Yercaud

This place needs no introduction, but for the benefit of everyone, here’s a small one on that.
Yercaud is a quaint little hill station in the district of Salem in Tamil Nadu.This is often referred to as the “Poor man’s OOTY”. I cannot quite see the logic for this. Yercaud is not as crowded as Ooty, and at the same time, it offers all that is expected out of a hill station.

Facts
Yercaud is aprrox 235 kms from the city of Bangalore. The distance can be covered in 4.5 to 5 hrs. The route is Bangalore-Hosur-Krishnagiri-Dharmapuri-Salem-Yercaud. The last stretch (Salem to Yercaud) is 30 kms out of which 25 kms are climbing the hill. This 25kms has 20 Hairpin bends , most of which(19) are near the top. The scenery is appealing as you travel along the winding roads.

After a 10 day long planning , the D-day came when we set off towards our destination. By the time we cud leave the traffic of the city behind it was well over 1.5 hrs since the time we had started. At the first chance where we could find a place to eat, we stopped. This place is just after leaving Hosur. A reliance petrol station that has a restaurant attached to it. With Reliance planning to shutdown all its petro outlets, am not sure how long the restaurant will last.
Having spent close to an hour at this place, we resumed the journey towards our destination. By the time we reached Salem it was 12 (midnight). Most of us had fallen asleep. After a refreshing cup of “chaai”, we set off for the last leg of the journey, the hill journey. As we climbed into the darkness, the first whiff of cold wind blew across as if welcoming us to the place.

A steady climb of 50 mins brought us to Yercaud at 1 AM. All one could think of was a good-night’s sleep.

A word about the accommodation. There are quite a few options up in Yercaud.
Hotel Grand Palace (this is where we camped)

• Hotel Tamilnadu




• Hotel Shervaroy

It’s a good idea to book in advance especially if you are targeting the summer hols.
Yercaud is a place where one can have a perfectly relaxed weekend..
If you manage to get up early in the morning, take a walk around. Its refreshing to absorb the quietness of the place. The only sound that can be heard is of the birds and the gentle breeze.

If you are a kind of person who likes to go visiting places, there are a few places and things-to-do. Here are some of the things-to-do

One of the major attraction is the boating in the lake. One can enjoy a half hour ride on a row boat, taking in the nature’s beauty. Or if you want to have some fun on your own,

Pedal boat is a good option. If you rent out a 4-seater pedal boat, be sure of who’s gonna pedal out since you will not have the option of changing places once you set out.

”Lady’s seat”, is a viewpoint from where the winding roads that lead up to Yercaud can be seen. On a early morning, one can hear the honking of the vehicles far below.

Also there is a “telescope view”, a guided visual through a telescope (Ticket : Rs 5 per head)

Killiyur falls is the name of the water fall that is famous here. We could not find any water here, but the trek to half the way down was adventurous.

This seemed a way for the water to flow rather than a path for trekkers.

An interesting place to visit would be the old (85 yr old I think) school called Montford school, for the architecture. This is open to public only on Sundays and upon permission from the school authorities.

A word of suggestion

Yercaud is a nice place to go around cycling. If you can carry a bicycle along, I would recommend that. Frisbee and playing cards are a nice way to enhance the relaxing time.
Thats it from me for now.

See ya after.

Garden city to Heritage city.

Wonder what this is? This is what the signboard reads as you start to head out ot Bangalore city towards Mysore.

Imagine this for a moment. Covering a distance of 120 kms in a little over 3 hrs. sounds interesting? Not quite right? Well.. this is how the Bangalore-Mysore road used to be couple of years back. A plethora of vehicles racing on the narrow 2 way stretch, and ofcourse the road-widening activity, the hold-ups etc. I always used to think twice, thrice before I got myself to drive down that road on weekends.

Then it all happened.

