Trek to Korigad Fort: Explore the Majesty of Maharashtra's Hidden Gem!

 

Journey Date : 28th Nov, 2023
Mode of Transport : Train, Bus

History of the Fort

• Since the year 1482, this fort was under the control of Mahamdshah Bahamani, in the year 1490 Ahmad Hasan betrayed Bahamani and established a new empire Nijamshahi and captured the Korigad fort and was under Nizamshahi control until the year 1636 (146 years).

• In the year 1636 Emperor Shahajahna attacked and overtook the Nizamshahi, in the treaty between Aadilshah and Shahajanh, Korigad Fort went under the control of Aadilshah.

• In the year 1647 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj captured the fort with the help of Dadoji Kondadev and Dhamale Deshmuk.

• In the year 1665 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj handed over Kuvari / Korigad along with 11 other forts to the Mughals, in the treaty of Purandar.

• Aurangzeb invaded the Deccan in the year 1689, after the death of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj 2nd king of the Maratha empire, Korigad fort captured by the Mughals on 12th November 1695.

• Secretary Shankraji Narayan ordered Navji Balkawde to re-capture the fort, on December 1695, Navji Balkawde got succeeded and brought back Korigad fort into Swarajay - Maratha Empire, but with the cost of several soldier lives along with Baloji Naik Dhamale.

• The Korigad fort was under the Maratha Empire until the year 1818 for 123 years.

• In the year 1818 Colonel Prother seized the fort, and he bombarded the fort for 3 days (11th to 13th March 1818) still he didn't succeed.

• Finally, on 14th March 1818, Col. Prother succeeded by firing a canon ball on ammunition storage. The Maratha army on the fort surrendered and handed over the fort to the British. 

• Colonel Prother looted the fort, but he didn't touch the jewelry of Goddess Korai, instead, he transferred the jewellery of Goddess Korai to the Mumbadevi Temple of Mumbai and those jewelry are still present in the temple today.

How to reach by Public Transport

• Indrayani Express from CSMT 5:40 a.m.

• MSRTC bus from Lonavla bus depot at 9:00 a.m. for Peth Shahapur (Lonavala - Bhambarde bus)

• The same bust will return to Peth Shahapur base village between 2:30 p.m. to 3.00 p.m (only one bus)

    From Khopoli you can take the CSMT train. (Check Khopoli - CSMT train timings in M-Indicator app and plan accordingly)

    If you miss Indrayani Express then you will miss the Lonaval - Bhamburde MSRTC bus, this is the only bus in a day for Peth Shahapur village.  If you miss the bus then you can hire a private jeep which costs high at around 50 Rs to 100 Rs, depending on your luck. Similarly don't miss the bus for the return journey which arrives at Peth Shahapur at around 2:30 p.m.

    While returning, once you reach Lonavala you can choose another option to reach Mumbai. Take a bus from Lonavala MSRTC bus depot to Khopoli bus depot. (buses are available in every 15-30 minutes).

Travel and Trek Experience   

    The plan was to visit and stay at Harishchandragad, but due to unexpected rain, we canceled the plan and decided to visit Korigad. My self, Latesh and Vilas uncle, We started our journey early in the morning from Goregaon at around 4:30 a.m. Boarded a BEST bus and reached Goregaon station around 4:45 a.m. At 4:49 a.m. Boarded the Churchgate train at got down at Dadar station at around 5:25 a.m. From platform number 6 of Dadar Central Railway, we boarded the Indrayani Express at 5:51 a.m. (Reservation was full, hence traveled from General compartment). Luckily Latesh got one empty seat, Myself and Vilas uncle didn't get the seat, so we decided to seat periodically.
Note: You can board Indrayani Express from CSMT, in our case we were a little bit late, high chance of missing the train; hence decided to board it from Dadar.

    We reached Lonavala station at around 8:20 a.m., We came out from the east side of the station and walked towards MSRTC bus depot with the help of Google Maps, The Bus depot is around 600 meters away from the railway station, it took 8 to 10 minutes to reach by walking. In the depot at the inquiry counter, we enquired about bus timing for Peth Shahapur, The bus will depart at around 9:00 a.m. We had 30 minutes in hand, so decided to do breakfast. Outside the bus depot, on the left side of the gate from where buses entered, there was one stall selling breakfast items. First, we ensure the cleanliness and decide to do breakfast. We had one plate meduvada and tea each, after breakfast we moved inside the depot and enquired at the shop about Peth Shahpur (Aamby Valley) bus. The shop owner pointed to the bus which was standing in front of us, the bus route was "Lonavala to Bhamburde" The bus got almost full, and we got the last seats. 

MSRTC bus for Peth Shahapur village

    The bus departed on time at 9:00 a.m. and reached the base village Peth Shahapur at 9:41 a.m. From the left side of the main road, there was a path that goes towards Korigad Fort, so we started walking, but one old age uncle from the village guided us to take another route, as the current route was the longest. We turned backward took the main road and moved ahead, When the road took a right turn, we left the road and moved towards the mountain also we took the help of the DURG Navigation app to ensure the correct trek route (already downloaded offline map).  With the help of an offline map we moved ahead, usually, there is no need for the map as the trek route is easy and safe, but at the start of the trek there was two right turn where almost all the people missed and moved straight and join the wrong path, so at initial level we used the offline map. Fortification and the bastion along with the waving saffron flag 😍 was visible from the base village.

    We came across the fort steps, so closed the navigation app and moved ahead without fear of getting lost. After 30 to 40 minutes of climb, we reached Ganesh Cave and a small temple of Lord Ganesh. At least 10 to 12 people can be accommodated in the cave, but currently cave is dirty and has become the house of Bats. We took a rest for 5 minutes and moved ahead.

Lord Ganesh Temple and Cave

    After 10 minutes of walking, we came across one more cave, where inside the cave water tank was there. Not sure the water in the water tank was clean and safe to drink, hence avoided refilling the bottles and moved ahead. Within 90 minutes at around 11:15 a.m., we reached the main gate "Ganesh Darwaja" of the fort. On the left side wall there was one carving of the human face, not sure might be the carving of Lord Bhairoba. The gate was reconstructed recently also new wooden doors were installed by a private fort conservation organisation. Don't expect such good work from ASI. We moved through the gate, on the right side behind the gate, as usual, there was a structure of a hut base, provision made for gatekeepers, and also a noticeable structure of a small canal to pass the rainwater. We moved ahead and came across two more water tanks. One is on the left side of the door and the other is exactly in front of the door. We took a left climbed the stairs and reached on top of the fort. 

