Virapapur Gadde or Hampi Island, also known as Hippie Island in Hampi, is a small place located across the Tungabhadra River, separating the historical part from an area with a smooth rhythm.
It’s the best and only place to find a Guesthouse in all Hampi, nearby the ruins, from the majority of the highlights and, most of all, in a perfect place to relax in the middle of nature.
"Hampi is located on the Deccan plateau, which is one of the oldest and most stable geographical formations in the world. Part of an area known as the Dharwar craton, this region of the plateau comprises rocks dated to be about 2.5 billion years old"
WHERE IS THE HISTORICAL CITY HAMPI?
Hampi, the historical and mythological city is located in Karnataka. From Bengaluru, the distance of Hampi is about 365 km and from Hyderabad, it is 380 km. So you can easily access the place from both Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Hospet is the nearest town. Thus Hampi can serve as a great weekend destination from Bangalore and Hyderabad.
Hippie island is about 6 hours of drive from Bengaluru(capital of Karnataka). We reached island by 04:00 in the morning it was quiet cold and blissful to see the sun rising up slowly from the paddy flied.
Our stay was at Jungle Tree Resort Hampi, which was quiet clean and easy on pocket. Management needs to improve on cleanliness.
Day one was to actively explore the hippieness in the island which we started with breakfast at German Bakery. Name the dish you want from Germany this place has everything from Zwieback Pancakes to Farmer’s Omelet. One of the recommended breakfast joint in Hippie island.
After the heavy breakfast now it's time to explore the art work around the cafes which is made from recycle materials. Reduce! Reuse! and Recycle! is the mantras in island.
When you are at banks of Tungabhadra and you can't miss the Coracle ride at Tungabhadra backwaters. This ride gives you 360 degree view of Hampi boulders.
And now it's time for lunch at Top Secret Cafe - Sipping cold coffee with some yummy pasta's and burgers along with paddy flied backdrop is much needed when you're on a holiday!
So calories are loaded up and needs to be burned in productive way. Visit Bukka's aqueduct - Hampi has an extensive network of aqueducts and canals that spreads across the whole area. It is a wonder that the rulers of the Vijayanagara Empire had managed to build such an intriguing network of waterways that reached each and every corner of Hampi.
Relaxation at Anjanadri hill with mesmerizing sunset view is a must after a day which was completely filled with bunch of activities.
When the sun goes down, actual rhythm of hippie rises! The lively drum jam sessions, movie nights, endless green lassi intakes and yes! rave parties with fire stunts on the hilltop with fellow travelers from across the globe all over the night.
After bringing out the hippie inside you, now it's time to explore the ruins of the mighty Vijayanagar dynasty - The Hampi
The place has everything that could possibly pull us towards itself – the story of a lost kingdom, architectural marvels from our past that we could boast of and a rugged yet alluring landscape. Hampi being a UNESCO World Heritage site was an added attraction.
Before you engross yourself in the ruins, load your breakfast at any of the local tiffin shops. List of historical architectures is endless in Hampi, below are very few must visit monuments when you're in the Vijayanagar empire for a weekend
Sri Virupaksha Temple - The Virupaksha Temple in Hampi is dedicated to lord Shiva. This temple was constructed in Lakkana Dandesha’s assistance who was a commander under King Deva Raya II. The Inverted Shadow of Virupaksha Temple Gopuram is another mystery that is found in Hampi is the inverted shadow of the gopuram at Virupaksha temple. It is a 52 meter high, 9 storied structure.
Ugra Narasimha Swamy Statue - Being the largest statue in Hampi, it depicts Lord Narasimha in a terrifying or angry form. This monolithic structure, which is 6.7 m in height, has the lord sitting cross-legged position on the coil of a giant seven-headed snake Adishesha. Originally the statue also had Goddess Lakshmi sitting on lord’s lap, but according to history it was vandalized and damaged in the year 1565. The statue of Goddess Lakshmi can now be seen in Kamalapura Museum.
Hampi Bazar - Hampi Bazaar is a unique attraction of Hampi. Both sides of the street have a series of very old pavilions, some single storied and others two storied. These buildings were once the part of a booming market and houses of the upper class merchants. It was once a place where merchants used to sell precious stones, jewelry, silk clothes, etc. during Vijayanagara rule
Queens Bath - For some mysterious reasons this was called as the queen’s bath. But in all probability this was a royal pleasure complex for the king and his wives.
Lotus Mahal - It is one of the fine architectural designed palaces that are uniquely identified by its lotus look like structure. This glorious building is within the Zenana Enclosure, a segregated area that is used by the royal women of Vijayanagara Dynasty.
Vijaya Vittala Temple - The Vittala temple is assumed to be the grandest of all the temples and monuments at Hampi. The temple showcases the immense creativity and the architectural expertise. This temple has some beautiful stone structures - like the stone chariot which cannot be described in words and the interesting musical pillars.
Elephant Stables - This long building with a row of domed chambers was used to ‘park’ the royal elephants. There are 11 domed tall chambers; some of them are inter- connected.
Lunch was at Mango Tree Hampi very close to Virupaksha Temple and Hampi bazar. South Indian meals with lassi/buttermilk is feast for belly.
As always we need some reason to come back, we left few historical wonders unexplored and started our journey back to Bengaluru. Hampi will be missed until next time!
Sasivekalu Ganesha Temple - The Ganesha is seen in a half-lotus position with four arms. The right and left hand at the upper side holds a goad and a broken tusk. The top right hand of the statue holds a sweet (modak) the left hand is portrayed with a noose. A large mandapa is covering the statue at the top with a rough wall covering pillars around it.
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