Hampi Festival

Related Links

index

Celebrations

Hampi Festival 2012

Hampi exists as one of the International tourist spots in world Heritage. The hampi Utsav or Hampi Festival or Vijaya Utsav is a cultural extravaganza that has been celebrated since he times of the Vijayanagar reign. Hampi, Karnataka once the capital of the Vijayanagar Empire (One of the greatest empires in the history of India), comes alive during the lively festival of dance and music, held in the first week of November.

Hampi Festival is a three day event which generally commemorated from 3rd to 5th November.Hampi has always bestowed many surprises and eye catching events for all its tourists from time immemorial.

The most famous is the King's Balance where kings were weighed against gold or money, which was then distributed to the poor.

Other Attractions at Hampi:

Some spots worth a visit are the Queen's Bath with its arched corridors, projecting balconies and lotus shaped fountains,

the two storeyed Lotus Mahal, the huge Elephant Stables, the splendid Vitthal Temple with its musical pillars and the Stone Chariot, the Virupaksha Temple, Ugra Narasimha, the 6.7 meters tall monolith, the Pushkarini Tank, the Mahanavami Dibba, etc.

Virupaksha temple is still in use. Temples of this city are noted for their large dimensions, florid ornamentation, bold and delicate carvings, stately pillars, and magnificent pavilions. Most of the site is early 16th century, built during the 20-year reign of the great Vijayanagar ruler, Krishna Deva Raya (1509 -1529).

How to Reach?

Hampi, once the capital of Vijayanagar it today in ruins, but at some point in history it boasted of extravaganza and unsplended riches. It is situated at a distance of approximately 353 km from the capital city of Bangalore. The closest town to Hampi is Hospet. Hospet is a travel hub providing connections to major parts of India.

By Road

Hampi is well connected by road to Bangalore and other major cities of Karnataka. KSRTC buses ply regularly from Hospet to Hampi. Travellers can either avail taxi or auto-rickshaw to explore the ruins of Hampi. Bicycles can also be obtained on rent.

By Train

Hampi do not have a railway station of its own and the nearest railhead to Hampi is Hospet, which is about 13 km from Hampi. There are about 10 daily trains and about 5 special trains, which ply once or twice a week. Two of these trains are from Bangalore.

By Air

Bellary is the nearest airport to Hampi. Air Deccan operates direct flights to Bellary Airport from Bangalore and Goa.