Hampi was a medieval town in Southern India under the Vijayanagar Empire . It was build in the time of 14 th century and has lots of magnificent Hindu temples in the ruins of hampi . It is a UNESCO World Heritage site and famous for it’s ancient hindu temples and different sculptures . This city has been stretched on both the sides of the river Tungabhadra . All around Hampi you can see very big bolders of the granite scattered here and there .
According to ancient Hindu Epic Ramayana the fight between the Monkey hero Bali and Sugriv happens here and the big boulders were scattered because of that fight . Hanuman also born in the Anjanya Hill of Hampi and in this part of the world first Rama and Lakhman meet Hanuman . For that reason this place has been very important from the religious perspective also . It has all together 35 – 40 places to visit inside the ruins of Hampi and around the place .
How to reach Hampi ?
Ruins of Hampi are situated in the Middle part of the Karnataka which is situated 340 km from Bengaluru , 380 km from Hyderabad and 657 km from the chennai city . It can be reached by Road , Train and air from different parts of Indian .
Nearest domestic airport to the Ruins of Hampi is Hubli Domestic Airport which is 166 km from Hampi and the international airport is kempedowda international airport in bengaluru city which is 362 km from the Ruins of Hampi .
Nearest train station to the Ruins of Hampi is Hospet and it is 13 km from the ruins of Hampi . Govt buses are not going to the every place in Hampi . From Hospet buses running towards the Gangavatti town are passing through the Hampi .
Buses running from all the major cities in southern India like bengaluru , chennai , mumbai , pune and Hyderabad .
Autos are the popular mode of transport to explore different parts of Hampi . Autos are moderately expensive in the city of Hampi .
For traveling inside the ruins of Hampi there is sharing Golf car also .
One of the the best option to travel around the ruins of Hampi is by bicycle for the solo travelers like me . You can get lots of cycle renting shop in the main city center in Hampi near virupakshya temple . They rented bicycle at very cheap here . but be very careful when driving in the roads of hampi as the roads are up and down and there is lots of sand in the road which can lead to a accident . I personally broke my hand in a accident .
Where to stay in Hampi ?
Sites of Hampi are spread very widely and there is lots of Hostels and Homestays in Hampi . But before choosing any accommodation better to see the location of that place because the property I choose was very far from the ancient site and it requires lots of effort and energy to reach that place . Normal Public buses were reluctant to stop there .
Better to take hotel or home stay in the center of the old city . In this place most of the Hostels and the Home stay were located . You may be finding expensive option in this place in online hotel booking but you come here you will get lots of cheap option to stay . I make a mistake of not searching offline booking option in the old city inside Hampi .
places to visit in the Ruins of Hampi :
Vijaya Vitthal Temple :
Vijaya Vitthal Temple is one of the most popular and the biggest temple in the Ruins of Hampi build in the earlier 15 th century by the Vijayanagara king Devaraya 2 . The whole temple complex was surrounded by high wall . Stone chariot , Musical pillar , Thousend pillar Mandap , kalyana Mandapa , sabha mandapa and Narasimha Mandapa are the places to visit in this place .
Stone Chariot inside this temple is one of the magnificent structure inside the temple . King Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagara Empire build it in the 16 th century influenced by the stone chariot of Orissa . This was build for the devine bird Garuda .
Musical pillars are another wonders of this temple . When you tap those pillar with hand , then It will produces musical nodes of different types . Unfortunately , now general public can not touch this pillars . It has been protected it for the future generations .
This temple is opened between 8 :30 am to 5 :30 pm daily and cost Rs 30 INR per ticket for Indian citizen
Vitthal Bazar :
It is situated near to the Vijaya Vittal temple . It is a 942 meter long and 40 meter wide Bazar . In the time of Vijayanagara Empire this was used to be a flourishing market . In this market different types of Horses and animals were traded . You can see on the both sides of the central road there is structure of old shops .
Virupakshya Temple :
Virupakshya temple is a 7 th century temple dedicated to the Lord Virupakshya which is a fierce form of God Shiva . This is the main religious center inside the ruins of Hampi . This temple was existed here far older than the Vijayanagar Empire .
