Situated in the Karnataka state of south India, Hampi is a little town with rich historic value. Hampi is known as the “holy town” with over 1600 small or big ruins of ancient, stone-carved Hindu temples and other monuments. Every year tourists from allover the world visit Hampi and at times stay here for months, to explore and experience Indian culture, history, food and lifestyle. Hampi is one of the most popular travel destination for both foreign and Indian tourists and are visited almost all year round.

Best time to visit:

It is not advisable to visit Hampi during the summer season which is generally scorching and humid. Monsoon too is unadvisable in case this part of the country receives heavy rainfall. Checking the weather forecast is always recommended before planning a trip to Hampi. For example, we have visited on the 1st week of August in 2019, which was officially a monsoon season. We experienced occasional light showers but otherwise the weather was very pleasant and ideal for travelling. But just as we returned, within a week’s time it rained heavily and by the second week of August the entire area was heavily flooded.

I would suggest the best time being October to February, when the weather remains cooler and optimal for exploring. However, expect a lot of tourists during the winter months, especially during the weekends.

The intricate stone-carvings of Hampi

 

A short history:

The history of Hampi is known to be as old as the Mauryan empire. There were a few Buddhist rock inscriptions discovered here and in its nearby region those are believed to be from the time of Maurya king Ashoka. After that, different rulers and dynasties have ruled over this place, until 14th Century, when Hampi was brought to its true glory by the Vijayanagar dynasty. Legend says Hampi was raised by two brothers, King Harihara and Bukka, despite of the troubled political situation, when the islamic invasions shook most of India. Even in that troubled time, the Vijayanagar Kingdom continued to prosper as an independant reign, with Hampi as their capital. In the banks of Tungabhadra river they grew as one of the largest medieval cities in Southern India. Foreign trade, art, education and agriculture flourished with the patronage of the Vijayanagar rulers. The numerous stone-carved archaeological remains from this dynasty stand today as the evidence of the high class workmanship that was accomplished then.

The Hampi town is an UNESCO World Heritage site since 1986.

The Deccan rocks:

The Deccan rocks (balance rocks) of Hampi

Geographically Hampi is located in the heart of the Deccan Platue, with the amazing natural balance-rock formations visible everywhere in and around the town. These age-old granite rocks are another wonder of this place, apart from its historic importance. We felt that the balance rocks made by nature and the ancient stone-carved ruins made by men – endorsed each other righteously, visually making Hampi even more delightful!

These rock formations attract many travellers from around the world to hike, climb and camp around this area. However, please be cautious about exploring alone without proper guidance and knowledge, as these rocks are also home to Sloth Bears, Indian Leopards, Rock Pythons, Porcupines and numerous other insects, birds, mammals and reptiles. There is a Sloth Bear sanctuary in Hampi, that you may visit if you have an extra day’s time.

Touring in Hampi:

Before you make any plans or set any expectations you must know that Hampi is divided into two different parts, keeping Tungabhadra river in the middle.

The south side of the river is where the town centre is, with all major archaeological sites and temple ruins. This part of the town is also known as the “sacred town” and non-vegetarian food and alcohols are not allowed or available in this part. The north side of the river is known as the “hippie island”, which means whatever is not available on the south side of the holy river, are allowed here. By crossing the river you would be able to find a number of restaurants that serve alcohols and non-veg foods and not only that, the weekend evenings bring along a different kind of party scene with live-music shows.

South side of the river –

There are 1600+ ancient monuments in Hampi. This one in particular is known as “The Queen’s Bath”

 

The main Hampi town with most of the important temple ruins are situated in the southern side of the river. This is the part where tourism developed at its peak, with a great number of hotels, guest houses, home stays, food joints, market places and tourist help centres.

Eateries:

We found out that the taste and quality of food served almost everywhere in Hampi are very delectable. There are quite many amazing vegetarian restaurants here, one being the famous “Mango Tree” which serves delicious foods with a menu comprising of various Indian delicacies as well as food from around the world. This restaurant is highly recommended. We stayed in this part of the town in a little guesthouse just beside the Mango Tree restaurant, and ate almost all our breakfasts, lunches and dinners in there.