Sculpture of Bhairavnath

    In front of us, there was a Shiv temple, where four cannons were kept. First, we decide to explore the right side of the fort and later enter into the temple. We moved ahead towards the lake, there was a way between two lakes where a sitting arrangement was made. We had planned to take a bath in the lake, but the water was not clean, hence we canceled the plan and moved ahead and reached the opposite side of the fort. We started walking on the fortification wall and reached one of the bastions northside of the fort, also known as Flag Point, where the saffron flag was waving with pride. this was the same flag and the bastion was visible from the base village as I mentioned earlier.

    We spent around 15 to 20 minutes, and had snacks before we moved ahead; we met a group of college students, who shared their trekking experience of Salher Fort. After sharing an Insta ID, we moved ahead through fortification and got down from the wall in front of Shiv temple, explored the Shiv temple and four canons and moved ahead towards the Vishnu temple. In front of the Vishnu temple, there were several rock pillars known as Veergal. A veergal is a pillar (usually of stone or wood) erected in memory of heroic men. It is also called Veerstambha. 

Shiv Temple

Vishnu Temple

Veergal

Veergal

After exploring the Vishnu temple we moved ahead and reached the Korai Goddess temple. While walking towards the Korai goddess temple we saw a big cannon, first we explored the Temple, we spent some time in the temple. The statue of Goddess Korai is beautiful also there was a beautiful deepstamb (light poll) in front of the temple.

Koraidevi Temple

    After exploring the temple we came back to the cannon named Laxmi one of the biggest cannon on the fort. After exploring the canon, moved ahead through fortification and reached southside of the fort at around 12:00 p.m. We came down from fortification and moved into the small valley which headed towards west door of the fort named as Hanuman Darwaja. While going towards we came across one more water tank, water is not clean, we moved ahead and reachd at the the gate. The way from Hanuman Darwaja reached at Aambavne village, but current condition of trail is not good and safe.

Laxmi Canon

    After exploring the Hanuman Darwaja, we moved ahed and climb the small rock patch and again came at the top and reached at the way which headed towards the lower bastion (Chilkhati Buruj). Path is not in good condition, hence we avoid going down. There was one more big canon present similar in the size of Laxmi canon. From the fortification wall the view of Aamby Valley city and the runway is clearly visible. We moved ahead and reached South bastion of the fort. The condition of the bastion is good but need some restoration and cleaning work as bastion is full of bushes, We avoid going ahead as there was high chances of having serpents into the bushes.

Front layer of Bastion

Bastion inner part

    From the east side of the fortification, we moved ahead towards the main gate (Ganesh Darwaja). While moving towards the main gate observed some workers cutting stones with chisels and hammers for restoration work. We reached the main gate of the fort from there we started our return journey at around 1:00 p.m, While descending the fort we came across small children of age group 7 to 8 years. A school from Pune arranged the picnic for them, a nice initiative of the school to arrange a picnic at a historic place.

    We took a rest at the Ganesh cave for 5 minutes and moved ahead, within 30 minutes at around 1:30 p.m. we reached the base village Peth Shahapur. We had to wait for one hour for the MSRTC bus, but luckily a private vehicle arrived, we asked to drop us at Lonavala station; he said he would charge 50 Rs per person. We agreed as we have to spend 15 Rs extra per person, which saves our time. We reached Lonavala station at around 1:50 p.m. He dropped us at Lonavala West, Shivaji Chowk, from there we came to the East using the overhead bridge and again walked for 8 to 10 minutes towards the Bus depot. 

    We enquired about the bus timing for Khopoli, they said buses are available at 3:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. We had almost one hour in hand, so decided to go for shopping and have lunch. The exact opposite of the bus stand from where buses exit, there was a shop Maganlal Chikki, with varieties of chikkis available there. After purchasing chikki we are searching a restaurant for lunch, but the condition of the restaurant cum dhaba was not good, hence avoid doing lunch and came back to the bus depot, had sugarcane juice and went to the stand where one bus arrived of Junnar - Panvel. We boarded the bus, the bus departed at 3:30 p.m. and reached Khopoli Phata at around 3:40 p.m. We got down at Khopoli Phata. From Khopoli Phata bus stand, Khopoli railway station was 3 km away. There are sharing autos available with 20 Rs per person, but we decided to cover the distance by walking as we had enough time also our walking quota was not yet completed 😅.

    With the help of Google Maps, at around 4:20 p.m., we reached Khopoli railway station, the train had already arrived and parked at the platform, due to limited frequency train was almost full, lucky we got seats. The train departed at 4:30 p.m. and reached Dadar at around 6:45 p.m. (The Deccan Express which we are planning to board, was delayed by 40 minutes). We reached Goregaon at around 7:15 p.m.

Places to See Nearby

• Ghangad Fort
• Morgiri Fort
• Tail Baila pinacle
• Tung Tikona Fort
• Dinosour Park
• Wax Museum

Spending Tracker in Rupees

  

Time Tracker

Random Clicks

Hampi Tour - Day 4 - Koppal Fort

 

Journey Date : 25 Oct, 2023 to 29th Oct, 2023
Mode of Transport : Train, bus and Auto

Day Four

    Since two days we have been waking up early, so decided to wake up late at least by 1 or 2 hours. We woke up at around 7:30 a.m. Auto driver Mr. Parshuram called us and confirmed the timing, we told him to come at 9:30 a.m. at Hotel Amrutha Residency. We got ready and left the hotel room, auto was standing in front of the hotel gate, but Parshuram was not there. The auto driver told us that Mr. Parshuram was busy with some other work so he sent him. We sat in the auto and asked the auto driver to stop at the restaurant as we had to to breakfast. After having breakfast we moved ahead to Koppal.

Places we saw in Koppal

1. Shri Gavisiddheshwar Math
2. Koppal Fort
3. Hulikeri Park
4. Huligemma Devi Temple
5. Tungbhadra Dam, Hosapete

👉 Go To Spending Tracker

Shri Gavisiddheshwar Math

    From Hosapete to Koppal distance is around 31 Kilometers, We reached Gavisiddheshwar Maath in 40 minutes at around 10:20 a.m. When we entered the premises of maath, a security guard said something in the Kannada language by pointing at the right side building, we moved to the right side of the building where a provision to keep shoes was made also there was a provision for toilets were made. We handed over our shoes to the guard and took the token from him. We moved ahead and saw at the entrance that one rock was kept as a showpiece. Climed the stairs and moved next floor where we saw some peoples going inside the chamber from the small window-like entrance. we thought this might be a temple and a deity inside, so we also entered from the small entrance by first putting our one leg inside and slowly we moved our body inside. We were correct there is Shiv ling inside. We took a blessing and the priest handed over a ticket in the hand. We didn't know the purpose of the ticket, so we asked him in sign language and he replied "Prasadam", it was a food/lunch ticket. We came out of the temple in the opposite direction in a similar manner as we entered.

