Hampi, also branded as the temple town of Northern Karnataka, is a UNESCO World Heritage site in India. It is also known as the city of ruins that reveals the Vijayanagara Empire. Positioned along the banks of Tungabhadra River, it was noted to be a flourishing, affluent and majestic city. Tourists consider that there are some really good places to visit in Hampi.
After the joint federation of Muslim Sultanates who far ahead looted and embezzled the possessions as well as the city, the grandeur of Vijayanagara was brought to a culmination by leaving behind relics to tell the saga of a magnificent bygone.
At present, the remnants entice a lot of nomads, historians, art fanatics and archaeology enthusiasts. Hampi and dwellings to stopover around its environs still resonate the unchanged ancient lavishness and abundance.
Top 10 Places To Visit In Hampi
1. Virupaksha Temple
Fostered during the 7th century, the striking architecture and history of the temple has made it a UNESCO World Heritage site. The temple is domicile to one of the appearances of Lord Shiva titled Lord Virupaksha.
The temple has a tabernacle or the holy domicile of devotion, a great hall with numeral pillars and 3 anterooms. There are enclosures, a pillared monastery, a small number of minor shrines; and entrance avenues encircling the temple. Amongst all the entryways, the eastern entrance is the majestic. It is nine-tiered and 50 meters in length. And these things make this temple one the best places to visit in Hampi.
Disclaimer!! Any kind of footwear is not permitted within the temple so if you feel uneasy, just slip on a fresh duo of socks and your good to go indoors and explore the temple.
2. Queen’s Bath
Yes you read that right! This is one of the most visited places in Hampi. A part of the Royal Arena, this water enclosure was the Royal wash all through the eras of the Vijayanagara Empire. The cloistered bathing space of the kings and the queens is quadrangular in nature and is enclosed by lavish galleries, each exhibiting a set of three frames. The profundity of the pool is six feet and has no ceiling but has rock ladders heading to the bed of the chamber.
3. Vijaya Vitthala Temple
Also known as the architectural wonder is a primeval memorial that is renowned for its incomparable construction and matchless dexterity. It is deliberated to be one of the biggest and the utmost prominent edifice in Hampi. The temple is situated in the north eastern fragment of Hampi, neighbouring the banks of the Tungabhadra River. The temple is undoubtedly one of the best places to visit in Hampi.
It is devoted to Lord Vitthala, an embodiment of Lord Vishnu. A statue of Vitthala-Vishnu was cherished in the temple. Folklore has it that the temple was constructed as a dwelling place for Lord Vishnu in his Vitthala appearance. Conversely, the Lord had stumbled upon the temple to be too splendid for his usage and had resumed to living in his personal unpretentious habitat.
The supreme alluring edifices of the temple are its pillars which once patted skilfully create melodious sounds. The prodigious architectural prodigy is also branded as 56 musical pillars with each column being crafted of stone. SAREGAMA Pillars is an additional tag given to them for their outlook creation.
A quick fact, the picture that you see imprinted on the back of a fifty rupees note, yes that’s this temple. Fascinating isn’t it? Now you located one of the picture printed on the notes that we use in our day-to-day lives!
4. Hampi Bazaar
For all the shopaholics out there, you would love to buy some artefacts, shawls, antique coins and many more things from this bazaar which is right outside on the road of Virupaksha Temple which sweeps for about a kilometre. The road transitory through the market has chains of deep-rooted porches on both sides. The locality used to be a blossoming marketplace during the times of the Vijayanagara Empire. Though the bazaar has lost much of its sparkle and connotation, it is still trendy amid the tourists.
The Hampi Bazaar was formerly the heart of thriving commerce. It was a carefully planned marketplace. The sequences of porches had well thought-out arrangement. Some of the porches were dual storied. It also had the dwellings of numerous opulent and chief persons of that era. It was a market that outfitted to the mandates of the affluent individuals as well as the communal multitudes. The market is amongst the top places to visit in Hampi.
Currently what remnants at Hampi Bazaar is merely an eclipse of its splendid antiquity.
5. Coracle Ride
I bet many of you might have seen this boat in a lot of erstwhile Bollywood movies. This not a place but an awesome experience. The coracle is one of the unpretentious and bizarre appearing boats yet fabricated for usage on our rivers. Down the eras it has been utilised for the whole enchilada from fishing and conveyance to mailing supplies and pilfering. The coracle was created to be lugged on a person’s flip side, with a torso fastening clasping the boat sturdy.
When in Hampi, you certainly have to embrace a coracle and traverse in one. It is one of the limited locations in the country where you can obtain such an encounter and we assure that it will turn out to be a lot satisfying that one can even imagine. One can lease coracle at certainly cost-effective tariffs and adore in the ferryboat that give the impression of being unerringly like the one in ancient years. This is one of the utmost exhilarating involvements and things to do in Hampi.
6. Elephant Stables
Ever imagined an abode exclusively for the elephants? Not really right. The Elephant Stable in Hampi is an extraordinary arrangement that was used to bestow harbour for the imperial elephants of the Vijayanagara Empire. This is one of the best Hampi tourist places. The elephant stable is sited in the region that lies just exterior of the Zenana Enclosure. It is one of the very few buildings that have not agonized widespread destruction during the Mughal outbreak on Hampi that headed to the collapse of the Vijayanagara Empire.
The elephant stable is an elongated structure with a quadrangular shape. The building has a line-up of eleven enormous hemispherical chambers. Each hollow is huge enough to lodge two elephants at a time. The arched chambers are intersected with big domed notches. The fortifications amid the arches have minor entryways. There is no symbol to specify that the chambers ever had any gates in the entrances. Every compartment encompasses a small aperture at the rearmost flank. It is alleged that this opening was used by the Wagoner to pass in and walk out the chambers. The erection also comprises a cloaked stairway that directs one to the rooftop of the building. The cavities of the construction have elevated ceilings.