Check out our vlog for more details:

Transportation:

For touring in the south side and visiting the ancient archaeological sites, the easiest means of transportation is renting the local autos (some call them TukTuk). You can book the auto-rides with the same driver for a whole day or even for multiple days, and they would also work as your tour guide. At times they suggest places to visit, take you to good food joints and inform local stories and facts. We found out, that almost all the auto-drivers are quite efficient in communicating in English as well Hindi. A whole day tour in an auto costed us INR 800 (for 8 hours). Our auto-driver was called Crazy Boy 🙂 and he was a super guide!

We preferred booking two-wheelers (scooters) at first, but came to know that availability of two-wheelers in the south side of Hampi is less. A local auto driver told us that scooters need to be pre-booked from at least 2 days before even in low season, and in high season the waiting time could be more. It costs about INR 350 per vehicle plus petrol refill charges to rent scooters locally.

Renting bicycles is another option that are easily available. For an entire day a bicycle would cost you INR 150 and visiting the nearby group monuments, is achievable by cycling.

At Vitthala Temple, Hampi

 

Main attractions:

If you start early you may cover 60% of the most important attractions in a day. All the archaeological sites open for visitors at 9:30 Am to 5:30 Pm daily. There are over 1600 monuments here, and it is not possible to visit every bit in a day or two, but we suggest, at least keep 3 days for Hampi – 2 days on the south side and 1 day on the north. But the more the better 🙂

Virupaksha Temple

Right in the heart of the main Hampi Bazar, beside the river, you cannot miss a huge Gopuram structure with intricate stone carvings. That is the abode of Lord Virupaksha (Shiva) and is said to be the most sacred place in Hampi where people come to worship even in the present times. The Gopuram and walls inside the temple are all decorated with numerous stone-carved interpretations from Hindu mythology. This temple was originally small in structure, but was expanded in early 16th century AD by the rulers of Vijayanagar dynasty. It is a World Heritage monument. Only one thing we thought was very inappropriate and visually icky, that is, recently the temple management have painted the entire temple and its complex in yellow! It killed the charm of the stone-carved artworks and the historic look and feel of it.

View of Virupaksha Temple Gopuram, taken from Hemakuta hills, Hampi

 

Vitthala Temple Complex

Vitthala temple is probably the most important site here that projects ancient skilled artistry. This complex have multiple Mandapas (temples and structures). The main temple or the Maha-Mandapa is dedicated to Lord Vishnu that is presently closed to visitors. There are Devi Mandapa, the famous Stone Chariot in the middle of the complex, a 100-pillared hall and the Kalyana Mandapa (marriage hall). The shrines have exuberantly sculptured pillars. The unique feature of these pillars are that each of them are chiselled out of a single large stone, but fashioned in such a way that a single block of stone look like a group of pillars. There are musical pillars inside the halls of the main temple, each produce sound of different musical tune when tapped gently. This presently do not allow visitors for preservation needs.

Vitthala Temple – Cluster-pillared Mandapa (left); The Stone Chariot (right)

While walking towards the Vitthala Temple complex, you can see a few other important ruins. The first structure is the Gejjala temple right after the entrance to the area. There are ruins of stone made pathways on both sides of the street, leading from this temple toward the Vitthala temple. There is a large stone-made pond like structure which is known as Pushkarani. It is said that there was a market around this place in the ancient times. On the way to the main temple inside the Vitthala market there is a small temple known as Kudre Gombe with horses and horse-riders sculpted on its pillars. Close by there is a 2-storied Mandapa as well. Further beside the Vitthala temple main entrance, there is the famous King Balance. It is said that this structure used to weigh the king against precious gems, metals and stones on various occasions.

Achyutaraya Temple and Mathanga Hills

The Achyutaraya Temple is another famous temple with intricate carvings and multiple mandapas inside it’s complex similar to Vitthala temple. It is situated in the foothills of Mathanga Hills which is one of the highest hill in Hampi. It needs moderate level stamina to hike up to the top and enjoy a beautiful view below.

