Weekend Trip to Hampi, Karnataka, India

Tripoto
18th Jan 2014
Photo of Weekend Trip to Hampi, Karnataka, India 1/9 by Ganeshreddy Indireddy
Photo of Weekend Trip to Hampi, Karnataka, India 2/9 by Ganeshreddy Indireddy
Photo of Weekend Trip to Hampi, Karnataka, India 3/9 by Ganeshreddy Indireddy
Photo of Weekend Trip to Hampi, Karnataka, India 4/9 by Ganeshreddy Indireddy
Photo of Weekend Trip to Hampi, Karnataka, India 5/9 by Ganeshreddy Indireddy
Photo of Weekend Trip to Hampi, Karnataka, India 6/9 by Ganeshreddy Indireddy
Photo of Weekend Trip to Hampi, Karnataka, India 7/9 by Ganeshreddy Indireddy
Photo of Weekend Trip to Hampi, Karnataka, India 8/9 by Ganeshreddy Indireddy
Photo of Weekend Trip to Hampi, Karnataka, India 9/9 by Ganeshreddy Indireddy

Being an Entrepreneur and working as a software engineer full time, its not an easy task to allot time for travel. But everyone needs a break from these routine life and need to spend time on something which one is passionate about. So in my case, it is travel and photography. So here this time, i decided to go to a place, which should be well suited for photography. So i was searching all the places, to go for a weekend trip, and suddenly i came across some pics of Hampi in facebook. So i started seacring more information about it and also conclude myself that this should be the place should visit. Also this time, i have planned and my trip and decided to go alone, so that i can spend some valuable time with myself.Below i am sharing my experiences, i hope this should be useful for people planning to vist Hampi, Like you :)About Hampi : Hampi was the former capital of Vijayanagara kingdom. Hampi is derived from the work Pampa,(which was the name of the Tungabhadra River, near by which, the Hampi is located)Hampi is known for its beauty of the temples and architectures and monuments spread out in whole city. Hampi is identified as Global Heritage site by UNESCO.Location and How to Reach: Hampi is around 370km from Hyderabad. And it is very easy also to reach from Hyderabad. The nearest railyway station is Hospet junction. After reaching Hospet, can take Govt bus which takes directly to the Hampi bus-stand ( I remember the Charge was Rs 13) or also can hire an Auto directly ( Auto driver will ask for min Rs 150 or 200 ). Hampi will be around 12Km from Hospet and takes Half an to 20 Min depending on the travel mode.Attractions : The whole Hampi is full of Monuments and temples. So its a marvellous mixture of mountains and stones carved into a grandiose architectures. To list the main attraction you should not miss out : Virupaksha Temple, Krishna Temple, Lotus Mahal, Hanuman Temple ( Also known as MOnkey Temple),Achutaraya Temple, Hemakuta Hill, Sun rise or sun set from Hanuman temple or Hemakuta Hill, All the places will be near by only, but it make time if you want to roam to all the places by walk. Bicycles and Scooters will be avaialble for Rent ( Rs50 for Cycle and Rs 200 for Scooter and the prices may vary depending on the season). Those who want to cover all the places in minimum time, can prefer scooter and those who want to really enjoy and feel the beauty of Hampi, can walk if time is not an important constraint. Accommodation : There will be two options for accommodation, 1) Hospet and 2) Hampi itself. Hospet is a decent town, so if you are looking for any other stuff other than visiting the monuments and food, hospet is the place you should think of. If you want to see the sun rise and sun set points then Hampi is the place you should stay. Accommodation will be very easy to get here. The local people staying in Hampi, have converted there homes into Dormitories and Lodges. So you will find number options to chose from depending on your budget. So if you are looking for a lodge like room with Wi-fi and hot water facility the charges will be around Rs 800 to Rs 1000 per day in season time, and for a normal room with minimal facilty (One bed, normal water, No WIfi), the charge would be from Rs 200 to Rs 600 depending on the neatness and size of the room.Best Time: In Hampi, its more like walking from here and there continuously to cover all the monuments. So i personally feel, any time would be better except summer and rainy season.Food : There are many restaurants, and you will get continental varieties also along with the local and south Indian food. But it purely depends on, which hotel you are going to visit.

Total price : I have planned my trip only for two days. My expenses were for Accommodation + Food + Traveling charges only. The total trip cost for me was around Rs 4000.My personal Experience: I took train from Kachiguda in Hyderabad on Friday, till Hospet junction. And after getting down at Hospet, i was approached by many auto drivers to take auto directly to Hampi, but i simply rejected and entered into a Govt but which was going to the Hospet bus-stand (Charge for Rs 4). From Hospet bus-stand again i took a bus that was going to Hampi directly (Rs 13 charge). In half an hour i reached hampi.I was mesmerized and delighted by the beauty of the monuments just after entered the Hampi. So after that, roamed around the bus-stand to get accommodation and checked three or four lodges but some how i didnt like and finally got settled into a lodge for Rs 800 for two days (After a strong bargaining :) with Wifi as complimentary. After having my lunch started exploring the places and roamed till night and came back to the hotel after having tired and completely exhausted.The next day i decided to take bicycle as many places were yet to be covered and as it was the last day.Took a bicycle by Paying Rs50 and started to the other side of the river Tungabhadra ( Need to take a boat for covering the monuments on the other side of the river). I was not aware that i will get bicycle on both the sides, so i took bicycle to the other side in the boat :). After a few hours, accidentally met one of my photography friend so after that we both roamed together.We started return journey around 6:30 Pm as we need to catch the bus from Hospet. My return journey was a disaster :) I had booked my bus ticket in some private travel through AbhiBus, and rached the bus-stop half an before the scheduled departure but to my surprise that bus service has been cancelled. After inquiring with the local people, i came to know that the service had been cancelled one month before only and the worst part is , i had to call the AbhiBus people and inform them that the particular bus service is not running for the past one month.So to my frustration i had scolded them, but no use... except a sorry and a refund. After that, fortunately there was one vacancy in another travels, so having no option, had to come in that and finally reached Hyderabad on Monday morning ... with a bunch beautiful photos captured thorough my SLR :)Positives : Reachability, Easy to get accommodation, Availability of Bicycles and scooters for Rent, Beauty of the historical temples and monuments, and last but not the least beautiful foreign girls :)Negatives : Have to walk a lot if you dont take bicycle or scooter,

Hope you like it..!
Photo of Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India by Ganeshreddy Indireddy
Photo of Hospet, Karnataka, India by Ganeshreddy Indireddy
Photo of Hampi, Karnataka, India by Ganeshreddy Indireddy
Photo of Hampi, Karnataka, India by Ganeshreddy Indireddy
Photo of Hampi, Karnataka, India by Ganeshreddy Indireddy

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