H

What to see?

Vittala Temple is the highlight of Hampi. If you need to pick only 1 place to visit in Hampi, go for the Vitthala Temple!

The Royal Enclosure area is the next hotspot with many attractions in and around it. The Mahanavami Dibba stand out when you enter this area. The sub terrain, Stepped Tank is easy to miss. Both are major attractions, not be be missed. A little away is the Zenena Enclosure with Lotus Mahal and the Elephant Stables.

Hampi Bazar is the third locale with many popular attractions like the Virupaksha Temple and other attractions around it. Virupaksha Temple tops the list in this area. Visit the rest based on time

While Vittala and Hampi Bazaar are parts of Hampi's religious core, Royal Center was its administrative and residential citadel. Let's call these three clusters together as the 'Golden Triangle' of Hampi's attractions.

The main two attractions like the Vitthala Temple and Virupaksha Temple are about 9 km apart by road or 2½km by trek.

The main attractions in Hampi are grouped below based on the proximity to each other.

The highlighted are the ones are the shortlisted attractions for your 3 hours or so long Hampi sightseeing itinerary. You may squeeze in a couple of more from the list, as time permits.

Group 1 Hemakuta Hill - Sasivekalu Ganesha, Kadalekalu Ganesha - Virupaksha Temple - Hampi Bazaar

Group 2 Achyutaraya Temple - Courtesan's Street - Kodanda Rama Temple - Chakratheertha (Riverside Trek) - Sugriva's Cave

Group 3 Purandara Mantapa - Ruined Bridge - King's Balance - Vittal Temple - Vittala Bazaar

Group 4 Laxminarasimha- Badavi Linga - Krishna Temple - Chandikeshwara - Uddana Veerabhadra Temple

Group 5 Lotus Mahal - Watchtower - Elephant Stable - Guards Quarters - Underground temple

Group 6 Queen's Bath - Mahanavami Dibba - Pushkarni - Secret Chamber - King Audience Hall - Hazara Rama Temple

Group 7 Bhima's Gate - Ganagegitti Jain Temple - Malyavanta Hill - Tilari Ghat Gate

Group 8 Pattabhirama Temple - Archeology Museum.

How to Explore?

If you don't have a car or bike for the local commute,  rent a moped or scooter ( available near Hampi Bazaar) . Or hire an auto rickshaw for the whole sightseeing trip.

You can start practically from any one of the three points mentioned above. However Royal Center area is the first area you'll pass, if you drive to Hampi from Hospet side.

Hampi Bazaar and Vittala Temple are about 2½km apart, connected by a trek trail and a 9km roundabout road route. You can either walk (30-45 min trek) or take the road route (15-25 minutes drive).

The Royal Center (Royal Enclosure and Zenena Enclosure are the main attractions) area lies somewhere midway on the road route between Vitthala and Virupaksha Temples.

An alternative way is to trek from Hampi Bazaar end to Vitthala Temple - or the reverse -  and take an autorickshaw to the Royal Center. The bonus is, you'll also cover the Riverside area,  through which the trek trail runs, is a popular trail in Hampi. Keep in mind this is a bit tedious walk, especially during the hotter part of the day.

You can easily visit a couple of more attractions, as your sightseeing progresses. Keep a list of such attractions handy. A chain of attractions are  scattered around the trek route between Hampi Bazaar and Vitthala Temple,  also on the road route between Virupaksha Temple and the Royal Center area.

This list of other important attractions goes like this: Laxminarasimha near Hampi Bazaar;   Hazara Rama Temple  in Royal Center area ;  Sasivekalu Ganesha and Kadalekalu Ganesha, both near Hampi Bazaar; Achyuta Raya's Temple on the Riverside trek trail and so on.

Entry tickets bought at Vittala Temple is valid for the Lotus Mahal & Elephant Stable as well, if you visit them on the same day.

In this 3hours or so sightseeing plan, 45 to 60 minutes go for the local travel.

See how a more practical 3 day Hampi itinerary would looks like; or even the One Day Hampi tour suggestion with some reasonable tradeoffs.