Well, it did not happen in a night, but when it happened, it happened for good. The narrow 2 way stretch gave way to wider, four-lane fast lane. What used to take a painstaking 3-3.5 hrs was considerably reduced. Now, one can cover the distance of 120 kms between the 2 cities in 2 hrs. Hows that ?

As a person who has traveled on this road many many times, I wouldn’t be doing justice If I do not acknowledge the effort.

The transformation is such that I frequently get on to this road, drive around 50 odd kms on a Saturday morning to have breakfast in the neighboring town of Ramanagaram.

So, where does it all begin ??

The Mysore road (the road apparent) starts right from the heart of Bangalore’s city market . You would be better off avoiding the city market during the day time when its bubbling with activity.
Depending on the location of one is coming from , you get on to Mysore road at different points.

When I need to get on to the Mysore road, I take the NICE road, part of which connects Kanakapura road to Mysore Road. This road takes you past all the traffic snarls of the city and puts you close to Kengeri.

For those who are wondering what NICE road is.. NICE is the name of the firm that developed the 4 lane highway that runs perpendicular to Mysore road and it connects Mysore road with Hosur road. Apparently this is the road (NICE) where I touched 180 in my Fiesta).

Once you get on to Mysore road , the going is smooth. The city traffic would be seen till you cross Bidadi. Once past Bidadi, you can begin to enjoy the drive. Since the whole area is a fertile land (this is a Cauvery basin, remember?), greenery all around meets the eye and combined with the mist of the early morning, it’s a real real pleasure to drive with your windows roll down. Of course if you are a person who is focused on “reaching the destination”, don’t bother to roll down your windows.


Driving along this road, the first town that you come across is Ramanagaram, or should I say , Ramgadh of SHOLAY. Yes, the shooting for the film SHOLAY was done here.

A short drive from Ramangaram, is a restaurant called Kamat Lokaruchi. I usually stop here for my meal (breakfast/lunch). Invariably this place is crowded whatever time it may be. It’s a nice place to take a break.

The good part (sometimes a irritating fact) is that there are lot of towns in between Bangalore and Mysore that serve as milestones. Advantage is that one does not feel the distance as there is a town almost every half an hour J. The irritation factor can be the town traffic/signals that slow down the otherwise smooth drive.

The list of towns that one comes across are Ramanagaram-Chennapatna-Maddur-Mandya-Srirangapatna and finally Mysuru.

Maddur is famous for ‘Maddur vada” and “Maddur Masala Dosa”. Remember to stop at Maddur Tiffany’s to grab a bit of the above 2 dishes.

Srirangapatna houses a bird sanctuary, a temple and Tipu’s resting place.

Most of the one-day-outing spots (picnic spots) and temples are located off this Bangalore-Mysore road. I would be writing about a couple of those places shortly.


In short,

Distance : 120 odd kms
Time it takes : 2 – 2.5 hrs
Best Time to travel : Any time is good
Meal Stops : Kamat Lokaruchi (Ramanagaram), Tiffany’s (Maddur), MTR (Maddur)

Happy driving!!!!

NH7 – Bangalore to Chennai (and vice versa)

I had been thinking of writing this review for a long time now. Not sure of how to go about it. Not that I did not have ideas. On the contrary , I had many ideas but was not able to make a choice.

So here I am , having made my choice, presenting a review of the a”Road frequently traveled”.

The distance between Chennai and Bangalore is approx. 340 km (GPO to GPO, that’s how distances are measured, right?). There are 2 prominent routes between these 2 cities.

1) Via Hosur and

2) Via Chittoor

Route no 2, is supposedly shorter as compared to Route 1. However, its half the width of Route 1. If you had asked me around 3 yrs back, I would have suggested this route rather than the first one. So, what is it that has changed in the last 3 odd years?

Here’s the answer.

Route 1 which is a national highway is a part of the Golden Quadilateral that connects the four metro cities. So???

So, the advantage that this got is that the roads are broad and well-maintained.

