A couple of weekends back I took a road trip to Hampi along with a few others. For those who are hearing of this place for the first time, Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Karnataka, India. It was once the capital of the Vijayanagara empire in the 14th century. What remains now are the ruins, which still remind us of the grand city. The temples are a must sight to visit, and coupled with the gorgeous Tungabhadra river that flows through it, it’s a destination you wouldn’t regret visiting multiple times.
I visited Hampi once a few years back. It was during early October when the weather was still quite hot. The best time to enjoy the place is from late November to February. This blog is not a full travelogue, but all about an exciting trek we did. Situated close to the grand Virupaksha Temple is Matanga Hill. The hill commands a special attraction because of the sunrise and sunset view. It is a perfect spot to get a 360-degree aerial view of Hampi, the surrounding temples, and the Tungabhadra river. There are 2 paths leading to the peak. One of them is a forest trail that ultimately morphs into rocky steps up to the top. It is easy to get lost in this trail, especially on the initial part since it’s undulating and it will confuse you. Not-so-conspicuous arrow marks drawn on rocks will ultimately lead you through the forest phase. Once you have reached the rocky steps, it gets easier (to navigate up, but not climb up!). The second path is up directly on the northern side through the uneven rocks and steps. It’s a quicker route, but there’s a catch that I will come back to soon!
We took the first route through the forest trail. We were quite unprepared for the trek and didn’t exactly know where the trek ends. Hell did we realize the sunset point was right at the top of the hill we were staring at? Along the way we almost gave up, getting lost repeatedly till we found the rock marks to guide us. Once we reached the rocky steps, it was then all about lifting your spirits and body weight. To add to the surprise, none of us thought of carrying a bottle of water. So most of us were exhausted midway. It finally took us 45 minutes to an hour to reach the peak. And it was worth every step! A spectacular 360 view of the city of Hampi awaited. Just sit down, and enjoy the evening cool breeze while gazing at the sunset. A lot of tourists flocked in soon after, and overall there was a great vibe. There also stands Veerabhadra Temple at the topmost point. Few of us managed to grab some water from the temple!
I promised to talk a bit more about the second (quicker) route. After spending 30-45min at the hilltop, we followed the crowd down through the second route. (It was getting dark, and we didn’t want to get lost in the forest trail!). Some scary surprises were awaiting us. This route was sure as hell riskier. Unlike the north route, there were no well-laid even steps and some of the rock patches just curved down to a 500ft free fall with no wedge protection. A wrong slip, and don’t even dream of hanging like Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible 2! I would not recommend this route in Monsoon times. We were ill-prepared for hiking (not the right kind of shoes), so got into a bit of panic while pushing ourselves through those patches 🙂 Some even suggested retreating up and taking the forest route. I said it’s getting dark, so no way! It was another 30min hike down. We reached ground level just at the stroke of the dark. So the timing was just perfect.
Overall, the hike was average to medium challenging, just the surprise element and a bit of unpreparedness threw us off a bit. But it was quite fun and worth catching up on the sunset view. It should be on the bucket list of anyone visiting Hampi, provided you are average and up fit, and looking for some adventure. SAFE TREKKING!