    

Showpiece stones at the entrance

    Opposite the temple, there was an open space where aasan (chair) of Swamiji was kept. Two statues of Swamiji were there, we spent five minutes over there and had a glass of water from the water bottle, the water from the well was sweet, later we came out and took left for upper floor. Over there one more temple was there, a statue of swamiji and other gods and another temple was under construction. A complete view of Koppal village from top was beautiful. Koppal fort was clearly visible which was our next destination.

Panaromic view of Koppal village

    We came down to the 1st floor, and from there we went down towards the lake, there was one more temple of Swamiji constructed in the middle of the lake. Construction was still underway in some areas, so it was difficult for us to walk barefoot. While returning from the temple, we saw a kitchen which was the sign of a canteen or say a Lunch hall. We moved ahead and submitted the tickets at the counter, which was provided earlier in the temple. It was around 11:10 a.m., too early for lunch, so we had only sweet (Kheer) as a prasadam, after we had prasadam we washed the plates and kept them aside to dry and moved ahead for our next destination.

Koppal Fort

    At around 11:25 a.m. we departed for Koppal fort. With the help of Google Maps, we reached the base of the Koppal fort at around 11:40 a.m. This fort has importance in Martha's history. Commander in chief of the Maratha army Hambirrao Mohite won the battle against the Miana brothers and captured the fort. 

    When we moved towards the gate and observed garbage spill all over, also at some places local public used the base area as a toilet. Very much disappointed by seeing all these things. Very important to spread awareness to local people about the importance of the fort and other ancient places. We moved ahead and reached the main gate of the fort. We were stunned to see the Gate is intact and in good condition. We happily entered the gate and started climbing the stairs. 

Main Gate of Koppal Fort

    As expected stairs are made up of big rocks, climbing each step testing your stamina. We reached the second gate where in the exact opposite direction there was a small door and steps went downwards but the path was filled with grass and bushes, so avoid going there, later we came to know that the place was a big water tank. Thanks to the God that out of our three, no one tried to go there! We moved ahead through the second gate and came across the cave, having the support of two pillars. the cave is big at least 10 - 15 people can easily accommodate it, but the current condition is vulnerable, the cave is full of bats, and one can smell the odder of bats' waste.

Panorama view of Cave at Koppal fort

     After exploring the cave we moved ahead and reached the third gate, we went through the gate and reached the lake. We spent some time at the lake for photography. After spending 15 to 20 minutes, at around 12:30 moved ahead and within 20 to 30 steps we reached the fourth door and came across a building, where some sculptures were made, but missed those and while descending they grabbed our focus. We moved ahead and crossed the fifth gate and reached the other side of the building, and it was nothing but a temple where the deity is missing. On top of the door frame is the sculpture of Gaja Laxmi was there. Gaja Laxmi means Goddess Laxmi with two elephants on both sides.

Video

Video

    We observed the path was covered with big grass and bushes, we kept our steps carefully and moved ahead, we observed one building which was painted with sky blue color, we thought it was a dargah, as usual illegally captured the land by Jihadis. We avoided that building and moved ahead and came across one more water tank, there was a way to go upward from beside the water tank, so we moved ahead carefully because our right side was open and if we slipped and fell then directly went into the water tank. We didn't know how deep the water tank was, even we didn't even know how to swim.

Water tank on the fort

    We went through the sixth gate and observed two rocks joined with the stone bridge. We moved and observed surface was carved with footstep shapes to get a grip and to avoid falling into the gap between two rocks, again we came across a water tank, this is the third water tank on the fort. We moved ahead upward and reached the 7th and the last gate of the fort as well as the top of the fort. We reached the topmost bastion from there entier Koppal district is visible. On the bastion, a big electric instrument was kept to make provision for light.

Bastion at top of the fort

    We came down from the bastion and took a rest for 15-20 minutes. It took One hour to reach the top from the base. At this point our water bottles got empty! At around 1:10 p.m. we decided to start descent the fort. While descending Vinayak saw a beautiful place for photography, both Vinayak and Kaushal went for photos. After spending 5 minutes we moved down and reached the water tanks, where my step slipped twice, I thought the surface was dry so I didn't keep my foot on the carved footstep shape for grip. I balanced myself, else high chance of falling into the gap between two rocks. Later I used those footstep carvings for grip.

    We reached the building which was painted in sky blue color, as I said earlier we thought it was a dargah so we avoided going there, but somewhere inside we were curious to see what they did, so we decided to go and check. When we reached the front side of the building we observed two pillars similar to the Hindu temple, we observed door was painted yellow color and had Haldi and Kumkum on it also Mango leaves were hanging on the door, all these signs said this was a Hindu temple instead of dargah. Kaushal moved ahead towards the door, there were two holes in the door, and a Moon half ring and a Sun were carved on the door, using that hole I asked Kaushal to peep inside but the room was dark, I asked him to use mobile camera to see inside. We were surprised, there was an idol of Goddess Bhavani. We opened the door and went into the sanctum had a prayer and came out and closed the door.

Goddess Bhavani Temple

Idol of Goddess Bhavani

    We continued to descend the fort and reached the building where the carving was, earlier I said while ascending we missed those carvings. Vinayak informed me about the carving, the carving of the imaginary animal named Sharab one more carving of Sharab was observed on the left top of the building and later we found many carvings of Parot, Ganesh, Prabhu Shree Ram and Shree Hanuman. We clicked the photos and continued to descend, now we didn't stop until we reached the base of the fort. We reached at the base at around 1:45 p.m.

    At the main gate of the fort, we took a beautiful photo and moved ahead. When we came out of the entrance we saw villagers filling water from the tap, at some of the taps water is overflowing from the flask. We want to refill our water bottles, but the place is unknown and there is a language barrier. Some ladies were sitting outside the home, So we took out water bottles from the bag and in sign language asked them for water, She called his son and asked him to bring water. She asked in sign language where are you from, and we answered "From Mumbai".  She saw a stick in hand and she thought it was a drone, we told her that it was a selfie stick, not a drone. We thanked them for the water and moved ahead. Note: in Kannada language Water is called Neer.

