Hampi Road Trip


Hampi By Road

We had two possible routes, either through Bellary or Chitradurga. We chose Chitradurga. 9.00 p.m on a Friday night we were on NH4 headed towards Tumkur. The roads are great (especially the ones they make you pay for) all the way to Chitradurga. We covered Tumkur-Sira-Hiriyur-Chitradurga in pretty quick time. Then it was NH13, Belaghatta-Jagalur-Kudligi-Hosapete and finally Hampi at 5.00 am the next morning. This stretch is not very comfortable if you are in a small car and cramped for room.


Stop by the Tungha Bhadra dam, it's humongous and right now brimming. In Hampi, hire a two wheeler if you really want to see all the temples and other monuments, or you could always cycle like the 'i'm so fit but want muesli and nutella pancakes' foreigners do...

We stayed on the Virupuksha Temple side of Hampi and our fellow travelers on the other side of the river. We never did cross the river on those flimsy looking coracles..but hey there's always a next time. Do not attempt to get to the other side by road, we did, and are still regretting it.

Mango Restaurant is a very 'touristy' place, but worth a visit nevertheless, tall, old and intimidating mango trees (for real!) dot the surroundings. The view from the restaurant is phenomenal and is an ideal place if you want to laze away the day with a book or in conversation

We got off the beaten track and found some really isolated (except for the odd local) but fantastic spots to chill. What is really heartening is that there seems to be genuine effort in keeping the monuments clean and shiny.

Two flat tires and me walking away with the "saunf" plate at the dhaba tops the 'lows' and 'highs' on this trip

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