The journey begins from Hosur road at the Silk board junction in Madiwala, Bangalore. Till the time you cross electronic city (15 odd kms from Silk Board), the journey is all but fast, thanks to the traffic.

The traffic eases out once the EC junction is crossed. From here till the border of Karnataka/Tamilnadu takes only 20 minutes. Before you realize , you hit the industrial town of Hosur. From here on , it’s a breeze. The stretch that I love the most is Hosur to Krishnagiri, which is a ghat section (not in the true sense, but relative). Its scenic and the best time to be driving on this stretch is in the early morning when the sun comes up in the horizon. From EC to Krishnagiri, it takes around an hour.( a distance of 70 kms).

Remember this is a toll road and there are 4 toll booths that one needs to cross (pay) to get to Chennai. The first toll is at Krishnagiri. Once you cross Krishnagiri, there is a deviation you need to take for Chennai(Dont worry, there are sign-boards). From here on , it’s the plains and one can just zip across comfortably at high speeds (I remember touching 150 on my Fiesta,later came down to 130 thanks to the stares from my family folks). The best part is that you would not want to take your foot off the gas pedal (accelerator), but at the same time , the landscape is too inviting not to stop. I remember stopping here and there to get a picture or two (some this-happens-only-in-india stuff too)

As you drive along , the small towns of Ambur, Vaniyambadi, Walajabad go past, until you reach the outskirts of Vellore. If you are tired , and want to take a break , you would find decent restaurant here to cool your heels off until they are ready to take on again. You might need to veer off the main highway and get into the city to find a decent restaurant.

Once past Vellore, comes Ranipet, where route no 1 and 2 merge. From here till Kanchipuram , is where you can catch up on lost time. From Kanchipuran the going gets a little slow till you reach Sriperumbudur and slower as u get to Poonamallee. Then on , it’s the city traffic. Welcome to Chennai J.

In short, the NH7 , is a great road to drive on . If you are driving non stop at a constant speed of 100-110, you should be able to reach Chennai outskirts in less than 4.5 hrs.

I can never forget the bus(Volvo) journey where the bus left Chennai at 12 and reached Bangalore (Silk board) at 4.45 AM. This was with a break of 10 min (to wake up the backup driver).

Summary :

Distance : 340 Kms
Time it takes : anywhere between 4.5 and 5 hrs (using the formula time=distance/speed)
Ideal speed : 100-110 (I cud maintain 130 in my Fiesta)
Best time to start : 5.30 AM if possible (latest by 6.15)
Meal Stops : Krishnagiri or Vellore or Kanchipuram

Madurai at a glance

Whats the Prograaaaaaam??

Its been long time since I wanted to write abt this. Finally I get the chance. This is about a visit to the holy city , which is better known as the “City of Temples” , aka Madurai. The most famous temple which attracts tourist from all over the world is Meenakshi Temple.

Nestled in the southern part of Tamilnadu ,Madurai had been a centre of development activity. Its known for its rich history and also the patronage it received during the rule of the Pandyas and mighty Cholas. It was Cholas, notably Raja Raja Cholan who made a remarkable contribution both in the battle-field as well as in fostering the tamil literature (known as Sanga Tamizh). Most of the temple in Madurai were built during his reign. More detail about the history of this place can be found @ http://www.madurai.com/history.htm

How to get there?

Madurai is well connected by Road, Rail and Air.

Road: It’s a long way(450+ kms) off from Chennai and driving is not a sensible option over a weekend. If you want to try then the route is Chennai-Villupuram-Perambalur-Trichy-Dindigul-Madurai.

If you are travelling from bangalore, the route would be

Bangalore-Krishnagiri-Salem-Dindigul-Madurai

Rail: This is the best option and there are quite a few trains through the day and night to get you to Madurai from Chennai. The distance is covered in 8 hrs.

Direct train is available from Bangalore as well. The distance is covered in 12 hrs.