    We reached the spot where the Auto driver dropped us off, but he was not there, so we called him on mobile, but he didn't respond after a few tries he answered the call and asked us to wait for 5 minutes as he went for lunch and no the way. We sat in the auto and asked him to take us to Hulikeri Lake.

Hulikeri Lake

    Once again with the help of Google Maps, we reached the Lake viewpoint at around 2:05 p.m. The auto driver drops us at the gate. We moved around, where seating arrangements were made to see Lake View and sunset. When we stepped inside the park, we were disappointed to see dirt all over, local people had made this place a garbage dump area, everywhere red marks of spitting of pan and guthka. The area is beautiful, but local people made it garbage. We didn't wait much, clicked some photos, and left for Huligemma Temple at around 2:30 p.m.

Hulikeri Lake panorama view

    While returning from Hulikeri Lake, we decided to have lunch, as lunchtime had already passed. We asked the Auto driver to stop at a good restaurant for Lunch. He turned the auto in the opposite direction of Hosapete as there was no option for restaurants the way we came from Hosapete. We saw one family restaurant named Sukhibhava, The food quality, taste and service are good, recommend the restaurant if you visit Koppal. After having lunch we started our journey towards Huligemma Temple at around 3:20 p.m.

Huligemma Temple

    Huligemma temple is 24 km from Koppal Fort and 14 km from Hosapete. The temple is located in Munirabad. One of the famous temples in the Karnataka. When we reached near the temple saw both side of the road was covered with big shops, and had a big parking area. We got off from auto around 100 - 200 meters away from the main gate at around 3:50 p.m. There was a provision for a shoe rack, so we handed over our shoes to the guard. and moved ahead. Before entering the holy place, we had to clean our feet, and for that, temple authority made a provision for a small canal where water flows continuously, we put our feet inside and moved ahead. This technique was followed in most of the temples in South India. The entrance gate is beautifully constructed, having various statues of gods on it. We entered into the temple premises, and stood in the queue. We seek blessing from Godess Huligmma and came out of the mandapam. We spent 15-20 minutes and came out of the premises. On left side of the gate there was a big wooden chariot kept inside bamboo shade. Spent some time in window shopping, as we didn't found any item as per our requirements. At around 4:30 p.m we departed for Tungabhadra Dam for sunset.

Huligemma Temple Premisses

    While going towards Tungabhadra Dam from Huligemma temple, We waited for around 10 - 15 minutes at railway crossing in Munirabad. Gate was closed as train about to pass, we though we will miss the sunset again, but guard opens the gate as train took long halt at Munirabad railway station. 

Tungabhadra Dam

   We reached Tungabhadra Dam at around 5:10 p.m. We took entry tickets at the counter and stood in the queue for the bus. Two buses arrived, but both were full by a group of senior citizens. We were continuously watching the sun, we didn't want to miss the sunset this time. Finally, the bus arrived after 10 minutes. We reached the top of the dam at around 5:25 p.m. We set up our selfie stand to capture the sunset. The sunset view was mesmerizing and the reflection of the sun on the water was amazing, but very soon an incident happened that stops our heartbeat for a second. A group of monkeys arrived and tried to steal the mobile and selfie stand, due to the alertness we picked up the selfie stand and mobile before time. After the monkies went away, we again set up the selfie stand and captured the sunset, but this time we were disappointed, as the sun set about earth line in the clouds😒

    After sunset we boarded the bus and reached the gate, this time we didn't go to see a light show. We need some time to pack bags. We called the Auto driver, and he arrived along with Auto driver Parshuram, to whom we had done today's deal. He again started crying about additional charges as we had not mentioned Tungabhadra dam in the itinerary, we told him, we were on time,  Tungabhadra dam was on the same way, and no extra distance we had traveled. We gave only 1800 Rupees which we have decided. At around 5:50 we reached the hotel.

Sunset at Tungabhadra Dam

Return Journey to Mumbai

    After reaching the room, we got fresh and started packing our bags, as our holidays were over 😂. At around 8:40 p.m. we went for dinner at Naivedyam restaurant. This was our last dinner in Karnataka so we decided to try some good restaurants. The ambiance, food taste, quality and service are very good. We completed our dinner and went for a walk at around 10:05 p.m. This was our last walk on the Hosepete bus stand road. Don't know whether we come here again or not in the future! We return to the room at around 10:30 p.m. We recharged our mobiles and powerbanks and at around 12:30 am on 29th October 2023, we checked out from Hotel Amrutha Residency. Though the train arrival time was 1:30 a.m., we decided to leave early as we were new to this area and didn't know about night conditions. Within 15 minutes, at around 12:45 we reached Hosapete Junction. We waited for a train in the AC retiring room. 

    As usual, the Indian Railway train came late by 10 minutes. We had AC 3Tier booking, we boarded the train, reached at seats and prepared our beds for sleep. We were about to sleep when TC arrived and asked for the seat number, I told him the seat number, but he said these seats were reserved for some other passengers. Then he checked the booking details in his TAB and said your seats were upgraded to AC 2 Tier and we had to go to another compartment which was 4 to 5 compartments away. We have not received any message from IRCTC about upgradation. We were disappointed as our sleep got disturbed, but on the other hand, we were happy as we got the chance to travel in 2Tier AC at the fare of 3Tier AC 😆.

    We traveled from the B4 compartment to the A2 compartment, again prepared our beds for sleep and went to sleep. We woke up directly at 8:30 a.m. We got fresh and had breakfast and tea at around 9:30 a.m. The good thing was that the lower berth was empty, so we sat at the lower berth and spent time in gossip. On the train, a salesman was selling sweets, we purchased a sweet named Kunda from him, one of the famous swee of Belgav. At around 12:30 p.m., a pantry boy arrived to take lunch orders, we ordered Veg pulao. Lunch arrived at around 1:00 p.m, we had lunch and started discussing dinner plans, as the train was running late and tentatively reached Kalyan station at around 9:30 p.m. Kaushal and Vinayak decided to call their sister and maternal aunt respectively, as both stay in Pune and our train having halt at Pune junction. They both called and asked to bring dinner at Pune station. At around 2:30 p.m we went to sleep and got up at around 4:30 p.m. We had tea again and waited for Pune station to arrive. At around 6:00 p.m. train reached Pune station. Both Kaushal's Sister and Vinayak's maternal aunt were waiting on the platform. They handed over the food boxes and spent some time in the gossip and at around 6:20 p.m. train departed.

