This post is part of a series on ‘Walks in India‘.
Place: Hampi
Highlights: Sunrise from Matanga Parvatha, Vithala Temple, Coracle Ride, Ancient City of Vijayanagara and Virupaksha Temple.
Season: November to February, when the sunrise it most colourful.
Map. This is an interactive map of the walk. Zoom in to get a closer look.
The Walk.
Hampi is split into two walks, one in the morning hours and one in the evening.
Morning Walk.
Distance: Approximately 3km
Time of the day: Morning – 5.30am to 10am
Difficulty: Moderate
The walk starts early in the morning to include watching sunrise in the itinerary. Begin the walk by climbing the hill – Mathanga Parvata. The climb can take some effort, but is rewarding. Rough Guide calls it the most beautiful sunrise in the world, and Lonely Planet does not make any effort to hold back praises. The view of sun coming out from behind the rocky hills seems almost surreal, it is something to die for.
Matanga Parvata is probably the tallest hill in Hampi and has a 360 degree view. There is the charming river to north flowing amidst neatly arranged boulders. To the south is Viroopaksha temple standing tall. Look anywhere and you will see rocky hills covered with loosely held boulders or vast vistas of plantain farms.
Take your time on Mathanga Parvatha and enjoy the views. When you get down, head to the Bazaar and into the Viroopaksha temple. This is the only temple where a deity is worshiped, though Hampi is a town where you are sure to knock into a temple before you walk for five minutes in any direction. Don’t forget to buy Bananas at the entrance and feed it to the temple elephant Laxmi with your own hands.
Come out of the temple and head to Mango Tree Restaurant for a breakfast. The walk to the restaurant takes you along the river where you can watch boats taking people to the other side, and people bathing or washing clothes. The restaurant itself is right on the bank of the river, inside a plantain orchard.
Get to the other end of the Bazaar after breakfast and walk towards the river. Take a coracle ride from the river to Vithala temple. Boatmen claim the water here to be 50 feet deep. Flow of the river has made some interesting carvings on the rocks that are worth seeing. A small Mantapa on the opposite bank can only be reached by coracles.
Get down from the Coracle and walk to Vithala temple. The temple is a UNESCO world heritage monument, and is known for a stone chariot in its courtyard and musical pillars. You will have to be happy to see the pillars though, as touching them is not permitted.
From Vithala temple, take the bridle path that runs through the King’s Balance and return to Bazaar to end the walk.
Evening Walk.
Distance: Approximately 4km
Time of the day: Evening – 3.30pm to 6.30pm
Difficulty: Easy
This walk takes you through ancient ruins and temples of of Hampi.
Start from The Queen’s Bath, which is at one end of a series of monuments. Follow the signs put up by Archeological Department, and walk though the series of ancient structures comprising Hazaara Rama Temple, Underground Shiva Temple(Patalalinga Temple), Mahanavami Dibba, Elephant’s Stables and Lotus Mahal. Come back to the main road from here, and walk towards the Bazaar. Before reaching Hemakoota Parvata, a small deviation from the main road will take you to Laxminarasimha statue and Badavi linga. Walk further and visit Krishna temple, your last temple visit for the day. A short climb from here will take you to Hemakoota Parvatha. Sit and relax here and watch the sunset.
++More about Hampi on paintedstork.com
* Hampi Trip Report
* Hampi Utsava
* Spending time leisurely in Hampi
* An encounter with a hermit
* Hampi Images
This post is part of a series on ‘Walks in India‘.
Place: Gokarna
Highlights: Beachside walk, hills along the sea shore, rocky shoreline
Season: July to March, when it is not hot.
Time of the day: Evening – 3.30pm to 6pm
Distance: Approximately 6kms
Difficulty: Moderate
Map. This is an interactive map of the walk. Zoom in to get a closer look. Click on the blue markers to identify of each location.
View Walks in India – Gokarna in a larger map
Map of place to see and walking in Gokarna
The Walk.
The Walk.
This is a beach hopping walk. You begin at a beach and end at a beach. Do this between July to September if getting wet in the rain is your idea of fun. Else, stick to winter months.
Begin the walk from Gokarna town at the Kotitheertha – a large tank. The next stop is famous Gokarna Mahabaleshwara Temple – one of the holiest places in the south. This is said to be the place where Ganapathi coaxed Ravana to put Atmalinga on the ground. Further ahead is the Gokarna beach, a straight beach almost 7km long.
Take the bridle path that runs south of Gokarna Beach. This takes you through an elevated plain, for almost a kilometer before you hit Kudle Beach. Kudle is a nice long stretch of sand almost half kilometer long. From here, continue walking south through the hills and get down to Om Beach. Om Beach is the most popular of the beaches in Gokarna. If you are doing the walk in winter, you can stop at one of the few restaurants at the beach for breakfast. Continuing further from Om Beach, you walk close to the shore. A 15-minute walk will take you to half moon beach and another few minutes away is Paradise Beach – the 5th and last of the beaches where the 6km long walk ends.
As you can see from the map, there is no motor road to Paradise Beach. You can hire a boat from Paradise Beach to get back to Gokarna or Om Beach, or you can walk back till Om Beach, which is connected by a road.
++More about Gokarna on paintedstork.com
* Gokarna trip report
* Images from Gokarna
This post is part of a series on ‘Walks in India‘.
Place: Pondicherry
Highlights: Beachside promenade, French buildings, Sunrise at the Beach, Aurobindo Ashram, Paper Factory, Manakula Vinayagar Temple, Ananda Rangapillai’s House.
Season: November to February, when it is not hot.
Time of the day: Evening – 6am to 10am
Distance: Approximately 6kms
Difficulty: Easy
View Walks in India – Pondicherry in a larger map
Places to see and walking map of Pondicherry
The Walk.
Pondicherry was once a French Colony, and even today has an essence of many things French.
Start early and wait for the sunrise near Gandhi Statue at Beach Road(Goubert Road). Walk south on the long beach road after watching the sun some up, and turn left at the end of the road to Laurent Street. Walk zig-zag along the roads which have buildings with Frech heritage. This section of the walk has a few restaurants that may serve Frech food, and also a bookshop with French books. Stroll along Romain Rolland Street and Suffren Streets at an easy pace.
When you feel done with this part, take La Bourdonnais Street and walk north. The next stop is the well known Aurobindo Ashram, where you can visit the samadhi of Sri Aurobindo. This is a quiet place with a feel-good, where you can see a lot of people meditating. A little ahead of the Ashram is the 300-year old Manakula Vinayagar Temple.
Continue walking on La Bourdonnais Street. At the end of it is a handmade paper factory that belongs to the Ashram. You can watch paper being made here, and even buy some. Getting back from the paper factory, walk on Gingy Street till you reach Ananda Rangapillai Street. Turn right on Ananda Rangapillai Street and get to Ananda Rangapillai’s House. This is a palatial 18th century mansion of Ananda Rangapillai, who was a courtier of a French Governor.
The Walk ends at Ananda Rangapillai’s House.