Air: Air deccan and Paramount airways operate flights in and out of Madurai.

Once you are in Madurai, there are a couple of decent hotels that offer rooms at a very reasonable price. For a detailed listing of the hotels, try http://www.madurai.com/hotel.htm

Places to see

The first place people know and will visit in Madurai is the famous Meenakshi Sundareshwarer temple . If its sounds complicated, Meenakshi temple will do just fine.

The temple is one of the landmark structures around which ancient Madurai was built. The walls of the temple are decorated with paintings depicting the marriage of Meenakshi and Lord Sundareshwara (Shiva). One page would not be enough to describe this huge temple. The entire history of the temple is available at http://www.madurai.com/meena.htm

The next place of mention might not be as popular as the Meenakshi temple, but it is definitely worth a visit. This place is called Azhagar Kovil.

This place is located 21 kms from the town of Madurai is a Vishnu Temple on a picturesque wooded hill.

Here 'Vishnu' presides as Meenakshi's brother 'Azhgar'. As the place itself suggests, the temple is dedicated to Alagar who is popularly known as Sundararajar.

The temple is built on an extensive area in a very picturesque spot, surrounded by the ruins of a historic fort. The impressive main tower at the entrance, believed to have been built by the Pandyan Kings, has some beautiful sculptures depicting scenes from the epics.

Karuppannaswamy, the God of Kallars and the finely carved eighteen steps, are held in great reverence by the devotees. It is claimed that nobody will dare tell a lie at this spot.

Frequent buses operate to this place from Madurai. Taxis are also available. There are a few rest houses at Alagar koil, but it is advisable to stay at Madurai .

Other places near Azhagar kovil:

Palamudhirsolai, one of the six abodes of Lord Subramanya is on the same hill, about 4 kms. above.

A natural spring called Nuburagangai where pilgrims bath, is located here. According to local tradition, this spring is said to have originated from the anklets of Maha Vishnu during His incarnation as Trivikrama. The 3 kms path on the hillock to the temple of the summit, where bathing facilities are available, offers some beautiful natural scenery to the visitors.

Most of the places in and around Madurai are religious places.It might not be of much interest to an avid traveler.Having said that, I should add that the places around Madurai offer a scenic and picturesque with a touch of the Indian countryside (so to say).

This place warrants a visit by one and all.

This write-up may be short , but I hope it serves the purpose of the essence that I wanted to convey.

Cheers

Sadhupul - Bridge across the river.

How it all started

On a sunny Tuesday morning in the year 2003, sipping a cup of tea, 5 software engineers were involved in a serious discussion. Well, it was nothing technical. in fact It was all about spending a weekend away from the buzz of the capital city , Delhi. Suddenly, with a silence shattering boisterous voice, Sandeep (saroha) suggested Sadhupul.

For a minute , the others at the table were “what?? Is there a place like that? Where? What? Etc etc etc.”

The whole arrangement for the travel was done. Booking tickets et al. Finally the day arrived, rather night, when we were set to travel on the Delhi- Kalka mail till Kalka. There were 5 of us Ravi, Saroha, Naveen, Karthik and the bhishma pitamah, Ashok Khatri.(a young man of 38 at that time). The four of us (except Saroha) boarded the train and we were met in Panipat by Saroha. After a lot of gup-shup, we finally retired to our berths to the lullaby of the train’s sounds.

At 6 in the morning , we reached Chandigarh and helped ourselves to a cup of tea.
By the time we reached Kalka it was 7. We had some more ground to cover before we hit our final destination.

Once we reached Kalka, we scrambled to get a seat in the toy train. This toy train travels from Kalka to Simla, taking a painstaking 6 hrs to cover the entire journey, which by road could be done in 3 hrs. but the ride is worth it. The entire route of the train is a like a picture postcard coming alive. In this process, the train travels through as many as 22 tunnels, oh yes and there is one place where the train takes a turn such that the person in the last bogie can see the engine going on the bridge above his head. Before entering a long tunnel , the engine is cooled down by throwing water on it. The train was full and we hardly got a seat. Hence we decided to sit at the entrance.

