Re: Exploring Two Lost Empires: Where It All Ends..

Day Three: More of Hampi

The first thing we wanted to do today was to experience the sunrise from the Monkey Temple hill. Though we were not sure if we would be able to see a perfect one because the it was cloudy yesterday. We woke up by 04:30 AM and were on our way to the hill by 05:00 AM. We parked our bikes at the base of the hill and began our ascent (odd 300 steps to the top). We found a sweet spot atop the hill and waited for the the sunrise eagerly. Due to clouds, we were not able to get a clear shot of the sunrise but what we saw was still worth all the pain of waking up early morning and the 300 steps ascent. Here are the pictures of what we saw.



After spending some quality time experiencing the sunrise, we came down and went for breakfast. Please note that there are no ATMs in Hampi. You have to travel 5 Kms approx. to Anegundi to get access to an ATM. We were kind of short on cash and hence planned to have out breakfast at Anegundi so that we can take out some much needed green while we have our breakfast. Some pictures of Anegundi attactions.



We went back after a heavy breakfast and got ready for another long day. Our plan was to cover the Sanapur lake (around 3 KMs) and the rest of the ruins of Hampi. The pictures of the lake and the ruins of Hampi goes below.



more pictures to follow in the next post.

Re: Exploring Two Lost Empires: Where It All Ends..

Day Three: More of Hampi..Contd



Woowed by the level of architecture and after the long and tiring day, it was time for us to take some much needed rest and plan for the next day. Sitting by the Tungabhadra river and munching the delicious frittata, ideas were flying around the table i.e. whether to continue as per our original plan and explore the land of Chalukyas or move towards Hospet and see the engineering marvel, the Tungabhadra dam. Some lengthy discussions and a particular someone giving lengthy lectures about cave architectures made our mind decide to stick to our original plan. So, it was an early checkout for us from the shack because we had to cover multiple places in one day.

Next Up: Day Four: Exploring the land of Chalukyas: Badami and Pattadakal

Re: Exploring Two Lost Empires: Where It All Ends..

Beautiful pics
especially the above last 4, sunset pics.

Re: Exploring Two Lost Empires: Where It All Ends..

thank you..thank you

Re: Exploring Two Lost Empires: Where It All Ends..

Day Four: Exploring the land of Chalukyas: Badami and Pattadakal

We had kept our luggage ready the last night before going off to sleep. Woke up by 04:00 AM today and got ready in super duper speed. By 04:45 AM everyone was ready to check out. Any by 05:00 AM we were on the road to Badami. I knew we were going to ride into the sunrise and hence I kept my camera outside. And I was not wrong either. Here are some shots from the early morning ride.



We came across a big sunflower field shortly after sunrise and could not resist stopping by and clicking few pictures.



By 09:30 AM we were at Badami. Badami being a small town, it was very easy for us to find a decent enough lodge to dump our luggage. We got freshened up, had breakfast and made our way to the Badami caves. The next set of pictures are from the Badami caves. Hats off the cave architecture here!



We wanted to cover the rest of the Badami (the second hill range of the twin hill) in the afternoon and hence decided to make our way to Pattadikal. Pictures from Pattadikal follow in the next post.

Re: Exploring Two Lost Empires: Where It All Ends..

Day Four: Exploring the land of Chalukyas: Badami and Pattadikal..Contd.

The road that leads to Pattadikal is not good, though it has very less traffic. A lot of potholes and the tarmac has almost been lifted at places. Anyways, we were greeted in Pattadikal with a big compound, dotted with temples. Another iconic work of architecture!



We had lunch in Pattadikal and came back to Badami by 03:00 PM. This time we wanted to visit the second hill and experience sunset from there. Some pictures goes below.



We had another awesome day and we needed much needed sleep. We had a heavy dinner and crashed. The plan was to leave early next morning and reach Bangalore by night.

Day Five: Home Run

This leg of our journey was pretty much boring and I put the camera inside this time because my soul wanted a ride without any disturbance . So, there is nothing much to write here as well. We started from Badami as early as 05:00 AM because we wanted to cover as many KMS as possible out of 530 KM to Bangalore before the sun rays go to max. Our first stop was at Hubli for a breakfast and the next stop was at Chitradurga (the later one being a longer one to settle down the soreness of the saddle ). By 06:00 PM we were at the outskirts of Bangalore. This marked the end of another awesome and fruitful trip and the memories from this one would prevail for quite some time now.

THE END.