Hampi
From BikeNomads
Contents |
About
Hospet: The town nearest to Hampi (about 10km). There's only one expensive hotel in Hampi. So, Hospet is where you would have to stay. There are plenty of lodges/hotels there.
Hampi:
- Place of very high archeological significance. Now a world cultural heritage site.
- Lots of beautiful temples of the Vijaynagar kingdom time.
- Tungabhadra Dam.
- Nice green countryside along the numerous canals from the dam. The banana plantations around the place are really beautiful.
- You need time to visit each and every monument in Hampi. There's so much to see.
- Some of the major attractions are the monolithic Shiv Ling (3m high) and Narsimha Statue (6.7 m high).
- This is a beautiful place where the very old and the very new blend perfectly. Riding among all these monuments give you a feel of being in a Tomb-Raider game!! :D
Route
From Hyderabad
Hyderabad -(NH7)-> Mahboobnagar --> Raichur --> Gangavati --> Hospet/Hampi (380-400 km)
- NH7 is a real pleasure to drive.
- Mahboobnagar - Raichur road is very newly laid, but has lots (really lots) of speed breakers (that too in set of 6 together).
- You can save last 30km by crossing tungbhadra river on a teppa boat. Ask any local villager after gangavati.
- While going from Gangawati to Hospet, DO NOT take the road via Kampli. It's a single lane road in a bad shape with traffic including busses (with reckless drivers). There's a splendid new State Highway from Gangawati to Hospet. Take that!!
From Pune
From Bangalore
Bangalore to Hampi 0.0 to 348.9km Driving time (approx): 6.5 hours Trip set point: Mekhri Circle, Bangalore
- 0.0 Mekhri circle. Continue straight on Prof C V Raman Road.
- 2.0 Traffic light junction. Continue straight.
- 3.1 Traffic light junction. Turn left onto bridge, following sign indicating Tumkur and Pune (NH 4).
- 5.9 Road junction. Continue straight.
- 8.6 Roundabout. Continue straight.
- 18.5 Road junction. Continue straight towards Tumkur.
- 20.5 Road junction. Continue stright towards Tumkur. Right goes to Nelamangala.
- 24.6 Crossroads. Continue straight. Right goes to Nelamangala and left goes to Mangalore.
- 33.0 Traffic thins out.
- 46.2 Dobbspet town traffic conjestion. Right goes to Dodballapur.
- 47.2 Road junction. Continue straight. Right goes to Maddagiri.
- 55.7 Continue straight past Hirehalli village.
- 59.9 Fork. Bear left.
- 62.7 Tumkur fire station on left.
- 63.4 Fork. Bear right onto bypass. Left goes into Tumkur town.
- 114.2 Road junction. Continue straight towards Chitradurga. Left goes to Sira bypass (under construction).
- 117.2 Sira town.
- 118.0 Road junction. Continue straight. Right goes to Sira court.
- 156.7 Hiriyur town. Caution - trucks parked on road.
- 159.3 Road junction. Continue straight for Chitradurga.
- 196.0 Road checkpost. Truck traffic congestion. Caution.
- 196.4 Roundabout. Continue straight. Left goes to Chitradurga city and right goes to Challakere.
- 199.3 Road junction. Turn right towards Sholapur for Hospet on NH 13. Straight goes to Pune.
Four-laning ends. Road is now a two-laner. Note: A part of the road on NH 13 is broken with uneven shoulders. Take care. You will not be able to maintain the speeds possible on NH 4. Also, villagers put crops on the roads so that vehicles passing over them may thresh them.
- 243.0 Roads very bad here.
- 279.0 Fork. Bear left for Hospet. Right goes to Kudligi.
- 309.2 Fork. Bear right towards Hospet, Bijapur and Sholapur. Left goes to Harpanahalli, Harihar and Davangere.
- 311.6 Caution! Unmanned level crossing.
- 325.1 Manned level crossing.
- 325.6 Road junction. Tungabhadra Dam and garden on the left. Right goes to Sholapur and Bijapur. Continue on extreme right to Hospet town.
- 335.6 Hospet town.
- 348.9 Hampi - Road from Hospet to Hampi is well marked.
Places to see
Hampi was a city in its hey days. The following are the different structures you can see even today :
Virupakshi Temple
Krishna Temple
Badavalinga Temple
This 3mts high large shiva linga is also a monolith similar to Lakshmi Narasimha. Carved out of a single block of stone the pedestal remains in a bed of water , within a small damaged shrine. Legend has it that it was commissioned by a poor woman.
Lakshmi Narasimha Temple
Lakshmi Narasimha is the 4th incarnation of Lord Vishnu. It stands at a height of 6.7mts . Narasimha is seated on the giant coils of Adisheshsa the sacred guardian snake of Vishnu, its seven hoods acting as a canopy.
Queens Bath
It is located in the southeast of the royal enclosure, with its own separated enclosed space, consisting of a complex of changing rooms and a bath. Currently there is no water in the baths.
Lotus Mahal
It is a 2 storey structure set in the Zanana enclosure. Reffered by locals as Chitragini Mahal.
Elephant's Stables
It used to house the King's elephants. 11 large domed chambers interconnected with each other are in a line.
Vithalla Temple
Vithalla is the Krishna aspect of Lord Vishnu.
This temple is the one of the largest temples of that era. The temple complex consists of Sabhi Mantapa ( Congregation Hall. It has the famed musical pillars), Narasimha Manatapa, Stone Chariot (which houses and image of Garuda, the vehicle of Lord Vishnu), Kalyana Mantapa ( Marriage Hall), Utsava Mantapa (Festival Hall) and Devi shrines.
Outside to the east of the temple is a huge bazaar almost a km in lenght, which leads to the sacred tank known as Lokapavani.
Good eateries
Good Hotels
- Hotel Mayura Bhuvaneshwari, Kamalapur (Hampi), Bellary Dist. - 583 221 Karnataka, India.
- A bit of a rip off. This hotel is run by the Karnataka State tourism.
Places to avoid/cautions
If you're doing Gangawati-Hospet, then avoid the route via Kampli. That is a sigle lane road running through banana plantations (little visibility) and there are busses on that road with reckless drivers.