Trip to Hampi - Part 2: Day 1 itenerary

 7^th December, Saturday

“Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe.” – Anatole France

 

Hampi was always on my mind but the plan was never materialized. This unusual secret place is still hidden and tourists yet to hit this place in decent statistics. However, this place is heaven among bloggers and photographers. The best part of this place is that it is not very commercialized and thus moving in this sacred zone will give you a feeling of entering in different era. I was dreaming that some magical time machine has transported me to older times like it happen in movies.

Hospet is a nearest Railway station. I have booked my tickets 2 months in advance this time to ensure the availability of tickets. I have booked ticket from Hyderabad to Hospet on 6^thDeember, Friday in Kacheguda (KCG) – YesvantpurJn (YPR) express. We were 2 people, me and my wife. This train started at 9 pm from Hyderabad and reached Hospet. at 6: 30 am. From Hospet, Hampi is 13 km. and one can take auto or local bus or auto for Bus stand which is 1.5 km and from here, one can take the bus to Hampi. We decided to go by Auto and reached Hampi at 8 am.

I was flabbergasted by the rustic sight-seeing of the route.

“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.”
― Gustave Flaubert

While going, one can really feel that he is going to the interior of the countryside. When we reach Hampi, there were 3 options of selecting guest house/hotel.

1.  Either you can choose to stay across the river but generally the foreigners who came here for long time stays there. Once you cross the river, the culture is altogether different. It is very Gaon kind of culture although alcohol is banned in Hampi but you can find alcohol in many hotels across the river who charges a premium. Also, generally, alcohol is not available for Indians; only foreigners get it somehow or may be the people are reluctant to open among Indians. We were here for 2days only so we rejected this place.

2. Near Bus stand, there were good no. of guest houses here but I was already convinced about staying in Hampi Bazaar. View is great from this area but in my opinion it can be compromised for the other things you get if you stay at Hampi Bazaar,

3. The third one is Hampi Bazaar which is no doubt the best place to stay in almost all the respects. Guest houses here provide a very good view of river and temple. There are no hotels here, people have constructed 2, 3 rooms in their houses only. We stayed in Gori guest house in front of Kiran guest house which was irresistibly, homely. Prefer to stay on rooftop. 

Our cute Moped

Once the room was finalized, we took bath and started our tour at 9 am. We rent a TVS Moped for 150 bucks/day and purchased the petrol from the same guy who charged a premium. Although the bikes were available, we prefer it because it gives me a feeling of slow and ancient times. We did not prefer bicycle because we did not have enough time and may be stamina (of which I am not sure) to explore by bicycle.

Fun Moments at Road

We hired Moped from Virupaksha temple and also came to know that all the other sites closes at 6 pm but Virupaksha temple will remain open at 8pm. So, we started our journey from Mustard Ganesha. After visiting this fabulous temple, we headed straight to Krishna temple which is very near. Then we visited Queen’s bath, Lotus Mahal, Elephant Stable, HazaraRanachandra Temple, Royal enclosure, Vitthala and many more monuments which I cover in different posts.

“Travel teaches toleration.” – Benjamin Disraeli

Rustic Roadside

All the monuments are located at 6 Km circular road but this circular road is connected with foot path only at the very end. So, if you are exploring by bike/moped, you have to trace back this road after visiting all the monuments. And if you walk down the places, so the roads will converge at the end and you don’t have to trace back. 

This route is fantastic with no heavy traffic and rustic settings. 

Heavy Banana Plantation and Coconut plantation looks amazing

After visiting all these places, we were exploring the city on Moped and reached at the place from where the coracle boat starts. It was already 6 pm. We have scheduled for that trip the other day but we decided to have a short tip on this boat as it was irresistible. Coracle boat union told us that they do not run the boat after 6 pm but 1 boatman agreed to give us a very short trip for 20 minutes. This was lifetime experience.

After that we went to visit Virupaksha temple and Hampi Tower.

Finally when we reached back to our guest house, we were very tired. We ordered for a tea and I bring some Pakoras from the Market. Now, nights do not have anything to offer in Hampi but to explore the markets and restaurants. Please note that days start early in Hampi and also ends early as generally in most of the villages.

We visited Chill out restaurant and Tom and Jerry. I was already aware about these restaurants and the best thing is they are very close to each other: 2 minutes’ walk and hence become possible for us to try both at the same time.

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Complete Hampi trip Posts Compilation so far

About Hampi and what to expect in Hampi

Day 1:

Day 1 Itinerary

Mustard Ganesha, Krishna Temple and Queen's Bath 

Vijaya Vittala Temple

Day 2:

Day 2: Itinerary 

Trek to Mathanga Hills

Day 3:

Day 3: Itinerary

Restaurants in Hampi