

[v.anand]

Hi libranof1987, amazing pics. Totally brings back the memory of my Hampi trip couple of years back.

As for food in Hampi, its got very good restaurants including the Mango Groove like someone mentioned. What was a pleasant surprise was they all specialized in continental as compared to south indian thanks to the number of foreign tourists. I somehow hated Hospet since that place eternally stank and was very poorly maintained.

During our trip, we covered Chitradurga fort, Hampi, Aihole, Pattadkal and Badami in about 5 days. Total distance came to a little over 1000 kms. If you are planning a winter trip, you may cover these places too. After having witnessed all these places and more, I agree we have a very rich culture and heritage.

[pjbiju]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

...
In the meantime, I asked him who he was. He got an ID card and guess was pissed I asked him for identification.
...

I had a similar experience at New Delhi Railway station. While we were coming out of the station, on the foot overbridge, a person asked me to show him the train ticket. Now this person was wearing plain clothes. So I asked him for his ID. He showed me the ID and then asked me to unpack my luggage. And that was because he was not prepared to face the fact that someone could ask him for his ID. None of the others were asked to open up their luggage. They need some education.

[Shubz]

Good TL Libran. For those visiting - There is a Royal Orchid Property if you are willing. The price isn't too high. Food is very good, service is a bit slack but nevertheless no complaints. They arrange for a guide (with ID) - just that it'd be a wee bit more expensive than regular - 1200/day.

Tried to hijack your thread with a few pics of mine but couldn't as the size of the pics are currently more than 1mb each. So here is the link to the same.

https://picasaweb.google.com/1173963...2851401/Hampi#

We even did the Daroji Bear sanctuary where the Forest officer was kind enough to take us close to the bear's eating joint.

Mods - Feel free to delete them if I am intruding on Librans thread.

Regards,

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by v.anand

Hi libranof1987, amazing pics. Totally brings back the memory of my Hampi trip couple of years back.

As for food in Hampi, its got very good restaurants including the Mango Groove like someone mentioned. What was a pleasant surprise was they all specialized in continental as compared to south indian thanks to the number of foreign tourists. I somehow hated Hospet since that place eternally stank and was very poorly maintained.

During our trip, we covered Chitradurga fort, Hampi, Aihole, Pattadkal and Badami in about 5 days. Total distance came to a little over 1000 kms. If you are planning a winter trip, you may cover these places too. After having witnessed all these places and more, I agree we have a very rich culture and heritage.

Since we'd gone in the summer, we had the windows rolled up and a/c on the whole time in Hospet. So, thankfully no smell but agree, the town is a mess.

That is the problem with we Indians - we have such great history/ancient monuments but hardly maintain/beautify it to draw crowds.

Wish the weather was better and we weren't hard pressed for time; wanted to drop in at Badami too. Next time!

Originally Posted by Shubz

Good TL Libran. For those visiting - There is a Royal Orchid Property if you are willing. The price isn't too high. Food is very good, service is a bit slack but nevertheless no complaints. They arrange for a guide (with ID) - just that it'd be a wee bit more expensive than regular - 1200/day.

Tried to hijack your thread with a few pics of mine but couldn't as the size of the pics are currently more than 1mb each. So here is the link to the same.

https://picasaweb.google.com/1173963...2851401/Hampi#

We even did the Daroji Bear sanctuary where the Forest officer was kind enough to take us close to the bear's eating joint.

Mods - Feel free to delete them if I am intruding on Librans thread.

Regards,

Hey, nice pictures! You are welcome to post pictures. We thought of going to the bear sanctuary but to a lot of places with zoos so skipped this one.

[Shubz]

Thanks Libran. Anybody planning to go, make sure you take a vehicle that has a better GC viz Indica or SUV's. We went in a ANHC and most of the road leading to the sanctuary is winding through fields (kaccha roads). Had an elderly lady with us as well so did take a very careful approach.

[libranof1987]

This the map of Hampi; should give a nice overview of how the city is spread out.