    At around 8:00 pm we started dinner, first, we ate Tasty Thalipeeth brought by Vinayak's maternal aunt and after taking a break of 30 minutes at around 8:45 pm we had delicious Bhaji Chapati brought by Kaushal's sister. Thank to both for a tasty dinner. At around 9:00 p.m. train took a halt at Vtthalwadi railway station, which was two stations before Kalyan. We decided to get down at Vitthalwadi as the train was too slow and also taking halts anywhere. We got down at Vitthalwadi and purchased a ticket from the ticket counter. Vinayak got down at Dombiwali and we both got down at Dadar at around 10:10 a.m. In the morning I got the news that on the western line due to maintenance work trains were delayed. The indicator displayed the Bhayinder train arrival time at 10:30 p.m., but even after 10:40 p.m. train didn't arrive, because of that commuters were getting piled up and the platform got crowded. I am carrying two bags, hence it will be very difficult to board the train. Suddenly I received a call from Dad, I explained the situation; and he advised me to take a private cab, i dropped the call and immediately booked a private cab using OLA app. I reached (Goregaon) home at around 11:40 p.m. 

    This was our first picnic outside Maharashtra and the first experience was awesome, we enjoyed it a lot. Thank you to all who helped us on this trip. Thanks to Guide Suresh and Auto driver Narayanana and his brother Lucky also thanks to Auto driver Parshuram. 

Here the end of Day four and the tour of Hampi.

    Special thanks to both my loving friends, Kaushal and Vinayak, without their cooperation Hampi tour was impossible. 

Spending summary Day 4

Over all spending summary

Click below links for 

Day 1 - Tungabhadra Dam

Day 2 - North Hampi Explore

Day 3 - South Hampi Explore

👉 Go To Top Section of Page

Hampi Tour - Day 3 - South Hampi exploration

Journey Date : 25 Oct, 2023 to 29th Oct, 2023

Mode of Transport : Train, bus and Auto

Day Three

    On day three 28th October, 2023 we woke up immediately when the first alarm rang, we got ready as early as possible and reached at Hosapete bus stand, with the help of a commuter we identified the correct bus for Kamlapur. We boarded the bus at around 8:00 a.m. This time we already made arrangements for change. We took a ticket of 51 Rupees, 17 Rupees per person and got down at Kamlapur at around 8:30 a.m. where auto driver Lucky was waiting for us. We had not done breakfast, so requseted Lucky to take us at a nearby good restaurant. We had a idili, medu vada, chana vada and tea. After refueling our tummy, the auto driver called Guide Suresh and asked him to come directly to Malyawant Hill.

Sout Hampi Explored Places.

1. Malyavant Hill
2. Anjanadri Hill 
3. Pampa Sarovar and Shabri cave
4. Durgadevi Temple and Vali cave
5. Rakshas cave
6. Ranganath Temple and Gagan Mahal
7. Anegundi, House of Krishnadevaraya
8. Kamlapur Museum
9. Laxmi Narsimha
10. Badavi Linga
11. Krishna Temple
12. Krishna Bazar
13. Tirumala donation pot
14. Kadalekalu Ganesh
15. Harihar Temple and Gate
16. Virupaksh Temple
17. Coracle Ride
18. Hemakutta Hill sunset
19. Sasivekalu Ganesh

👉 Go to Spending Tracker

Malyavant Hill

    We reached Malyavant Hill at around 9:35 a.m. There are several temples on top of the hill, we visited three temples. First on Malyavant Raghunath swami temple, This temple is dedicated to Lord Shree Ram. The uniqueness of the Shree Ram idol is that the statue is in a sitting position without a Bow or any other weapon in hand, normally Lord Ram statue in India is in a standing position while holding a Bow in his hand. Sadhus (Priest) is reading Tulsi Ramayan 24x7 in the temple in shift-wise. According to history, it is here lord Rama and his brother Laxmana waited till the monsoon season gets over; and then they marched towards Lanka with Hanuman’s monkey army to rescue Sita.

Raghunatswami temple entrance

    After exploring Raghunath swami temple, moved back side of the temple where one more temple named Prasanna Virupaksh temple, was dedicated to Lord Shiv. The sanctum is carved inside a big granite rock. ASI had constructed a wall from the outside to give to those rocks. On the immediate left after coming out of the temple, you will see a group of Shiv Lingas in two parallel lines and in between there is a gap that is filled with water. As per the ancient history, at the time of stay, there was no provision of water on top of the hill. so Lord Laximan brother of Lord Ram hit an arrow on the rock to produce water, this area is also known as Laxman Tirtha. This site is also famous as a sunset point, you can see the entire Hampi city from the top.    

Prasanna Virupaksh Temple at Malywant Hill

    We took some photos and came back to Raghunath swami temple. Besides Raghunath swami temple, Goddess Laxmi temp is there. We explored the temple, took blessings and headed towards Auto for our next destination. Though a bit isolated, reaching Malyavanta Hill is not a great struggle. It is located somewhat on the way to Vittala Temple from Kamalapura town. It’s not a bad idea to tweak it a bit to include Malyavanta Hill as a side trip. 👉 Go to Top of the Page

Laxman Tirth at Malyavant Hill

Anjanadri / Kishkinda Hill

    Guide Suresh had made changes in the plan, due to Saturday there is a rush of Devotees at Anjanadri. To avoid rushing, he informed the Auto driver to take us to Anjanadri. Around 10:30 a.m. we reached the base of Anjanadri. We started climbing the hill, and after we reached halfway we stuck, due to the narrow path at the top and a high number of devotees, the path got blocked as both ways people got clashed. 

    Around after 40 minutes of climb, we reached the Lord Hanuman temple, where we were slightly disappointed, The staff and police were pushing the devotees, not even giving them a minute to stand. We came out of the temple, took some photos and decided to return to the base. We observed the way we come from has been closed and made one way.  All are local people on top and they know only Kannada language, due to which we wasted 10-15 minutes to find another way to get down. While descending observed several stalls selling chopped fruits, we had a sugarcane juice and continued to descend. At around 12:30 p.m., we reached the base and gave a call to Auto driver Lucky, he came to the gate to pick up. 👉 Go to Top of the Page

Anjanadri Temple

Pampa Sarovar and Shabri Cave

    Pampa Sarovar (Lake) is 2 to 3 km away from Anjanadri. Pampa is the Sanskrit name of Goddess Parvathi. Not much to see over there, The Goddess Laxmi temple is there, which was recently renovated. Beside the temple, there is a cave named Shabri cave. This place has its importance as it is connected to Ramayana. After exploring Shabri cave, we went upside using metal stairs. View point provision made for visitors to take photos. We spent around 30 minutes and at 1:00 p.m. boarded the Auto for the next destination. 👉 Go to Top of the Page

Pampa Sarovar

Durgadevi Temple and Vali Cave  

    The temple is on the way to Pampa Sarovar, while returning we visited the temple. As we entered the premises saw a beautiful view, as some festival celebration was going on. We bowed down in front of Goddess Durga and spent some time watching a musician playing a traditional instrument called Shehnai.

