paryatane in pampapura

Pampapura (Hampi) :

    Hampi is a village in northern Karnataka state, India. It is located within the ruins of Vijayanagara, the former capital of the Vijayanagara Empire. Predating the city of Vijayanagara, it continues to be an important religious centre, housing the Virupaksha Temple, as well as several other monuments belonging to the old city. The ruins are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed as the Group of Monuments at Hampi.The name is derived from Pampa, which is the old name of the Tungabhadra River on whose banks the city is built. The name "Hampi" is an anglicized version of the Kannada Hampe (derived from Pampa). Over the years, it has also been referred to as Vijayanagara and Virupakshapura.

   Hampi formed one of the core areas of the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565, when it was finally laid siege to by the Deccan Muslim confederacy. Hampi was chosen because of its strategic location, bounded by the torrential Tungabhadra river on one side and surrounded by defensible hills on the other three sides.
    Hampi is situated on the banks of the Tungabhadra river. It is 353 km from Bangalore and 74 km away from Bellary. Hosapete (Hospet), 13 km away, is the nearest railway head.

Day 1 (12/08/2011):-

    We left from home around 9:00 PM to Majestic expecting traffic jam because of long weekend. As expected got stuck in traffic jam near majestic. Fearing we might be late for the bus to Hospet, we started walking towards Majestic. But our bus was late by an hour and finally we left Majestic at 12:00 AM.

Day 2 (13/08/2011):-

 We reached Hospet at 6:30 AM.  Did not have a pleasant journey as the road condition was bad. We booked room in Hotel Shanubhog. Freshened up, had our breakfast and took a bus to Hampi at 9:00 AM. Hospet to Hampi is a 45 minutes ride in the bus. We reached Hampi and started exploring the place by walk. It was  pretty cloudy and breezy day.

Sasivekalu Ganesha Temple

Virupaksha Temple

he was in the vicinity too 

There was a procession going

Every stone had a story to tell

Ruins of Hampi

Colourful gods

The place is full of rocks and ruins

An astrologer looking for business

There was a lake too

And a small temple on the banks of the lake

   We had a late lunch and rested for a while. Did some shopping. It had become overcast by evening and there was no chance of getting a clear sky for sun set. More over we were not prepared for a rain, so we left from Hampi back to Hospet. Reached hotel room by 5:30 PM. Didnt do much in the evening, had an early dinner and went to bed.

Day 3 (14/08/2011):-

  Plan for the day was to explore Hampi Island (Virupaksha Gaddi). We woke up leisurely at 7:00 AM and finished our daily chores. Had breakfast and left for Hampi at 9:00 AM. We reached Hampi at 10:00 AM and took a boat and crossed Tungabadra river to reach Hampi Island. We hired a TVS moped here to commute across the Island. It was bit cloudy and cool breeze was keeping the Island chill. We enjoyed the ride and reached a lake in some time. 

Lake in Hampi Island

   Lake was filled to the limits because of recent rains in the area and surroundings had a shade of green and brown. We took some pictures here, enjoyed the calmness of the place and good weather and left from there.

   We reached the base of Anjanadri Hill. It is believed that this is the birthplace of Lord Hanuman. Here you have to climb 550 steps to reach the top of the mountain to visit the holy temple. We began our climb, weather was getting hotter but the cool breeze helped us to go on. 

Steps to reach the top of Anjanadri hill

  Steps here are narrow and climb is steep. Recommended to cover this place early in the morning to avoid harsh sun. But once we reached the top of the hill we were greeted with some breath taking view of entire Island and Tungabadra river. It is worth a climb.

useful information 

Panoramic view of island from top of Anjanadri Hill 

Colorful door at the rear of the temple

Anjanadri temple

Met him on our way down from the hill

Our ride in the Island

I was told this was a royal house during Vijayanagara empire era

View of Hampi from other side of Tungabadra river

   We had a nice banana leaf lunch in the Island and came back to the river bank. Crossed the river and came back to Hampi.  Weather was very hot and stomach was full. We found a shady place and took rest for some time. Sky was clearer today, i was hoping for a good sunset. 

He too was resting under a tree

   We waited for almost 2 hours for the sunset and when it happened the entire Hampi was looking majestic. I enjoyed clicking some very nice pictures of this wonderful place. This is one of the best places to enjoy the sunset though it is no where near the sea shore.

   After a wonderful sunset we left from Hampi and reached our hotel room at Hospet at 7:30 PM. Took a hot water shower to get rid of the day's tiredness. Had an early dinner and hit the sack to end a wonderful day.

Day 4 (15/08/2011):-

    

Happy Independence Day

   We woke up late, freshened up, finished our breakfast and reached Hampi at 10:15 AM. We hired a Kinetic Honda for the day's commute. On recommendation  of a local guide went in search of Heritage Village, when we reached there we realized that it is a resort. Disappointed, we returned back. On our way we stopped at Malapanagudi and visited the Mallikarjuna Temple.

Mallikarjuna Temple, Malapanagudi

     And it was time for our second realization of the day. The scooter we had hired was a bundle of trouble. It was refusing to start even after umpteen number of tries. We called the rental company and waited for their mechanic to arrive and finally the scooter was fixed and we left from temple at 12:30 PM. 

     

We stopped by a lake side on our way back

   We had lost a lot of time in the morning and had a lot of places to cover before evening as it was our last day at Hampi. 

   We stopped by another heritage site and was disappointed to see the way it is maintained. We left quickly as we still had a lot to cover and hot weather and trouble some vehicle was not helping the cause one bit. We reached Royal Center and parked our vehicle. Refreshed ourselves with a Nimbu juice. 

   

Mahanavami Dibba, this is where King used to sit to watch the Dasara festival celebration

    

Stepped Tank and public bath area

Queen's bath

Lotus Mahal

Mohammadan Watch Tower

Elephant Stable

Watch Tower

Another watch tower which is at the highest point of Hampi

Ugra Narasimha

Bee eater of Royal Center

 met this old lady who helped us with directions

    Time was 5:00 PM and it was time for another realization. We had not had lunch and both were very hungry. Scooter again refused to start and after some perseverance it finally budged. We returned the trouble maker to its lawful owner and had some snacks. And it was realization time again, final one at Hampi; we had missed the Stone Chariot. We had no time, no energy and no patience left to go in search of it. We left Hampi and reached Hospet by 7:00 PM. Freshened up, went out for a walk and dinner. Came back from dinner and packed our bags and boarded the bus back to Bangalore at 10:30 PM.