I am still excited to see that I am going to write about Hampi in my blog. It was 2013 when I first read about Hampi in Yahoo blogs and went crazy to visit it. I had no clue of making any plans in near future though. But then in the last year when channel Epic stated many untold facts about Hampi's Vittala Temple and its architecture in Sanranchna, I knew I had to visit Hampi in someday. The concept of the Musical Pillars that produces different sounds of Indian Classical Instruments was the most appealing phenomenon for me and this was the top reason I decided to visit Hampi. Finally, before two weeks my wish came true and I sipped the full essence of Vijayanagara.
Let me come to a bit of historical chapters. Vijayanagar was the capital of Vijayanagara Empire of South India. It is believed that during 1500, Vijayanagar had 500,000 inhabitants and it made it the second largest city in the world after Beijing. Another important and very promising fact is that Vijayanagara was known as Kishkindhya formerly. Yes, the same Kishkindhya we have read about in Ramayana. The day before my trip, I got to know this and I was thrilled to the utmost.
If you are in Bangalore, you can catch a train from Bangalore to Hospet. It is 9 hrs overnight journey. From Hospet you can hire auto and can reach Hampi within 25-30 mins around. Vijayanagar is nowhere a city to be like. Somewhere all of a sudden some ancient, the then royal gates may welcome you and may remind you that you are visiting a ruined grand city. Kamalapur is the nearest village where you can stay and hire vehicle to explore Hampi and the temples. We stayed in KSTDC hotels and they were awesome.
We had two days in our hands to cover up Hampi and I must say if you plan well, two days are enough to explore Hampi. First day, we checked in to the most famous places like Vitthala Temple, Virupaksha Temple, Queen's bath, Lotus Temple, Elephant's stable, Pushkarini, Sunset point (Hemakuta hill) and other must visited places.
Check the photos...
On the next day we headed towards the Anjaneya Hills, that comes under the other bank of Tungabhadra river i.e the opposite of Hampi. From top of the Anjaneya hill, you can spot the Vitthala Temple easily. It is to be said that Shri Hanuman was born in this hill and right at the place where Vitthala Temple is situated, Sugriva and Hanuman ji met for the first time and befriended each other. So if you are mythology fanatic, you are going to get excited enough. From Anjanaya Hill, you can spot the panoramic view of the entire Hampi. Just have goggles, sit, feel the wind and sooth your eyes with the rusty nature of Hampi.
After exploring Hampi, we headed towards Virupappuragaddi. Virupappuragaddi is hippieland of Hampi. You can spot hippies every now and then. There is nothing as such to see as a structure or history. But I must say if you are not going to Sanapur Lake, you are going to miss a major in Hampi. We were damn lucky to be there. I was willing to have raindrops falling over my face and luckily it started. The wind was chilled, the raindrops were big enough to make you smile. Falling drops over the lake made it look so lively and most importantly no one was there to disturb. It was complete silence except the whistles of wind. We spotted few guys to dive in lake one by one and then we played "Byangbaji" or Pebble skipping game for a long time. It was real fun. The sun was gone and we had to come back.
P.S Ignore my typos if you found any...
Posted By Debarati Datta Read about me here blogging since 2011 Copyright © Debarati Datta Privacy Policy
Let me come to a bit of historical chapters. Vijayanagar was the capital of Vijayanagara Empire of South India. It is believed that during 1500, Vijayanagar had 500,000 inhabitants and it made it the second largest city in the world after Beijing. Another important and very promising fact is that Vijayanagara was known as Kishkindhya formerly. Yes, the same Kishkindhya we have read about in Ramayana. The day before my trip, I got to know this and I was thrilled to the utmost.
If you are in Bangalore, you can catch a train from Bangalore to Hospet. It is 9 hrs overnight journey. From Hospet you can hire auto and can reach Hampi within 25-30 mins around. Vijayanagar is nowhere a city to be like. Somewhere all of a sudden some ancient, the then royal gates may welcome you and may remind you that you are visiting a ruined grand city. Kamalapur is the nearest village where you can stay and hire vehicle to explore Hampi and the temples. We stayed in KSTDC hotels and they were awesome.
We had two days in our hands to cover up Hampi and I must say if you plan well, two days are enough to explore Hampi. First day, we checked in to the most famous places like Vitthala Temple, Virupaksha Temple, Queen's bath, Lotus Temple, Elephant's stable, Pushkarini, Sunset point (Hemakuta hill) and other must visited places.
Check the photos...
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| Vittala Temple Entrance |
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| The entrance welcomes Men, Women and Children |
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| Vittala Temple Complex |
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| Kalyanam Mandapam |
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| Narasimha, Hiranyakashipu and Prahlad |
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| Matsya |
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| Musical Pillars |
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| Kannada Scripts imprinted on the stones.. |
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| The iconic Chariot |
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| us ... ♥ |
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| Old Shopping Complex |
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| Ruins ♥ |
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| Raja & Indrani |
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| Posing at Queen's Bath |
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| Please don't miss having cuisines in these huts ;) Eat, Relax and sleep ♥ |
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| Virupaksha Temple |
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| Refection .. |
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| Elephant's Blessings |
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| Add caption |
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On the next day we headed towards the Anjaneya Hills, that comes under the other bank of Tungabhadra river i.e the opposite of Hampi. From top of the Anjaneya hill, you can spot the Vitthala Temple easily. It is to be said that Shri Hanuman was born in this hill and right at the place where Vitthala Temple is situated, Sugriva and Hanuman ji met for the first time and befriended each other. So if you are mythology fanatic, you are going to get excited enough. From Anjanaya Hill, you can spot the panoramic view of the entire Hampi. Just have goggles, sit, feel the wind and sooth your eyes with the rusty nature of Hampi.
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| While getting up at the Anjaneya Hill |
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| View of Vittala Temple from Anjanaya Hill |
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| Top of Anjanaya Hill |
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| Kishkindhya RajNagari |
After exploring Hampi, we headed towards Virupappuragaddi. Virupappuragaddi is hippieland of Hampi. You can spot hippies every now and then. There is nothing as such to see as a structure or history. But I must say if you are not going to Sanapur Lake, you are going to miss a major in Hampi. We were damn lucky to be there. I was willing to have raindrops falling over my face and luckily it started. The wind was chilled, the raindrops were big enough to make you smile. Falling drops over the lake made it look so lively and most importantly no one was there to disturb. It was complete silence except the whistles of wind. We spotted few guys to dive in lake one by one and then we played "Byangbaji" or Pebble skipping game for a long time. It was real fun. The sun was gone and we had to come back.
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| Ready for the ride .. |
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| Loved the shot .. |
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| Then the weather changed... |
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| Calm, Serene & windy image |
P.S Ignore my typos if you found any...
Posted By Debarati Datta Read about me here blogging since 2011 Copyright © Debarati Datta Privacy Policy