    We came outside the temple premises and started searching for Vali caves, We asked some local people, but due to the language barrier, they were unable to understand. We gave a call to the Auto driver, he guided us to the path to Vali caves. Vali cave's path is inside the temple premises. When we stepped down from the temple we had to take a left which we missed earlier,  A way passed from the temple kitchen, and then we took a right and reached at the gate, looking at the gate one can guess that the construction is older about 700 - 800 years. The door is between two bastions. We moved inside the gate on the right side there is a big well. We went straight around 500 to 700 meters and reached at caves, but not sure whether we reached at correct location or if we had to move ahead. We decided to enter the cave, and with the help of a cell phone torch we explored the cave, we saw a bulb, which was installed to light up the cave but the bulb was not working. We went outside the cave and moved ahead and found the board of Vali cave. This was the actual entrance of Vali cave we entered the cave and reached the same bulb that we saw earlier and came outside the cave at the other end, which was the same entrance we used earlier. To visit the temple and explore the cave takes around 40 to 45 minutes. Around 1:45 p.m. we moved ahead for Anegundi village to see Ranganath temple and the house of King Krishnadevaraya. 👉 Go to Top of the Page

Durga Mata Temple

Vali Cave

Rakshas Cave

    While going towards Anegundi, on the right side there were some sculptures on rock, which is the palace/cave where King Vali and Demon (Rakshas) fought the battle. At the time of death, Rakshas mimics the voice of King Vali and shouts to seek help. Vali's brother Sugreev thought his brother lost the battle and died. To cage the demon inside the cave, Sugreev closed the door of the cave with a big rock, but the reality was different Demon was dead and King Vali won the battle.

    We didn't go to the caves, saw it from the auto as we had very little time to explore other important places in the Hampi. 👉 Go to Top of the Page

Ranganath Temple and Gagan Mahal

    When we got off the Auto, first we saw a big wooden Chariot, kept opposite side of the temple. We went inside the temple and saw a beautiful statue of Lord Vishnu lying on Shesh Nag (5-headed snake). Status is carved in black limestone. Very first time I saw a Vishnu statue carved in black lime stone.

Ranganath Temple

    Gagan Mahal is also known as the Old Palace. The palace is believed to have been constructed in the 16th century by the rulers of the Vijayanagara Empire. The present condition of the Gagan Mahal is a semi-ruined structure. Though parts of the palace are used as the local administrative office, some parts are in complete ruins. Currently, Gagan Mahal is closed for maintenance work (date - 27-Oct-2023). We did some window shopping from Auto and moved ahead to the house of the Royal family - Krishnadevraya at around 2:15 p.m. 👉 Go to Top of the Page

Gagan Mahal

Anegundi House of Krishnadevraya

    Since the palace was closed and were not allowed to go inside, we decided to see it from outside, we did not get down from the auto. The house was beautifully made of teak wood and a beautiful rangoli was drawn in front of the gate. The royal family comes and stays here during festivals and special occasions.

House of Royal Family

    We decided to have lunch as Luch time had already passed, it was around 2:20 p.m. While heading towards Kamlapur we saw stalls selling coconut water, Going to south India and not drinking coconut water is like visited the ice cream shop and coming out without having it. We took a halt at a stall and had a two coconuts each. We resumed heading towards Kamplapur, when we reached on the bridge of the river. The auto driver Lucky stopped the auto by himself and gave us a 10 minutes to take photos and selfies. We reached Kamlapur at around 2:40 p.m. We asked Lucky to take us to Hampi Paradise restaurant, when we entered the restaurant observed restaurant was full and we had to wait for 30-40 minutes,  time is very precious during Hampi exploration, so we decided to move to another restaurant, Lucky helped us with small and good restaurant, where food is ready and no need to wait. We ordered a Veg thali. post lunch we asked for a bill, we were surprised by seeing the amount on the bill, it was only 300 Rupees means 100 Rupees each. 👉 Go to Top of the Page

    Note: The food rate is very low as compared to Mumbai restaurants, except for famous restaurants, Also my advice is don't waste time waiting for tables in famous restaurants, instead try small restaurants, you will save time as well as money.

    Note: During the journey from Anjanadri hill to lunch at Kamalapur, the guide Mr. Suresh was not with us, as there were no special places to provide information, so the auto driver Luky became our guide.

Kamlapur Museum

    After lunch, at around 3:30 p.m. we visited the museum, which is near the Kamplapur bus stand. Guide Suresh arranged a ticket for us, he didn't take any charge of that. We display the tickets at the gate and enter into the museum premises. Initially, we explored the outer part, where broken idols were kept which was discovered during excavation.
    We were not aware that an important part of the museum was inside the building. Guide Suresh approached us and took us inside the museum. At the entrance of the museum, there is a statue of King Krishnadevaraya and his two wives Queen Tirumala Devi and Queen Chinna Devi.
    We moved inside and were stunned by seeing idols of various gods, the idols kept inside the museum were almost in good condition. I cannot put the list of things we saw, some of the important things are dumbell, gun barrels, ancient gold coins, ancient books and scripts etc. One of the important things is a miniature model or map of Hampi is constructed.
    Note: The ticket purchased at Vijay Vitthal Temple is also valid at Kamalapur Museum, but this ticket is valid for only one day. The day we went to Vijay Vitthal Temple was Friday and the Kamlapur Museum is closed on Fridays. So, the guide, Suresh, bought us new tickets at his own expense.

