Hampi is located in the Karnataka state and it runs approximately 26 sq km. The great lavish Hampi together with all its stern and stubborn looks developed as the last capital area for the final Hindu reign of Vijayanagar during the 14th century, later on invaded by Muslim rulers during 1565. Hampi princess constructed various Dravidian palaces and temples during 14th, 15th and 16th centuries which became famous destination for many tourists. Later on, Muslim rulers raided and looted city for about 6 months and then deserted it.
The temples at Hampi are well known for their splendid pavilions, stately pillars, florid ornamentation, very delicate and bold carvings, large dimensions of space along with big wealth of traditional and iconographic incarnations including the characters from the Mahabharata and Ramayana. The biggest temple among these are at Pampapathi (presently worship) that was subjected to extensive renovation. The glorious tower at the entrance was constructed by Krishnadeva Raya.
What is included in the tour
- Bottled drinking water (2 time) is included each day
- Lunch on Day 02 as part of the tour
- An expert English speaking guide
- Coracle boat ride on river Tungabhadra on Day 01
- Battery cart fee on Day 01
- 2 night accommodation
- Breakfast at hotel for 2 days
- Transport from Hospet to Hampi & return
What is NOT included in the tour
- Any city to Hospet pickup and drop
- Meals during journey
- Personal expenses
- Mineral water and soft drinks
- Camera charges
- Entry fee to the monuments
- Anything not mentioned in the inclusion
- Coracle boat ride in the Tungabhadra river
- Explore the hippies markets
- Café hopping and Tibetan food joints
- Sunset from Mantanga hill
- Sunrise from Hemkunta hills
- Local transport journey
Pickup from Bus Stand or Railway Station & Transfer to Hotel on Arrival. The Hotel check-in time is 1.00 PM, subject to availability we will arrange early check-in. Freshen up at hotel, leave your luggage and have breakfast.
8.30 AM: Pickup from your hotel for days tour
9.00 AM – 5.30 PM: Heritage Hampi Tour – History, Architecture & Monuments
On this engaging Hampi tour we will explore the rich history of Vijayanagara empire, learn about unique architecture of various monuments, hear stories of victories and defeat. This is a tour for all history lovers. On this Hampi Tour we will attempt to cover all the important monuments in the Sacred and Royal center areas. In the morning we will first cover the Sacred Center. Sacred Center as the name suggests is the religion center of Hampi, a number of ancient temples and structures are in this area. After lunch break we continue our exploration with the Royal Center area. This area was the Citadel of the Vijayanagara kings, it encompasses courtly and military structures of the core zone.
6.00 PM: Drop to your hotel
9.30 AM: Checkout of your room
10.00 AM : Anegundi Village Walking Tour with Lunch
On this tour we will visit river side temples, caves, old houses, community centers, palaces and local tea shop. We will regale you with stories from Mythology and History associated with a heritage village. We will enjoy a sumptuous local meal made with locally sourced ingredients, prepared by a farmer’s family
2.00 PM: Drive to Badami (3 Hours)
5.00 PM: Check-in to your hotel on arrival
9.30 AM: Checkout of your room
10.00 AM: Day tour of Badami, Aihole and Pattadakal
The town of Badami, the nearby villages of Aihole and Pattadakal in Malaprabha valley of central Karnataka, are celebrated for their magnificent rock-cut shrines and structural temples. These Hindu and Jain monuments are associated with the Early Chalukyas who reigned over this part of Deccan during 6th – 8th Centuries. Together these temples and shrines may be considered among the earliest, best preserved remnants of temple art in India.
On this day tour, we will get a glimpse of magnificent group of monuments in the Malaprabha valley, which stretches some 25 Kilometers along the Malaprabha river flowing in a northeasterly direction. Temple architecture in Badami, Aihole and Pattadakal is characterized by a remarkable variety of styles and construction techniques. This high concentration of multiple styles within confines of a limited zone like Malaprabha valley is to be found nowhere else in India. The Early Chalukya monuments bridge the transition from rock-cut excavation to free standing construction. Construction began with cave temples at Badami and Aihole built in mid 6th Century CE with large scale sculptural compositions on the walls and monolithic columns. Then moved to dravidian style structural temples in first half of 7th Century. The earliest example of dravidian style structural temple in all of South India is found in Aihole built in 634 CE. Though the dravidian style was a Early Chalukya invention it eventually spread across all of South India and since then got influenced by Cholas, Pallavas, Hoysalas, Gangas and Vijayanagara styles. Pattadakal is a unique meeting place of distinctive Dravida and Nagara building traditions of Southern and Northern India respectively. Not only are these discrete styles represented in temples built side by side, attributes of both these styles even came to be incorporated within individual monuments, resulting in a unique hybrid style.
5.00 PM: Drive to Hampi (3 Hours) and transfer to Hospet station or the Bus Stand