7. Lotus Mahal
Neighbouring to the Zenana Enclosure, an isolated zone that is used by the noble women of Vijayanagara Dynasty, is a memorial that stands out in its motif and elegance from most of the structures of Hampi which is also identified as Chitragani Mahal or Kamal Mahal. Alternative intricate, for royal womenfolk, this one acquires its appellation from the lotus-like arena. The arcades of the structure bear a resemblance to petals of a lotus and furnish the entire structure the silhouette of a half-open lotus bloom. The Lotus Mahal is a two-storied symmetric construction that has towering hunched casements. About 24 pillars are existent to patronage the arched frames and gallery of the citadel. The fortifications and tower of strength are engraved charmingly with designs like aquatic beings and birdies. Lotus Mahal is among the Hampi tourist places which should not be missed during your trip.
Lotus Mahal unquestionably should be a fixed terminus in the itinerary while you visit Hampi. It will astound you to recognize how unsurpassed in class, Indian architecture and manual workers were centuries back.
8. Hippie Island
Most of the remnants are situated to the south of Tungabhadra where most tourists’ desire visiting; some prefer the north banks which have a pulsating hippie ethnicity. Virapapur Gadde or frequently branded as Hippie Island is a trivial island sited diagonally the Tungabhadra river and is one the most attractive places to visit in Hampi. It takes 5 minutes to voyage to the island via coracle or ferry. The very last boat for the island departs sat 5.30 pm. The hitch hiker’s enchantment, Hippie Island is quintessence of picturesque gorgeousness and is famous for relaxed vibes and cottages.
It has hovels and cafes which manoeuvre from October end to mid-March. They dole out splendid food alongside ice-cold beer, and most of these have a boundless outlook of either the tributary or the fine-looking rice meadows. Away from the comfy lifecycle, breathing in trivial shacks, relishing the flavour of both Indian and Western culinary and lazing on the banks of the river you will certainly cultivate affection for the habitation. The shacks and cafes are a joint endeavour by Indians and Immigrants. Virupapur Gadde is bursting of travellers who are on their avenue of discovering the relics of primeval periods in the contemporary time of life.
9. Matanga Hill
Matanga Hill is positioned at the eastern end of the Hampi Bazaar. It bids a spectacular vision of the ruined city and the gorgeous scenery beneath. Matanga Hill is one of the chief places to see in Hampi. Befalling the uppermost point in Hampi; this is the finest position to get an aerial outlook of Hampi and its ambiances. There is a petite temple on the zenith of Matanga Hill. On the avenue downhill there is a minor cave noticeable, where it is trusted that Sugriva, monarch of Kishkinda, used to take cover.
Being the premier peak in Hampi, the mountain is a trekker’s gladness and stages attractive sights of the complete settlement underneath. There are various trekking trails that head to the top of the summit. The hiking can take nearby 30 minutes. The ridge top of the Veerabhadra Temple is the ultimate place for dawn and dusk view. It is a great place for the photography fanatics. On any particular stretch of the day, you can catch folks with high end cameras in their hands snapping the aural view.
10. Bike Riding
If there is one thing that you must not miss while you visit Hampi, it is to get a mountain bike and wander around the remnants and this sluggish settlement at a stride that helps you in uncovering its exquisiteness. Hampi is not an abode to strike off from your wish list in haste; so let it perform its enchantment on you—leisurely. A number of bicycle rental spots are in the street that firms Virupaksha Temple; you can get one for around INR 500 as security pledge and INR 50 as bicycle rent for a day. You would be required to make available an ID card as well. Take liberal stopovers in the artsy cafes and eateries, in the temple relics and boulevard arcades, say hello to natives, flutter at fisherman—relish Hampi in a way that it justifies.
How To Reach Hampi?
After looking at some of the best Hampi Tourist places, let’s have a look as to how we can get to the temple town. It’s certainly convenient for the one’s residing in India to commute to Hampi as the connectivity by road is fairly decent. There a lot of buses plying to Hampi from Bangalore.
It can also be accessed by train as well with the closest railway station being Hospet Junction which is only 13 kms away. For all those who want to reach this destination by air, the nearest airport is in Bellary and Belgaum which have decent flight connectivity.
Hampi is a rural community that retells us time and again of the sumptuousness and treasures that the Vijayanagara Empire once endorsed. The rock cut temple campuses, extravagant bazaars and porches at Hampi spectacle us the architectural marvels that Indians were gifted of. Be it the Hampi Bazaar or the Elephant Stables assembled solely for the imperial elephants, all display the cultural charisma that Vijayanagara had. The stone structures are an eyewitness to the inordinate indulgent of architecture that Indians infatuated.
Do visit Hampi, to saturate yourself into its ironic antiquity, ethos and architectural impressiveness. And these were some the best places to visit in Hampi, but if you ask me the truth there are countless number of beautiful tourist places in Hampi.
If you are looking for Planning a trip to Hampi, you can get the details here: Hampi Tourism
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Thanks for your publication.
Today, I went to the beach with my children. I found a sea shell and gave it to my 4 year old daughter and said “You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear.” She put the shell to her ear and screamed. There was a hermit crab inside and it pinched her ear. She never wants to go back! LoL I know this is completely off topic but I had to tell someone! and tell you that Hampi is amazing.
Thank you for your blog post.Really thank you! Awesome.
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