Hampi sorted out……….
When I heard the name Hampi from my friend who is from Karnataka, I had no idea what it is. That’s the first time I read about it. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site in northern part of Karnataka. Going through Google pictures and Wikipedia I got fully excited.
So me and my friends planned a trip to the cluster of places around it. Basically we covered four places (Hampi , Badami, Aihole and Pattadikal) in three full days.
The entire visiting areas in Hampi is spread over 10 sq kms and at least have 90 plus places as attractions to see. No one can cover all the above given our limited time. So we referred the books of ASI and googled a lot and listed out must see places and sorted it out according to their locations so that we could cover the must see places without any loss of time.
The selection of these places by us are just based on blogs of people who have visited and information on many websites. Even though detailed information is available in plenty about all the places and its location , choosing the places and making an optimum itinerary out of them is a difficult task especially in the case of Hampi. So I thought of sharing of what we have done so that it may be of use for others.

Below is the itinerary along with some learnings
Hospete is the place where we stayed. It is 10 km from Hampi. Its is the place which is connected to Railways and there is a Hubbali express reaching there by 7 am from Bangalore. There are good hotels to stay both near railway station as well as bus stand.
There are buses every 15 minutes from Hospete to Hampi by Karnataka Transport corporation. Tickets are very cheap and it is not that crowded also. But it takes little longer compared to Private vehicle. However the route is so green and full of vegetation. So if we go in monsoon its definitely worth spending that time in bus.
DAY 1at Hampi (Ist day)
The bus dropped us at Hampi bazaar . Actually the name bazaar because it used to be a bazaar during Vijayanagar period. As of now it’s just a bus stand with the typical tourist shopping items like souvenir, hats and toys. We have few options to roam around this area – Walk, bicycle and two wheeler on rent, Auto rickshaw and cab. Always we end up using combination of these.
First half day can be covered majorly by walk. The list goes like this.
1. The Virupaksha temple – The temple tower we can just see while getting down from the bus.Just follow that.
2. Hemakutta temple , Two storey Mandapam and sun set view- After covering 1 ,immediate to the right of the temple with little uphill climbing .It is equally good in day time also. The view of the gustly flowing Thungabhatra at the background of Virupaksha is just stunning.
3. After that walking a little ahead is two Vinayaka temples-sasivekalu and kadavaekalu.
Then walk back to bazaar area. Simple and very affordable food available in those make shift outlets.
After lunch hire an auto/cycle/two wheeler. The more we bargain the better it is. Always keep it to your list. Because Auto drivers will show the places convenient to them. They have no idea of how much time available to us. The following are the places to be covered in the order of their location from Hampi Bazaar.
1. Krishna temple and the bazaar opposite.
2. Badavilina temple and Lakshmi Narayana temple, (Then after travelling a little distance, the below places
3. Queens bath
4. Kings enclosure-Entering in that Stepped tank, Kings Audience also can be covered
5. Zanana Enclosure , Lotus Mahal, Watch towers and Elephant Stables in the same campus.
6. Sarawathi temple and the Octoganal Tank
7. Hazara Rama Temple

Then come back to Hampi Bazaar. The last bus leaves at 6.30 pm to Hospete.
DAY 2 at Hampi(3rd Day)
Again the bus drops at Hampi Bazaar. Walk towards opposite side of Virupaksha temple.
1. The monolithic Bull (Its just at the other end of the road in front of the Virupaksha temple tower)
2. The Kothanda Rama Temple (Few metres before monolithic bull , there is a left turn leading to it. Walk along , it will reach the very banks of Thungabadhra, which is so serene and magnificient. The temple also right at the river bank)
3. The Achutharama Temple (Walking a little ahead, towards right is this temple, after finishing that , we have to come back to the same lane and continue ahead along the banks of the river)
4. The Vittala Temple( One of the best places, within which the musical mandapam and The stone Chariots are there)
5. Old Siva Tempe, Kudure Gombe, Gejjala Mandapa Etc; All these on the way from vittala temple tower towards the main road from where we can take auto rickshaws.
On the way we had lunch at Green Restaurant at Kamalapura. It has beautiful ambience and a lot of varieties at very affordable price given the remote location. Actually there are many available. This was our choice and I would recommend also.
6. Pattabirama temple –Near Kamalapura can be covered before coming back to Hampi bazaar.
7. Matanga Hills- Just to the right side of Monolithic bull(where we started today morning) a flight of steps and then a little difficult climbing leads to the top of Matanga hill. The view from there is unexplainable in words. Just enjoy and absorb the beauty of nature and history together.

Then walk back to Hampi bazaar and reach Hospete.

Other places (2nd Day)
BADAMI
Unlike Hampi, there is no need to do much research on Badami. Because all spots are at one place and everything is must seen.It takes three hours from Hospete to Badami and approximately three hours to cover the places.

1. Badami caves (Just at the entrance of the campus to the right side)
2. The Agastya Lake ( Just after coming out of the gates at the end of the campus near the tomb and Dargah , on the right side is a flight to steps leading to the lake. No need to take auto or walk inside the village to reach.)
3. Archaelogical Museum and Lower and upper shivalaya ( On the same side of lake where we entered , at the other end is a small gateway leading to the entry of the above. Reaching Upper shivalaya requires little climbing.But the view from there is not something to be missed)
4. The Mallikarjuna Temple( Coming out of the museum walk ahead . )
5. The Bhoothnath temple (At the other end of the agatya lake, next after Mallikarjuna temple).

PATTADIKAL
This place doesn’t even take the efforts of Badami. All inside a compound wall. Ten plus temples of different types of architecture and a beautiful surrounding.
(Note : Aihole we could not cover completely. So its not fair to comment on it)

Before concluding , Reading the Entire history of the place helps us to appreciate the places more. Also knowing the speciality of each monument and identifying the same there makes it fun as well as good learning experience.

Hope you find it useful.