After a 3 hr journey and a lot of stops in between, we finally reached Khandaghat. From here we had to hire a jeep to get us to Sadhupul, which was a 10 minute drive. The driver of the jeep helped us with the accommodation.

Sadhupul is a place less know to tourist (in 2003). Hence there was only one place where we could possibly stay and this was a 2 story building which had 2 rooms on the first floor and the ground floor served as a caretaker’s inn which also doubled up as kitchen.

We learnt that there was only one room available as the other was taken. So , we decided to scramble into the only room available. We dumped our luggages and spent some time taking in the beauty of the place.

Imagine a place where the water flows down the mountain amidst trees on either side of the it. A lone bridge that runs across the shores of the river and a lone house by the side of the river.. Well, That’s Sadhupul for u. Quite and calm and the only sound is from the river as it flows and the occasional honking of the passing vehicle.

After a quick tea, we headed to the river front, which was just a walk from our “hotel”. The sun was bright and the water was cold. Just the right kind of setting that was needed for us to take a plunge. We found a nice, huge rock and positioned ourselves comfortably with our legs in the water. Slowly one after the other, we got into the water. With our back against the rock , we sat down in the water., cooling ourselves. Quite some time had passed when we noticed that there were some dirty stuff that kept flowing from the river. And it started to increase, which is when we called it a day and got ready to leave. One of the locals there mentioned to us “Nadi Aa gayi” (the river has come). We just nodded our heads though we understood very little of what they said.

We scrambled back to our “hotel”, freshened up and headed down to the “restaurant” to grab some tea and snacks. It was around 5 PM , when we noticed the river’s color had changed to murky yellow and the level had risen and so had the flow. As time went by the color of the river was dark and we could see plastic bags, small logs of tree trunks flowing with the river. The force was enormous and the litlle rock that we were sitting on was not to be seen. This was when we realized the meaning of “Nadi Aa gayi”. Thank heavens; we scrambled out at the right time.

With nothing much to do and very little light, we had an early dinner and retired to bed early. By this time the other room was also available for us, so we could all sleep a good nights sleep. (We could still hear the river roar down the mountain).

As always, I was the first one to wake up in the morning. The first thing that I did was to step out of the room and look at nature. The river had calmed down and it was back to normal as if nothing had happened at all.

All of us were awake and ready for breakfast (Tea and bread toast) around 8. The agenda of the day was to trek upto Chail and then take a bus back to Kalka. We checked out from the hotel and started our journey to Chail by foot, enjoying the nature, pausing to pose for a pic or two. We had covered half way when one of us could go no further by foot. So we, decide to take a bus till Chail. Sandeep was detemined to come by foot all the way up to Chail. Seeing his enthu, Naveen also opted to walk. The other 3 of us decided to take a bus. So , we walked up till the bus stop ,waved bye to the other two and waited for the bus to arrive. It was 10 minutes before the bus arrived. It was loaded with people and we added to the existing crowd. We managed to find some space to stand in the front. The bus journey was very lively with the music system playing local Himachali songs. After around 30 minutes, we reached ‘Chail’.

We had to wait till the others arrived, hence we used up the time to look around in Chail. An hour later, we could see Sandeep Saroha climb the steps to the Queen’s palace, as fresh as a daffodil carrying both his and naveen’s luggage. Naveen was nowhere to be seen Finally after 15 minutes ,Naveen emerged panting heavily and profusely sweating.

We allowed the giuys to cool down for a while and then headed to the bus stop to take a bus back to Kalka.
We reached Kalka in approximately 2.5 hrs. We spent most of the time in the railway station pulling each other’s leg and planning for another outing. The train started at around 8.30 PM. Within few minutes, all of us were off to sleep…

Until next time……..