Close by there is the famous temple of the large Monolythic Bull.

 

Hemakuta Hills

The Hemakuta hills is known as the “sunset point” which also have a cluster of many small or big ancient monuments on top of it, and is a delightful place to visit in the evening to enjoy sunset and a panoramic view of the town. This is right beside Hampi main bazar (behind the Virupaksha temple). Two of the famous great Ganesha structures (Sasivekalu Ganesha and Kadalekalu Ganesha) are near this area.

Panoramic view from Hemakuta hills (Sunset Point), Hampi

Sister Rocks

Another interesting balance-rock formation in Hampi is the “Sister Rocks”. Since ages two gigantic rocks balanced on each other precariously. 3 years back one of them was cleaved into two, as the result of weathering. There is a local folktale which states that these two rocks were actually two human sisters, cursed to become rocks for eternity. The Sister Rocks can be seen on the way to the underground Shiva Temple, and if you are riding by auto, the driver would definitely stop here to tell you the story.

 

The ancient Elephant Stables, Hampi

Other Few:

A few other important sites are the Narasimha Shrine, Queen’s Bath, Zanana Enclosure, The Lotus Mahal, Elephant Stables and the Mahananavami Dibba. All are must visits and can be covered within a couple of days.

Hippie island (North Hampi) –

The beautiful view of Hippie island, North bank of Tungabhadra river, Hampi

The Northern part of the river has a different kind of cultural diversity! Vibrant markets, live music, happening shack-bars serving chilled beers and numerous open air restaurants attracts travellers from all over the world to the Hippie island.

To reach the Hippie island, local boats can be taken to cross the otherwise calm Tungabhadra river. Boats operate every day from 6 Am to 5:30 Pm at a one-way cost of INR 20 per head. After dark these boats do not operate officially. So if you are staying in the south side of the river, but want to experience the live music shows until late night in Hippie island, you must pre-book an auto-ride and travel for about extra 40 kms by a distant over bridge to cross the river at a one-way cost of INR 600 minimum.

Check out our vlog for more details:

Otherwise you may take the round coracle boats to cross the river at night, which is not recommended incase the river is full and deep. In the winter time the river remains comparatively shallow but generally these round boats do not operate during monsoon, and it is quite risky to take this ride after dark. There are quite a few hotels and home stays in the Hippie island, so staying here overnight is also possible in such situations. In high season, you should pre-book the rooms especially during weekends.

With heavy rainfall, the boating facilities to cross the river stop. In the situation of flood, Hippie island closes down completely.

Transportation:

For touring in the hippie side of Hampi two-wheelers or auto-rides are easily available. The two-wheelers can be booked right from the river banks at a cost of INR 350 per day plus fuel charges.

In this part of the town, a few historic remains could be spotted scattered here and there. We found out that in this part the temple ruins are not properly maintained like the southern side, which is quite unfortunate.

King Krishnadevaraya’s tomb, Anegundi, Hampi

Main attractions:

Nature is at its best in here! The rough Deccan rocks surround sheer green open rice fields here, with a number of villages alongside the river, which is absolutely stunning. Simply taking a long road-trip can be an amazing experience when travelling in the Hippie island.

 

Anegundi is one of the important village situated in the northern banks of the river, which claims to be as ancient as the Kishkinda dynasty (from the time of Ramayana). This is believed to be the ancient Monkey Kingdom as per mythology. There is an excavation site here where prehistoric Rock Art was found. Apart from that there is the very ancient ruins of Kishkinda Old Bridge which is a thrilling site to visit. There are remains of the Anegundi Fort from the Vijayanagar kingdom that is a must visit, as well the Anjanyea Hills which is believed to be birth place of Hanumana. There is a Hanumana Temple on this hill, famously known as the Monkey temple. Near the village, on the river banks, there is also the tomb of King Krishnadevaraya, which is a place with great historic importance, but we felt it was very poorly maintained.