If at all u have yelled at a person "YOU ARE A STONE HEARTED PERSON" you might have to change your statement when you have visited "HAMPI"....welcome to the land of stones where the language spoken is stone structures....
A brief about Hampi.
The Vijaynagar empire had Hampi as its capital. It was founded by two rulers called Hakka & Bukka. The most famous amongst the rulers was Krishnadevaraya whose ruling era was also called as the Golden Era. But the later rulers were quite inefficient and gave way to the Mughals and the British and moved their capital out of Hampi.
Nevertheless, they were great patrons of art and this can be seen by the great and eloborate sculptures and stone structures at Hampi. Most of them have been ruined by the muslim rulers. The greatness of this place is that you can see both the Hindu style of buildings and also the Mughals style which makes it a rare place of visit.
Lets stop here regarding the history. One can get a lot of information on the web. But the real feeling & vibes is when you stand in front of those amazing stone structures. So dont waste a lot of time and energy on the computer, pack your bags and get your foot on the real soil of HAMPI...
Lets move to the contemporary Hampi...
Firstly you need 3 solid days for getting the feel of Hampi.
The nearest town you reach from anyplace you start is Hospet. From there you can reach Hampi in 30 min. There is autorikshaw service @ the cost of Rs50/- or by the local bus Rs 6/-, sometimes you get the KSRTC luxury bus for Rs10/- .
Once you reach Hampi you have a lot of Yatri Nivas(Travellers Rest Houses) which makes yo feel like you are staying in an Indian middle class house. The cost of stay ranges from Rs150/- to Rs 1000/- .
There is no special season for visiting. Make note that March-April is the pilgrimage season and you will find the place very crowded and dificult to get a suitable accomodation.
There are many activities that you can do apart from visiting temples and places of art.
You can hire bicycles, motorbikes and have a ride along the rocky pathways of hampi. Also you can ride along side to the Tungabadra river.
Also you can go on a boat ride crossing the river, and ifyou are a sleeping bag carrier or a tent pitcher you can halt there at the banks and enjoy the wilderness in the night.
I guess I will not etch all the things "to do"and will leave the pleasure of exploring to you...
A point note worthy... fashion hippie clothing and jwellery @ its best for both women and men...
I will leave you guessing here with some "snap shots of Hampi"...
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