Coorg - Coffee Country

Many a times I have come across people who tell me that they have visited Coorg and my first question would be "Where in Coorg?". "Cooorg" comes the answer. Well..not many people realise that Coorg (aka Kodagu) is actually a District, and the town Madikeri is its district headquarters.

Coorg is known for its coffee plantations primarily.But then there's a lot of other things one gets to see in Coorg.

Getting there

The town of Madikeri is around 230 kms from bangalore. The only mode of transport is through road and it takes abt 5 - 5.5hrs.

The first time we (Vijay and me) went there by KSRTC bus and it was then that we learnt it the hard way that having a own vehicle is the best way to get around,else you need to be at the mercy of the local auto-rickshaw fellows or the private bus operators.

The next time that we went there (Priyam, Krishna, CV and me), we drove down to Coorg.

Route : Take the four laned Mysore road till Ranganathittu and proceed till you hit the Hunsur road,then on to Hunsur, and to KushalNagar.

Madikeri is 40 kms from Kushal Nagar.

My personal opinion is to stay in Kushal Nagar rather than Madikeri for 2 reasons

• Most of the places that one would visit are near to Kushal Nagar
• It is less crowded than the town of Madikeri

Before I get on with the nitty-gritties of the "what-to-do", one word of advice "Ensure you have made arrangements for accomodation".

Orange County in Kushal nagar is a nice option if you are willing to shell out a decent amount of money.Other good option is Hotel Kannika International in Kushal nagar.

Madikeri has loads of options close to Bus stand.

Day I (Oct 30 2004)
We started from Bangalore early in the morning and as usual stopped at Kamat Lokaruchi for breakfast. After this , we proceeded to Srirangapatna ,10 kms before the city of Mysore, to visit the temple of Ranganatha swamy.

By the time we reached Kushal Nagar after the brief stops, it was around 2 PM when we checked into Kannika International.

We decided to take it easy for a couple of hours before we decided on an agenda for the evening.


In the evening, we decided to visit Bylakuppe , which houses the largest tibetian monastery in India. There is this Golden temple in the Namdroling monastry which is a must-see. Streams of monks wearing yellow and maroon robes can be seen all around this monastery.

Its a good idea to visit this place in the morning or when there is ample lighting. The walls of the prayer hall have colored glasses that let the natural lights into the hall.There are 3 statues , each of 40 ft high inside this temple.

The statues are of Padmasambhava, Buddha and Amitayus.

It was getting dark as we got out of the monastery and headed towards Kushal Nagar. With no specific agenda and time in hand, we decided to explore the place. We then headed towards Veerbhoomi, a place where one gets to see the cultural side of Karnataka with folk dancers performing while the dinner is served. The approach road was very bad and the experience inside also was not all that great for us.

After a long day , all we wanted to do was to have a good rest and gear up for the next day.

Day II

Coorg is said to be the place from where the river cauvery originates. So, we set out in the morning after a light breakfast to TalaCauvery, which is around 30 kms from the town of Madikeri. From Kushal nagar, it took us almost an hour and a half to reach as the roads were bad. The place of origin of cauvery is a small tank. We took a dip in the tank. The cold water was refreshing enough to beat the heat of the day.

From this place, steep steps lead to a hill top (Brahmagiri) from where one can have a bird's eye view of the whole area around.The climb is steep and there are no support railing to hold on. The view and the breeze are worth the climb.


On the way down from Talacauvery, there is a temple known as Bhagamandala. This temple resembles the temples of kerala in its structure.








After a brief stopover in the temple,we headed back to Madikeri for lunch. Madikeri has few options for vegetarians near the bus stand. One place that you would probably want to skip is Raja's Seat. Today this is just a park with a toy train for the kids amusement.

Since it was around noon that we landed in Madikeri , the Omkareshwara temple was closed.The architecture of this Shiva temple is muslim-like structure, with a central Dome and four minarets. A tank in front of the temple provide serenity to the temple.

