Somewhere around the 14th Century AD, a major city arose on the banks of the Tungabhadra River in Karnataka. Pampa Kshetra, Kinshkinda Kshetra or Bhaskara Kshetra, this city is also known as Hampi. Spread over some 16 square miles, Hampi has some excellent ancient monuments, as we experienced.
However, apart from the monuments, Hampi has a beautiful, not often seen landscape of mighty boulders and arid vegetation along the Tungabhadra River. It lends itself to many treks, campings, wildlife viewing, night skies and just generally hanging around.
Not far from Hampi is the Daroji Sloth Bear Sanctuary. Visit this awesome pocket of wilderness to catch some Sloth Bears in action. It’s a small sanctuary and open from 2pm to 6pm everyday.
We had read the Tungabhadra Right Canal road deserves a drive for spotting wildlife. We took the drive, but unfortunately saw nothing much construction work.
Rent a scooter or moped or a bicycle and explore the small villages and paddy fields around Hampi. If you have your own car, the entire landscape is awesome for driving around.
There are plenty of places to stay in Hampiu but we recommend a village called Anegundi.
The mighty boulders scattered around Hampi make quiet a landscape.Sit by the Tungabhadra River and enjoy peace and calm.Take a coracle ride across the river. Climb up the Hampi Boulders and get a clear view of the landcscape.The arid region has some very interesting vegetation to observe.Hampi is awesome for small treks here and there. Do get a good guide and go for a trek in the boulders.On one of our night drives around Hampi’s rural scapes we saw this Indian Nightjar (Caprimulgus asiaticus) happily sitting in the middle of the road. Hampi is a great place for birding.Hampi’s natural landscape’s beauty cannot be over emphasised…The Yellow-Throated Bulbul (Pycnonotus xantholaemus), a threatened species, can be seen in the wilderness around Hampi.The Peninsular rock agama or South Indian rock agama (Psammophilus dorsalis) keeps popping its head at you. Find it in various shades of yellow and red on the boulders of Hampi.The Gray Langoor (Semnopithecus) can be found easily in Hampi. They are harmless as long as you leave them alone and do no interact with them.We drove along the Tungabhadra Right Canal but unfortunately found no wildlife.
At places the Tungabhadra Right Canal passes through some deep gorges making a beautiful view. Go for walks/cycle through the paddy fields of Hampi…The Tungabhadra is a beautiful river and that itself is worth many a trip to Hampi.
5 thoughts on “Hampi : What To Do Apart From The Monuments”
Now that’s a different kind of a post on Hampi. It takes one beyond the stone carvings. Great post.
Superb photographs, here!
Now that’s a different kind of a post on Hampi. It takes one beyond the stone carvings. Great post.
Superb photographs, here!
Lovely photographs and a superb post!! I have been meaning to go to Hampi this year , will surely refer this!!
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Stunning, Loved the post.
Hampi is a beauty with a Golden history. Nice article, Thank you.