    We have not spent much time in the museum, as a lot of places are pending to see and I had asked Suresh to enquire about Virupaksh temple timing, usually, The timing is from 6:00 a.m to 9:00 p.m. but on 27th October Lunar eclipse was there, as per Hindu culture temples door closes five hours before eclipse till the eclipse get over. Guide enquired and informed us that temple doors will close early at 6:00 p.m. so we have to make hurry. At around 4:00 p.m., we headed toward Virupaksh temple. 👉 Go to Top of the Page

Ancient Gun barrel

Ancient dumbbells

Laxmi Narsimha

    At around 4:10 p.m. we reached Laxmi Narsihmh statue, the biggest monolithic statue of Narsimha in India. ASI had tried its best to restore it. The beautiful statue was destroyed in the Islamic invasion. Later some educated illiterate people destroyed it by standing on it for photos. Now barricades were installed and not allowed to go inside, you could explore from a distance. After that within 10 minutes we moved toward Badavi Linga. 👉 Go to Top of the Page

Laxmi Narsimh statue

Badavi Linga

    A small temple located next to Laxmi Narsimha, in local language Badavi / Badava means poor. The Shiv Ling placed inside the temple and commissioned by Poor women, hence the temple named as Badavi Linga. The Shiv Ling carved in single stone, Largest monolithic Shiv Ling in India.

    Late K N Krishna Bhat the chief priest of Badavilinga temple in Hampi for nearly four decades, known famously for climbing the 3-metre Shivlingam for performing priestly duties.  His duties are now being carried out by his son, Raghava. Krishna Bhat was born in 1935 and grew up in Kasaravalli. He went on to receive vaidik education at Sringeri’s Sharada Peetha. While he pursued priesthood, he also simultaneously ran a grocery shop. 👉 Go to Top of the Page

Badavi Linga

Krishna Temple

    Krishna Temple is 5 minutes away from Badavi Linga by auto, we reached at around 4:30 p.m. The Krishna Temple in Hampi, Karnataka is a notable one with unique architecture. This temple is dedicated to Lord Balakrishna, the form of Lord Krishna when he was an infant. The main idol of the temple is that of Lord Balakrishna which is now on display in the State Museum at Chennai. The temple campus is adorned with pillared halls and many small shrines. This is one of the rare temples which have epics inscribed on the tower walls. The main tower at the east is an impressive sight with numerous carvings on it (now the tower is under restoration work). You can see the carvings of the 10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu in this temple.

    We spent around 20 minutes to explore the temple, we want to spent more time to explore but due to time constraint we move ahead for Virupaksh Temple. When we came out of the Krishna Temple, we saw a structure similar to bazar, guide told us it is know as Krishna bazar.  👉 Go to Top of the Page

Entrance of Krishna Temple

Back side of the Entrance of Krishna Temple

10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu Carved on the gate

Krishna Bazar (Marketplace)

    As you enter from the Krishna Temple side, you can see long rows of pavilions along the bazaar street. A little ahead along the bazaar is the sacred tank. We have not entered into the bazar, We saw it while standing on the side of the road and moved on. 👉 Go to Top of the Page

Note : All these places are on the way or nearby towards Virupasksh temple 

Krishna Bazar - Marketplace

Tirumala donation pot

    While moving towards Virupaksh temple, observed rectrangula structure madup of stone, at roadside near Krishna bazar, With a curiosity we asked about it to guide, as per guide this is a donation pot. This donation vessel was kept for the convenience of people who could not visit the Tirumala temple, dedicated to Lord Vishnu in Andhra Pradesh. When the king planned to visit Tirumala, he would take with him all the donation money on behalf of all the devotees. 👉 Go to Top of the Page

Donation Pot

Kadalekalu Ganesh

    We reached at Ganesh temple by walking within 5 minutes at around 4:55 p.m. The statue of Ganesh is the biggest monolithic statue in India. Beautiful statue was destroyed by Islamic invaders.  We entered into the temple and take round inside and observed, event back side of the statue fine work was done. The belly of Ganesha has been chiselled in such a manner that it resembles a Bengal gram (known as Kadalekalu in the local language). Hence, the statue has been given the name of Kadalekalu Ganesha. It is one of the largest statues that exist in Hampi. After spending a 10 minutes at around 05:05 p.m we moved ahead towards Harihar temple. 👉 Go to Top of the Page

Kadalekalu Ganesh

Back side of Kadalekalu Ganesh statue

Harihar Temple and Gate

    We reached Harihar temple by walking, as Harihara Temple is located on the Hemkuta hill behide Kadalekalu Ganesh, this ancient temple is an important cultural heritage. The Harihara temple is a small, east - facing edifice, consisting of only a sanctum and a pillared - hall. Though there is no enclosure wall around this structure, the approach to it is marked by a small gateway. The latter highlights the importance of this otherwise rather insignificant monument. At present a new Shiv ling is enshrined in the sanctum. Since Harihara is worshiped both in the iconic and other forms. The local people consider it as a Harihara shrine. Harihara, or Sankaranarayana, is a composite deity, half Lord Shiva and half Lord Vishnu.

    Greater significance is the presence of the 'vahanas' and attendant animals of the two deities on the walls of the 'mandapa'. On the south wall, near the entrance, is carved Lord Hanuman in heroic pose and seated Nandi. Opposite these, on the north wall is Garuda and a large coiled snake.

    We spent hardly 10 minutes and at around 5:15 p.m we moved towards Virupaksha temple by Auto.  👉 Go to Top of the Page

Harihar Temple Gate

Virupaksh Temple

    Within 5 minutes we reached Virupaksh temple. Lucky dropped us at Hampi bazar which is 500 meters away from the gate, to protect the temple building from vibration vehicles are not allowed near the temple gate. Removed shoes outside the gate and entered inside, on the left-hand side we saw a unique three-head Nandi status, earlier it was located in the center of the temple, but it got damaged while performing rituals by local peoples. ASI replaced it with single-head Nandi.

    We moved ahead towards the second gate, where the guide asked us to take a ticket of 25 Rupees each. We saw some of the people were going without taking a ticket, so why guide ask us to purchase a ticket? we were unaware of it and we didn't ask about it and later we got the answer to this. We went through the gate, entered into the sabha mandap and stood in a queue for Lord Shiv darshan. We bowed our heads took blessings and moved ahead, suddenly guide stopped us, and he displayed the ticket to the priest. The priest opened the gate and allowed us to enter into the outer part of the sanctum, this is the reason the guide asked us to purchase tickets. Shiv Ling was covered with a silver crown, the priest removed that for some reason and we are lucky to see actual Shiv Ling. 

Main Gate of Virupaksh Temple

    We came out of the mandap, guide told us to visit Mata Parvati and Mata Bhuvneshwari temple which in the same premises. The Statue of both Mata Parvati and Mata Bhuvneshwari is beautiful, suddenly the pillars of the temples grabbed our focus, Pillars made up of black limestone and carved very fine and perfect. We can say it is one of the masterpieces.
Note: Mata Bhuvneshwari is the Kuldevi of Harihar and Bukka, founder of  Vijaynagar empire.