Off we were, bidding farewell to Madikeri ,and heading towards Nisargadhama, a place where Cauvery has been diverted through. We spent close to an hour sitting on the rocks in the water and cooling our heels. The quite atmosphere adds to the calm. It was beginning to get dark and we decided to head back to the hotel.

Day III

This was the last day of the outing and we had saved this for Dubare , an elephant training camp ,around 8 kms from Kushal Nagar. The roads are narrow, but motorable except for the last stretch of 100 metres. Hang on, you are still not there yet.The last leg of the journey to the elephant camp has to be covered by boat across the cauvery.

As we were getting out of the boat, the first of the big visitor was on its way into the river. You get to spend time with the elephants, bathing them, feeding them with the specially-made food.


There is a doctor in the camp who explains all about elephants. Pretty interesting lecture. Finally the elephants get ready to give the visitors a ride on their back. All these activites are a part of a package that costs INR 150 per person.

If you are a person who is not fascinated by the huge creation of Mother Nature, then you could sit among the rocks in the river and enjoy the serene settings.All in all , this place has something to offer for everyone.

Plan to reach here as early as 7.30 or 8 in the morning so that you get to spend time with the elephants and also enjoy the nature sitting on the rocks.

Finally, the time had come for us to bid adieu and get back to rozi-roti. A long weekend well spent..

Last but not the least, the machine that helped us make it .... my fav.wagon




Until next time.........

Hampi - Kingdom destroyed


About the place

HAMPI, the seat of the famed VIJAYANAGARA empire was the capital of the largest empire in post-mogul India, covering several states. The empire reigned supreme under Krishnadevaraya, the Emperor. The destruction of Vijayanagar by marauding Moghul invaders was sudden, shocking and absolute. They reduced the city to ruins .

The ruins of Hampi of the 14th Century lies scattered in about 26 sq. km area, amidst giant boulders and vegetation. Protected by the tempestuous river Tungabhadra in the north and rocky granite ridges on the other three sides, the ruins silently narrate the story of grandeur splendor and fabulous wealth. The splendid remains of palaces and gateways of the broken city tells a tale of men infinite talent and power of creativity together with his capacity for senseless destruction.


Getting there

Rail
The nearest railway station (13 kms) to Hampi is Hospet, which is around 350 kms from Bangalore. The best option would be to take the Hampi link express from Bangalore (Dep: 10.20 PM), reaches Hospet around 7.45 AM.

Road,
Hospet is well connected to major cities through national highways that pass thrugh Chitradurga and Bellary.

Places to stay
Hospet offers a decent variety of staying options. We stayed at Hotel Priyadarshini, a decent option that would fit most kinds of budget. Another option is Hotel Malligi.

Hotel Priyadarshini has 2 restaurants attached to it. One of them is a family restaurant with a bar :-). The other one is a normal darshini-type (*.Sagar) restaurant.

The appropriate time to visit Hampi is between October and February. We had been there in January and could already feel the day-time heat on us.

Places of interest

One would require 2 days to do justice to Hampi. A relatively small place but it has a lot to offer for every traveller. For local sight-seeing and getting around, a cab can be hired. Usually one can find many cabbies along the station road.

Here are some of the places that are worth visiting to put on that been-there-done-that thingie.. Oh, I almost forgot.. Its a very good idea to take along a tourist guide in Hampi.

A word of caution: We were approached by a person, Jathiah, who claimed to be a guide, but later we came to know that his license was barred. So, watch out for phony guides.

The drive to Hampi from Hospet is about half an hour. One of the first places that we came across was

Virupaksha Temple


The Virupaksha or the Pampapathi temple is the main center of pilgrimage at Hampi. It is fully intact, and it incorporates some earlier structures. This temple has three towers. The Eastern tower has been built such that an inverted shadow of this huge tower falls on the western wall of the temple through a small hole behind the sanctum.The presiding deity here is Virupaksheshwara or Pampapathi. The inner prakaram consists of shrines and pillars dating back to the 12th century.

