HAMPI- South India’s Most Popular UNESCO World Heritage Site, Hampi, India

After having travelled to various UNESCO world heritage sites around the world including Iguazu Falls in Argentina, Machu Pichu in Peru, Tikal National Park in Guatemala, Chichen Itza in Mexico, Bryce Canyons in USA, Fiordland National Park in New Zealand, Botanic Gardens in Singapore and many many more, little did I know that I was only a few hours of drive away from one of India’s most popular & prominent UNESCO heritage site of Hampi & its historical ruins. The ruins that dated back to 14th century, almost 700-800 years old & even older than the ruins at Machu Pichu, was right in my own backyard. The last time I remember visiting Hampi was when I was around 8 or 10yrs old and I had no idea of what it was like back then. So when I looked up for Hampi I just coaxed my brother to go on a road trip from Bangalore to this historical town and he readily agreed.

Hampi is about 370kms from my home in Bangalore and it was going to be a long day on the road with all the pitstops along the way. It ended up being a bit of a family trip with all of my brother’s clan going together and it surely was fun to say the least. The day we started driving, began very early in the morning and the weather was totally on our side. With the express ways in Karnataka being very impressive, the drive couldn’t be any more smoother than it was. Enroute to Hampi we stopped at the gardens by the Tungabhadra Dam, which is Karnataka’s largest dam in terms of storage capacity @ approx 130tmcft. It was a super fun afternoon playing a few games in the park while also taking a break from the day’s long drive. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).