   Stunned to see a big bowl that was used to keep tirth, which was served to devotees, also a big Saan (stone plate) used to rub sandal sticks on it to produce sandal cream. Guide took us into the dark room where the technology of pinhole camera is there, the inverse shadow of the temple gate is visible, the same technique is used in today's camera. Pinhole technology was developed 1000 years ago, How smart and innovative our ancestors!

Ancient Bowl to serve tirth (holy water)

Ancient stone plate to produce cream of Sandal wood

Inverse shadow of main gate using pin hole technique

    Besides Virupaksh mandap, a house and math of Sri Vidyaranya Bharti Swami, the guide showed us the same pinhole technique inside the house, where the entire area of Virupaksh temple is visible in inverse form. Later we moved inside the math and took a blessing from Sri Vdyaranya Swami, who is a follower of Sri Adi Shankaracharya. 
    
    We came out of the house and went towards Pushkarni - the water tank. The excavation of Pushkarni was done recently around 2018. During excavation, they found the golden crown of Lord Virupaksh, The Temple authority used this crown during festivals and on special occasions. We came out of the temple premises, and while walking observed a structure of pillars similar to Krishna Bazar, known as Hampi Bazar (Marketplace). A few years back locals used these as shops, though they are ancient shops but when it used for day-to-day life they will get damaged. After the intervention of UNESCO, ASI prohibited the use of it. We sat in the auto and moved towards Tungabhadra river for Coracle ride, at around 5:40 p.m  which is opposite of Virupaksh temple. 👉 Go to Top of the Page

Pushkarni

Coracle Ride

    One of the important activities in the itinerary of Hampi. At the bank of the Tungabhadra River, there are several rides available, with costs as below.

• Single person or private group 2000 Rupees for 30 minutes
• Single person or combined group with others 500 for 30 minutes
• Single person or private group 3600 Rupees for 60 minutes
• Single person or combined group with others 800 Rupees for 60 minutes

    We hired a boat as a private group for 2000 Rupees, else we had to wait until all the seats were full. One boat has 12 to 15 seats, which means we have to wait for 12 to 13 people. So decided to go separate as a private group. A unique experience, enjoyed it a lot. During the ride, you can see several temples at the river bank. While returning to the bank see a beautiful sunset, with this sunset we realize the end of the day as well as the Hampi exploration.
    Note: In Hampi most of the sites were closed at 6:00 pm, except Virupaksh temple, etc.

    We got down from the coracle boat, at around 6:15 p.m.We paid the charges and moved ahead to Hemakutta Hill to see sunset. Due to time, we have missed the Kodanda Ram temple and the monolithic Nandi. 👉 Go to Top of the Page

Coracle Ride and sunset

Hemakutta Hill sunset

    We got out of the Auto and saw the Sasivekalu Ganesh statue, but the guide told us to go for sunset first. So we ran to the top of the hill and took out a selfi stand to capture the sunset on camera. The sunset view was awesome, but in the end, we were disappointed due to the cloudy weather,  sunset happens above the earth line in the clouds. 👉 Go to Top of the Page

Sasivekalu Ganesh

    After the sunset, we came down to Sasivekalu Ganesh. In dimmed light, we explore the statue. The second biggest statue of Lord Ganesh in the Hampi. Sasivekalu means Mustard seeds. A trader from Chandragiri (in present-day Andhra Pradesh)in 1506 AD gained a huge profit by selling mustard, in memory of one of the Vijayanagara kings – Narasimha II (1491-1505 AD) he built the statue.
    To see the uniqueness of this statue, for that, you have to backside. On the back side of the Ganesh statue, the carving of a lady's backside with hair pony. The lady resembles the Goddess Parvati, the Mother of Lord Ganesh. The statue is carved in a manner that it resembles Ganesh sitting on the lap of Mother Parvati and due huge body size of Ganesh, Parviti hides completely. The end of Hampi exploration with beautiful and unique Ganesh statue. 👉 Go to Top of the Page

Sasivekalu Ganesh front side

Sasivekalu Ganesh back side

    At end with all together we had a cup of tea. Paid the charges of Guide Suresh, but Auto driver Luck told us to pay after he drop us at Kamlapur. We took a beautiful photo with them.

From left to right, Auto driver Lucky, Friend Vinayak, Guide Suresh,
Myself and Friend Kaushal

    Auto driver Lucky informed us that shops in Hampi were re-opened a few days back, so if you want to go shopping then go, I will wait. We went shopping saying would be back in 20 minutes, but we spent almost 40-45 minutes and we remembered that Lucky was waiting for us and he also wanted to go home.  So we ran towards the auto, he saw us running and asked us to calm down and said no problem you take your time. 

    We sat in the auto he told us that he would drop us at the Hampi bus stop, but he saw there was no bus in the bus stand and the crowd was waiting for the bus. So he decided to drop us off at Kamlapur as there were more options available to go to Hosapete, even though it was too late to go home, he came to Kamplapur to drop us off, we paid his charges and got off the auto at Kamplapur.  👉 Go to Top of the Page

    A person with a beautiful heart! actually following the rule Atithi Devo Bhava!

    At the Kamlapur bus stand at around 7:30 p.m., we waited for almost 30 minutes for the Hosapete bus, the bus arrived at 8:00 p.m. We boarded the bus and got off at Hosapete. We went to the Hotel room got refreshed and started the calculation of third day spending.

    At around 9:00 p.m. we went for Dinner, this time we decided to have dinner at Shanbaug restaurant, but when we entered observed they served only Dosa, idili, etc breakfast items, so we went to Udupi restaurant. We gave orders and started the discussion of the next day's plan. We called Mr. Parshurama Auto driver, whom we met on the first day, and enquired about the day charge to go to Koppal Fort. He is charging 1800 Rupees which was in the budget. So decided to explore Koppal Fort, our return train was on 30th October at 1:30 a.m. so we had a full day. We again called Parshurama and fixed the plan and asked to arrived next day at 9:00 a.m at Hotel gate.

    Note: You can explore Badami cave, but for that, you have to keep one and a half days, We have only one day and also due to budget constraints we cancelled the Badami plan.

Here the end of Day Three and Second day of Hampi exploration.

Spending summary Day 3

Click below links for 

Day 1 - Tungabhadra Dam

Day 2 - North Hampi Explore

Day 4 - Koppal Fort

👉 Go to Top of the Page