Explore Hampi - Cycling and Camping Tour

The Lonely Planet describes Hampi as – “A fantasy world of rocks and ruins”.

Well, it’s more real than fantasy, a world that was once covered with richness and grandeur now lies as a devastated beauty.

Hampi is one of the World Heritage Sites that has been declared by UNESCO and is located on the banks of the Tungabhadra River. This city has a very rich history as it was one of the largest cities back in its day. It was even the capital of the Vijayanagar Empire.

Currently, the city is divided into halves: the hippie island and the heritage sites.

So, if you are interested in ancient Indian history and knowing about how the old world worked, this is the place for you to explore.

With places such as Vittala Temple and the Virupaksha Temple, your entire curiosity will be well nurtured as you explore its ancient streets on a bicycle. You will be surrounded by beautiful structures of architecture that have so many stories hidden within their stone walls. These sites also prove to be great places for taking pictures – thanks to the sheer beauty of all the structures present there.

To cater the needs of your adventurous soul, we shall guide you to the hippie island that’s on the other side of the river. Riding on your moped, you’ll surely have a thrilling experience while exploring the painted walls and the fancy cafes that will completely blow your taste-buds!

So join us on a visit to this spectacular place that is going to be a blend of culture, history, panoramic views and a lot of fun!

DAY 0:Leave from Bangalore at 10:00 PM

DAY 1 :

• Reach Hampi
• Freshen up and have breakfast
• Explore Heritage Side of Hampi (Virupaksha temple, Sasivekalu Ganesha, Kadalekalu Ganesha, Krishna Temple, Lakshmi Narasimha and marketplace) on bicycles.
• Lunch
• Resume bicycle ride to Vittala Temple and then to Achyuta Raya Temple
• Coracle Ride at Chakra Tirtha
• Head back to Campsite
• Dinner
• Bonfire and Camping

DAY 2:

• Sunrise trek to Anjaneya Hill
• Explore the hippie side of Hampi on mopeds
• Lunch
• Leave campsite by 2:00 PM
• Reach Bangalore by 11:00 PM (approx)

INCLUDED:

• Sharing basis accommodation in Tents ( 2 Men/3 Men).
• Bicycle rentals
• Coracle ride
• Moped rentals
• 2 Breakfast and 1 Dinner ( Veg Only )
• Transportation ( To and Fro till Bangalore ) ( Non AC)
• Experience that you gain

NOT INCLUDED:

• Lunch ( Day 1 and Day 2)
• Any kind of insurance
• Charges incurred for cycles or moped caused due to accident/ misuse/ negligence/ theft
• Anything not included in the inclusions above

Day 0: Depart for Hampi

We will be leaving from Bangalore by 10:00 PM and making the 364 kilometres ride all the way to Hampi.

Day 1: Explore Heritage side of Hampi

 All the history and culture buffs, get ready because your time is here. After everyone is sufficiently freshened up, we will take a ferry to the heritage side of Hampi, where you guys are in for a treat!

We will begin our bicycle tour of this ancient town with the magnificent Virupaksha temple which has three stunning entrance towers to it. This temple is dedicated to Shiva, Pampa and Bhuvaneshwari and also has a very serene pavilion situated within the structure. The Hampi Bazaar located close to the temple is also an excellent place to get yourself some souvenirs including embroidered shawls and textiles, traditional costumes, antique coins, jewellery, colourful bags, stone figurines, carved artefacts, handicraft items, clay dolls, etc.

We will then move on to the other temples on our itinerary at our own pace, as we engross ourselves over these masterpieces and understand the melancholic history behind each of them, one of grandeur and violence.

A quick stop for lunch offers us a great opportunity to try out some of the authentic vegetarian South Indian dishes that Hampi offers. Equally famous are its pancakes, pasta and bread toasts prepared specifically with the tourists in mind. Some well-deserved rest later, we continue with our bicycle tour as we head to one of the most iconic heritage sites in all of Hampi; The Vitthala temple complex. This temple is home to the legendary Stone Chariot which is the symbol of Karnataka tourism.

