Hampi is a world heritage site and there are millions of pages dedicated to Hampi. This travel guide will avoid repeating information that is already available and instead provide you with practical guide to navigate around Hampi

Reaching Hampi :
From Bangalore :

By Train : Take a train to Hospet (Click here for detailed timings )
By Car : Hampi is  360 Kms from Bangalore by road - Click here for detailed route map
By Bus :There are luxury buses to Hopset from Bangalore operated by KSRTC
From Goa:
By Train : Trains operate from Madgoan in Goa to Hospet. Click here for detailed timings

• Choose to walk around. This is advisable only if can bear the extreme hot weather
• Hire a Cycle or a Moped – Many local entrepreneurs let out cycles and mopeds. Cycles cost around Rs. 40 a day and mopeds around Rs. 350 a fday (excluding petrol)
• Hire a Autorickshaw for a day Rs. 400. The driver will also act as your informal guide.

Guides: As soon as you reach Hampi, plenty of guides will approach you. It is advisable to hire a guide, especially the Govt. approved guides. Please call regional tourist office (08394 – 28537) and ask them to suggest a guide.

Suggested Two-Day Hampi Itinerary

Day One:
You can start by getting down at Hampi Bazar (which is just a small lane. It is a good place to pick your Hampi Map. The best bookstore is the one going by the name “Aspiration Store”.  Hampi Bazar leads to the famous Virupaksha Temple.

Virupaksha temple, built in Dravidian style with large Gopuram, is one of the few temples at Hampi, where the deity is still worshipped. It is said that Virupaksha temple was saved from the destruction of Muslim rulers thanks to a divine intervention. In the rear right exit of the temple is an ancient pinhole from where one can see the inverted image of the temple gopuram.

From Virupaksha temple, head to Hemakutam hill. There are many Jain temples nearby and after visiting the Jain temples, proceed to Badavi Linga temple, which houses 12 feet tall Shiva Linga made of blackstone. Much pictured statue of Ugra Narasimha is close by. The statue was partially damaged during the pillage that happened after the fall of Vijayanagar empire. Even the partially damaged statue is exquisite with Lord Narashima in Yogic pose with snakes protecting him.

From here head to Kamalapura, which is 4 kms away. Along the way, you will come across many of the ruins and natural stone formation including the interesting Akka – Thangi Betta (Translated rocks of statues). Local legend has it that two sisters were cursed to become rocks because they insulted Hampi!
At Kamalapura, start at Queen’s bath, where women of royal harem used to take bath and spend hours at leisure in the flower filled water of the pond. Numerous decorated aqueducts open into the pond and in bygone days, perfumed water used to flow from these aqueducts.

From the Queen’s bath, you can move to Zenana Enclosure. Zenana enclosure was made for royal women to protect their privacy. Key highlight of Zenana Enclosure is the Lotus Palace, has an interesting architecture of a half blossomed lotus flower. A well-maintained lawn surrounds the Lotus Palace and the palace itself is illuminated at night.
By now, it would be close to sunset and there are many sunset viewpoints in Hampi, but the most spectacular is the one atop Matanga Hills. To catch the sunset, head to Matanga hill (back to near Virupaksha Temple complex) well in advance as there is a small climb to reach the hilltop. The climb can be moderately steep for first timers but the view from the top is worth every effort. At the foothills of Matanga Hills is the sacred Kodandarama temple. This is a holy place as legend has it that Lord Rama vanquished Vali here.

Post sunset, you can go for Coracle ride near the Kodandarama temple and head back to your hotel

Day Two:
You can start with a visit to Vithala temple, which is one of the most famous architecture showpieces of Hampi. If you are an early riser, a walk from Bazar to Vithala temple is highly recommended. Enroute, you will find Sugreeva cave, where Sugreeva was supposed to have resided.
Vithala temple is an architecture marvel with two key attractions – Musical Pillars and the stone chariot. There are 56 pillars in all at Vithala temple of which forty-six of them are music pillars. The music pillars create musical notes of various instruments (of Jaltaranga, Mridanga and other instruments). The wonder is in the fact that all these pillars are solid and not hollow. The height, length and weight of the pillars are carefully calculated to produce the exact musical note. Music Pillar stands testimony to the ingenuity of ancient Indian craftsmen.

Hampi Stone chariot, placed just outside the Vithala temple is iconic and has almost become the symbol of world heritage sites in India. The chariot holds the idol of Garuda. The sculpted elephants give an impression of drawing the chariot. The greatest wonder of the stone chariot is the fact that it can actually move. Though currently the wheels are cemented.
Much of the temple complex is in ruins as the Muslim rulers intentionally destroyed much of Hampi’s architecture wonder, after defeat of Vijaynagar rulers in the battle of Talikota.
Southwest to the Vithala temple is the King’s balance, where the reigning King would be weighed and equivalent amount of gold or food grains would be distributed to the poor. It is a common practice in South India and is called “Thula Bharana”
From the King’s Balance, you can head to Achuta Raya temple. This temple was one of the last ones to be built by the Vijayanagara Kings. It is in true Vijaynagar School of temple architecture with massive Gopura and intricately decorated walls. Achuta Raya temple opens into Courtesan Street. In local language it is called “Sule Beedi” (Street of Prostitutes). In the hey days of Vijayanagar empire, it was the street where merchants of gold, ivory and precious stones had their shops. It is rather unclear how it acquired the dubious name of Courtesan Street. From the Courtesan Street, one can take the river path and head back towards Kodanda Rama Temple

This itinerary does not cover all the attractions at Hampi, but drafted to help those who want to get the most of their two-day trip to Hampi.

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