Hampi, the former capital of the Vijayanagara empire is situated on the banks of the Tungabhadra river. It is approximately 75 kms from Bellary and 13 Kms from Hospet. Once a flourishing kingdom of Vijayanagara empire, it is now in ruins. This "City of Ruins" is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Kishkindha, the Vanara kingdom which finds mention in the Ramayana is also located at the banks of river close to Virupaksha Temple.
Most of the ruins are along the road leading from Kamalapura to Hampi. Important sites include Virupaksha Temple, Ugra Narasimha, Vithala Temple Complex, Hazara Ramaswami temple, Lotus Mahal, Mahanavami Dibba, Pushkarini Tank, Elephant Stables, and The Kings’ balance etc. Visit the wikipedia article for complete list.
Accomodation is available at the following hotels; Hotel Mayura Vijayanagar, Hotel Priyadarshini, Hotel Malligi, Hotel Mayura Bhuvaneswri, as well as KSTDC Cottages.
Visit the Karnataka tourism website for further information.
My travel log
The journey in my car from Bellary to Hospet took painstakingly one hour forty five minutes (in february 2007) because of extremely bad roads. After having breakfast at Hospet, we covered 13 kms to reach the ruins of Hampi. It takes at least one entire day to see most sites. Since we had to reach Almatti and Koodalasangama, we left early.
Flash video of hampi photos:
Generally, after visiting Hampi tourists visit the TB dam in the evening and enjoy the gardens and the musical fountain. Venturing near the dam is now prohibited.
Most of the ruins are along the road leading from Kamalapura to Hampi. Important sites include Virupaksha Temple, Ugra Narasimha, Vithala Temple Complex, Hazara Ramaswami temple, Lotus Mahal, Mahanavami Dibba, Pushkarini Tank, Elephant Stables, and The Kings’ balance etc. Visit the wikipedia article for complete list.
Accomodation is available at the following hotels; Hotel Mayura Vijayanagar, Hotel Priyadarshini, Hotel Malligi, Hotel Mayura Bhuvaneswri, as well as KSTDC Cottages.
Visit the Karnataka tourism website for further information.
My travel log
The journey in my car from Bellary to Hospet took painstakingly one hour forty five minutes (in february 2007) because of extremely bad roads. After having breakfast at Hospet, we covered 13 kms to reach the ruins of Hampi. It takes at least one entire day to see most sites. Since we had to reach Almatti and Koodalasangama, we left early.
Flash video of hampi photos:
Generally, after visiting Hampi tourists visit the TB dam in the evening and enjoy the gardens and the musical fountain. Venturing near the dam is now prohibited.
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Bellary tourism
Bellary or Ballary, is a district in Karnataka that borders with Andhra Pradesh. The Bellary city does not have anything worthwhile to visit except for a fort. The Bellary Fort is built on top of the Ballari Gudda or the Fort Hill. The Fort was built round the hill during Vijayanagara times by Hanumappa Nayaka.
Turkish Martyrs Graveyard: a small garden built in memorial of Turkish war soldiers is located near the airstrip.
Places to visit inside the Bellary city include Bellary children's park cum zoo near Radio park, a newly developed Golden Jubilee Park beside railway station. It contains musical fountain which starts at 7 O'Clock in the evening
Places of importance around Bellary include Narihalla (a reservoir adjacent to the main road between Bellary and Sandur, is another spot attracting people to take up adventure and water sports.), Sri Kumaraswamy temple at Sandur, Ubbalagundi (50 km from Bellary city and from Hampi, two rock structures, as seen in Yana in Uttara Kannada district, is the only spot in the Hyderabad-Karnataka area suitable for trekking, rock climbing, river crossing, and boating).
Sandur
Tungabhadra dam at Hospet
The civilian Bellary Airport is located at the far end of the Cantonment area.
Daroji Bear Sanctuary near Hampi: Situated only 15 kilometers from Hampi, Daroji Sloth Bear Sanctuary is the only sanctuary in North Karnataka.
Flash video of bellary fort
For more information on Bellary visit wikipedia as well as official website.
Hotels
Accomodation is available at some of these hotels; Hotel Pola Paradise (3 Star), S.S Hotel, Ashoka Comforts, Hotel Pawan, Bala Regancy, and Chalukya deluxe.
This was my travel path from Davangere in February 2006
We left Davangere in our Maruti Alto car at 6 am and reached Chitradurga, where we halted for breakfast at Aishwarya Fort. We reached Bellary at 12 noon travelling via Challakere and Rampura. This route was excellant as the roads were newly laid.
Distance chart:
Davangere to Chitradurga: 62 Kms
Chitradurga to Challakere: 30 Kms
Challakere to Bellary: 104 Kms
Turkish Martyrs Graveyard: a small garden built in memorial of Turkish war soldiers is located near the airstrip.
Places to visit inside the Bellary city include Bellary children's park cum zoo near Radio park, a newly developed Golden Jubilee Park beside railway station. It contains musical fountain which starts at 7 O'Clock in the evening
Places of importance around Bellary include Narihalla (a reservoir adjacent to the main road between Bellary and Sandur, is another spot attracting people to take up adventure and water sports.), Sri Kumaraswamy temple at Sandur, Ubbalagundi (50 km from Bellary city and from Hampi, two rock structures, as seen in Yana in Uttara Kannada district, is the only spot in the Hyderabad-Karnataka area suitable for trekking, rock climbing, river crossing, and boating).
Sandur
Tungabhadra dam at Hospet
The civilian Bellary Airport is located at the far end of the Cantonment area.
Daroji Bear Sanctuary near Hampi: Situated only 15 kilometers from Hampi, Daroji Sloth Bear Sanctuary is the only sanctuary in North Karnataka.
Flash video of bellary fort
For more information on Bellary visit wikipedia as well as official website.
Hotels
Accomodation is available at some of these hotels; Hotel Pola Paradise (3 Star), S.S Hotel, Ashoka Comforts, Hotel Pawan, Bala Regancy, and Chalukya deluxe.
This was my travel path from Davangere in February 2006
We left Davangere in our Maruti Alto car at 6 am and reached Chitradurga, where we halted for breakfast at Aishwarya Fort. We reached Bellary at 12 noon travelling via Challakere and Rampura. This route was excellant as the roads were newly laid.
Distance chart:
Davangere to Chitradurga: 62 Kms
Chitradurga to Challakere: 30 Kms
Challakere to Bellary: 104 Kms