After a morning filled with absorbing information about the rich culture of this wonderful city, we will be enjoying a ride across the River Tungabhadra in a coracle at the divine Chakratirtha, which is considered to be one of the holiest places in the ruined city. A coracle is a floating basket or a boat that is made of leather, plastic and bitumen. You can enjoy swaying across the water in these coracles while observing the beautiful blue-ness all around you.

After this fun and adventurous coracle ride, we will finally head back to our campsite for some much-deserved dinner. Once everyone has replenished their energy, we will go for a late night walk to the rocks. Over here, you can sit down and enjoy the view that will be illuminated by the glowing flames of the campfire before we crawl back into our cosy tents under the starry skies. You know what they say, ‘the best nights are the ones spent in tents!’.

Day 2: Explore Hippie side of Hampi

We will rise and shine early in the morning to watch the spectacular sunrise atop Anjaneya Hill that just cannot be missed. Legend has it that Lord Hanuman was born on this hill because of which it is also known as Hanuman hill. You will observe the gorgeous blend of yellow and orange hues from atop these hills which is well worth the demanding climb up. The panoramic views of the entire city, both the heritage as well as the island side adds to the entire experience. After watching the sunrise atop this stunning hill, we will head back for breakfast

Now it’s time to let out the hippie in you as we explore the hippie side of this ancient city. Mopeds will be available on the site and can be used as a mode of transportation for those who do not want to walk. 

Sadly we will have to be back by afternoon and start making our way back to Bangalore. Our time with each other might end there.

Pick Up and Droppin Point

Following are your pickup/drop locations. You could let us know which would be appropriate to you before the trek in advance. Also note, the drop points would be the same as pick up.

1. Fabindia – House No. 54, 17th Main Road, Opp. Madivala Masjid, Koramangala 2nd Block, Sidharata Colony, Santhosapuram, Koramangala 2nd Block, Koramangala, Bengaluru, Karnataka.
2. New Shanti Sagar Hotel – Old Airport Road, Domlur, Bengaluru, Karnataka.
3. KTM Mekhri Circle – Mekhri Circle Junction, Raj Mahal Vilas Extension, Armane Nagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka.

Kindly note the timings for the above pickups, would be updated to you a day before the trek.

Things To Carry:

We request you to kindly carry the following. It’s better to be prepared rather than not prepared.

• Yourself (That’s most important – after all you paid us!)
• Rucksack (Just stuff your things in!)
• 2 water bottle – 1 litre each (Dehydration is much needed.)
• Torch/Headlamp (It’ll be really dark at night.)
• Portable charger (You might just want to keep your phone aside, but then, selfies toh banta hai!)
• Deodorant (You shouldn’t stink!)
• Paytm balance (Thanks to Demonetization)
• Money (You’ll not need it, but do carry some!)
• Energy Food ( Chocolate bars, Electrolyte drinks – Glucon-D, etc ) (You can carry some extra – we don’t mind to share!)
• Raincoat / Bag cover (Of course, you don’t want your rucksack to get all wet!)
• An extra pair of clothes, socks, undergarments, T-Shirt (And we don’t want you to walk in drenched clothes!)
• Flip-flops (Just to laze around the campsite.)
• First Aid Kit (along with personal medicine as per your requirement)
• Toilet kit (Not much would be required – just your toothbrush would do)
• Towel (Oh! We believe in saving water. Let’s ditch bathing for two days!)

Optional: AUX CABLE, UNO, BLUETOOTH SPEAKER,  GUITAR/ANY MUSIC INSTRUMENT, or any other games.

NOTE:

• Consumption of alcohol, intoxicants and smoking would not be tolerated during the entire course of the journey. Kindly co-operate with us to make the experience more fun.
• Put Litter in its place, do not trash the mother earth.
• In the case of traffic delays or breakdowns, expect some delays in reaching the destination.
• Plan The Unplanned will not be responsible for any loss/ hamper of your possessions. We request you to be alert about whatever you carry.
• All the meals will be Veg if included