In the vicinity of the Virupaksha temple are several dilapidated mandapams. In front of the temple was once an ancient shopping center lined with mandapams, the ruins of which stand today.

Achutaraya temple is on a small hillock besides the Virupaksha temple.

18 feet Ganesha

Hampi, being a small place does not involve much of travelling around

(well.. a lot of walking around is required). At a stone's throw distance from the Virupaksha temple is a temple of Ganesha. This Ganesha statue is 18 feet tall and is made of a monolithic rock. Since the statue is broken, there is no worship done here. Localites refer this Ganesha as "Kadale Kalu Ganesha"(Groundnut seed Ganesha)



Another Ganesha statues near the "kadale kalu ganesha" is called "Sasive Kalu Ganesha" (Mustard Seed Ganesha). It is in an open Mantapa or Pavilion. The 2.5 meters tall, four armed image holds "Ankusha" or Goad and "Pasha" or Noose in the upper hands. The lower right hand holds a Tusk, while the lower left, which is damaged, once held a sweet ball or "Modaka". The belly is tied with a snake. This Ganesha is fashioned out of a boulder in sitting position.



Another landmark temple in the erstwhile kingdom of Vijayanagar is the Vittala Temple. It is one of the largest temple of that period built by Devaraya II , and more addition were done by Krishnadevaraya later.

The composite pillars, which are designed as cluster of slendar pillars have been carved out of a single granite blocks. Some of them, when tapped gently, produce musical sounds. The ASI, has restricted public from touching the pillars, in the better interest of the structure.

The Stone chariot, at the entrance, is a reproduction of the processional wooden chariot. It is a stunning piece of art. It houses an image of Garuda, vehicle of Lord Vishnu.

Close-by to the temple, flows the Tungabhadra river, a river formed by the confluence of 2 rivers, Tunga and Bhadra. One can spend some time sitting on the rocks in the river, but beware, the rocks are slippery. Also, there are coracles available for hire.

TB Dam

As the name suggests, this is a dam built on the river Tungabhadra. As with every other dam, this is also a source of generating hydro-electric power.

Since this dam in on the western part, it forms a perfect setting for a sunset. One can watch the sun go “down under the water” .

This place also houses a garden and a park. There are musical fountain shows in the evening.
For young ones, there is a deer park near the TB dam.

Anegundi

Anegundi is around 30 kms from the town of hospet, on the other side of the river Tungabadra.

A temple dedicated to the Hanuman, is situated on top of a hill. The hill is worth the climb. The steps are aplenty, steep at some places. It should take not more than 20 minutes to climb up. Lots of monkeys roam around as u get close to the summit. The view from the top of this hill is worth the climb. You can get a overall understanding of the layout of the erstwhile Vijayanagar kingdom.

One place that is worth mentioning is "The Mango Tree". This is a restaurant of a different kind. This "restaurant" overlooks the river and is a nice place for relaxing. There are no conventional tables and chairs here. Its worth a visit here. Many local guides may discourage from going here, but personally I fell this is a great place to have food and relax :-). Here's a pic from that place.

A short drive from the temple is a resort , Kishkinda resort.


It is more of a kids amusement park than anything else. If you are ordering lunch here and have a big group, its a good idea to order first, take a stroll and by the time you return , the food would be on its way :-). Oh.. you need to pay an entry fee to this place. In my opinion , this place could be skipped.





One final word about Hampi is that its a place that has lots to offer in terms of architecture. The places that are mentioned here are some of the places that are must-visit to have that "been-there-done-that" list. There are lots of other places which we could not cover due to various reasons.The list of places could be got from any local tourist guide or web-sites.

Happy touring..

So long then..

Adios.