Hampi: Travelling back in time

Beautiful Stone Carvings Hampi was the capital city of erstwhile Vijayanagar Empire, one the most prosperous empire of its time. However, in a sudden turn of events the empire got defeated by Deccan sultanate, bringing an end to glorious period of Vijaynagara empire.

If this much historical importance isn’t sufficient for you to visit this place. It also finds it’s mention in Hindu mythology Ramayana as the famous monkey kingdom of Kishkinda, where Lord Rama meet Hanuman Ji in his quest to search for Sita Maa.

Admittedly I didn’t know all this about the place when I first decided to visit it. I just wanted to do a Solo-trip to prove myself that I am capable of one! I shortlisted it based on the advice of one of my relative due to my fondness for arts and culture. In the spur of the moment, I booked the tickets from Bangalore to Hosapete (nearest railway Jn to Hampi) with one of my office friend tagged along me. With Just one way ticket and dorm bed for 2 days I reached there on 14th Jan.

As I now introspect why is that I wanted to do a Solo-trip, why not do it with friends? I realise that there is a personal growth involved with travelling alone. Imagine a kid who never even went to school alone wanted to visit a new city in an entirely new state with a different language and cuisine. If I have to list the benefits of travelling alone, building confidence and developing presence of mind will be top among them and as most of you will agree these characteristics are indeed crucial for daily life and if I may say somewhat seductive as well.

Now for all those who got pumped up and wants to visit this Rome of East here is my itinerary along with tips that you can follow.

Day 1

  • Archeological temple Thirthankar Mahavir Idol
  • Elephant Stables
  • Lotus Mahal Lotus Mahal
  • Royal Palace
  • Queen’s Bath
  • Mantanga Hill (SUNSET) Virupaksha Temple from Mantanga Temple

Day 2

  • Virupaksha Temple (aarti)enter image description here
  • Hampi bazaar (souvenir) Langoors relaxing in Hampi Bazaar
  • Krishna temple (yali & picturesque) Ramayana on Krishna Temple walls
  • Lakshmi Narsimha temple enter image description here
  • Kampa Bhupa trek Coracle Boat
  • Vittala temple (Stone chariot) Stone Chariot
  • HEMKUNTA HILL (sunset) Hemkunta Sunset

Day 3

  • Sanapur Lake
  • Anjaneya Hill (Lord Hanuman birthplace) Hanuman Temple

I have bolded the highlights of each day which i absolutely loved and will recommend you all to must visit.

How I reached there?enter image description here

Since I was travelling from Bangalore, and this was supposed to be a budget backpacking trip I booked a 3AC from Bangalore to Hosapete. Hampi is roughly 15 Km from Hosapete and you can find plenty of Autos just outside the railway station or like me you can walk for around 1Km to nearest Bus station and took a bus to Hampi.

Where I stayed

Hampi main site doesn’t have any accommodation facilities instead you have to either stay in Hosapete or if you can adjust, there are plenty of modest accommodation options available at a nearby town of Kamalapur from where Hampi is just 5KM! Since I was okay with modest accommodation and wanted to explore this place as a local i choose to stay near to Hampi in Kamalapur only at a KSDTC Hotel (https://www.kstdc.co/hotels/hotel-mayura-bhuvaneshwari-hampi/).

What I ate?enter image description here

Now here things got interesting because I am a veggie and have limited knowledge of South Indian Food. All I know is Dosa , idlli’s and Vada that too because I had a friend in college who is from South India. Thankfully, I am open to try new dishes and appreciate the food in general, so I sailed through it, but my office friend struggled and at a point got frustrated with Dosa’s ;)! For people who have reservation with foods, I would suggest picking up Hosapete as your base and commute from there daily since there are plenty of options there.

How much I spent?

Honestly i didn’t had a number in my mind when I decided for Hampi but back of the mind i wanted to make this trip as affordable as possible so that after this one. I don’t have an excuse of money for cancelling trips :). This trip of 2N and 3D costed me approx 5K including everything. I saved on accommodation since I compromised and stayed in dorm whereas overspent on trains (booked 3AC in tatkal!).

What have I learnt?

As I stated in starting Solo trips are one of the best ways to not only explore the world but to understand yourself also.

  • It was on this trip I realised that I can not only negotiate but win them as well. I have always struggled in all things related to talking to people, but this is probably the first time I realised that I can indeed win over others.
  • My newfound love for capturing wildlife, nature and culture in my lens.
  • Execution is the key, like most of us I also believe that planning is necessary to complete a trip satisfactorily and successfully but with just one way ticket and accommodation figured out before starting the trip, I realise that we over weigh planning for execution. Most of the stuff can be figured out along the way. I will leave you with some of my clicks to see yourself the sheer diversity of this place. enter image description here enter image description here Wishing Tree Sea of Coconut ! enter image description here enter image description here Pampa Devi