It’s multi storied Gopuram is one of the architectural marvel inside Hampi . It is situated just beside the river tungabhadra . For crossing that river you can use the coracle boat or motor boat ride .
This temple is opened from 6 am – 1 pm and 5 pm – 9 pm and entry to this temple is free .
King’s Balence :
The rectangular frame made of the stone pillar . You can see a weight measuring system . It is used on the occasion of Tulapurush dana .
In the ancient india there is a tradition of donating valuable materials of the weight of a persons . This frame with long stick and seating arrangement is used to measure the weight of the valuable materials equals to the king’s weight and later donated those items in some special occasion .
King and his consort used to donate valuable materials in the special occasion or in the religious festivals .
Wish Tree :
There is a old banyan tree beside the Tungabhadra river . There is a unique tradition , first developed among the tribal people of this area . They place a stone inside a small cloth and wrapped it in the branches of a tree .
They unwrapped the stone and the cloth when the wish has been fulfilled . Now a days lots of tourists do like this so the tree has been filled with this types of cloths and rocks .
Sugriv’s Cave :
This cave is , some how related to the story of Ramayana . Inside the cave there is a bed rock and two foot print of the monkey king Sugriv .
This is the exact place where the Monkey king sugriva showed sita’s(wife of rama ) bangles to Rama . Sita was kidnapped by Ravana and taken her to the Lanka in the air way . At that time sita throw her jewellery to mark the way .
Kadalekalu Ganesha :
This Ganesha statue has a very big belly . It has four hands and on those hands there is tusk , goods , noose and a bowl .
This sculpture has been build in the 15 th century and It is a monolithic structure build from a solid block of a stone .
Badaviling Temple :
It is the largest shiva linga in the complex of Hampi . This shiva linga was curved from a single rock and it was 3 meter in height . It was commissioned by a poor woman of that community.
Laxmi Narasimha Temple :
This is the idol of the Narasimha who is the fourth reincarnation of the God Vishnu . He is seated on the adishesha and the seven serpants looks like the hood of this sculpture .
The roof of this building collapses for the weathering . So the right hand of the sculpture was broken by the weathering . The statue was build in the year 1528 by the Vijayanagara King Krishnadevaraya .
Royal Enclosure :
This are the buildings which are the part of the King and his families private place . In this area there was all together 43 buildings , among them there are palaces , temples , bathing place , audience hall and under ground chambers . This all were the part of the Royal enclosure of Hampi .
Queens Bath :
This Queens Bath place is situated in the Royal Center of the ruins of Hampi .This place was build by the King Achuta Raya for the bathing place of the royal family .
Inside the structure there is a pool sized 15 sq meter . In the older days there was fresh water connection flows from a water body . All the structure was surrounded by a moat .
Hazara Rama Temple :
This is the only temple situated inside the Royal enclosure and dedicated to Lord Rama . Main attraction of this temple is the bas-relics which describes the story of the Ramayana . This are really beautiful and all the walls are filled with this bas – relics . This relics are very prominent and detailed in figure .
The stepped Tank :
This multi Layered stepped well is situated inside the Royal Enclosure . It has a square shape and beautiful decoration steps and wall . It has all together 7 layers and It was mainly used for the Ceremonial purpose .
Elephant Stable :
Hampi Elephant Stable is a very big building with 11 chambers . In each chamber two elephants can be accommodate . It was build in the 15 th century .
This is the place where Royal elephants were accommodated and trained .
Anjaneya Hill :
Anjaneya Hill is the birth place of Lord Hanuman . For that reason lots of pilgrimage comes here . It is situated in the top of that hill . It requires almost 1 and half hour to reach to the temple from the ground by trekking .
Summary :
Hampi is the ancient capital of the Vijayanagara Empire and was build in the 15 th century . Inside Hampi there are lots of Temples , caves and sculptures which are contemporary to the Vijayanagara Empire . This place also has the religious significance in the story of Ramayana . Kishkinda Kanda of Ramayana happens in this place . All around the Hampi you can see large boulders were scattered . Accordingly mythology this are the result of the fight between the Bali and Sugriva . Famous pilgrimage place and the birth place of Lord Hanuman Anjaneya Hill is situated here .
