Hampi Tour - Day 1

The tour to Hampi, Pattadakal, Aihole & Badami was organized by the Chennai based REACH Foundation which is primarily into preservation and restoration of old dilapidated but historically significant temples in Tamilnadu,India. Around 20 REACH members comprising 17 men and 3 ladies participated in this tour. We two ( my wife Shobha & I) were the only two from Coimbatore;the rest were from Chennai. We traveled by road to Bangalore on 31st morning and then joined the rest of the Group at Bangalore Cantonment to board the Hampi express to Hospet on the night of 31-8-2012. The train reached Hospet on 1st morning and there were two Tempo Traveller vans to pickup and take us to Hotel Mallige. Dr.Satyamurthy, former Superintending Archaeologist ASI joined us directly at Hospet and he was our team leader for this trip. The ambience at Hotel Mallige was wonderful and the rooms were cosy and comfortable. The breakfast spread was sumptuous and there were infinite choices for both the veggies and non veggies.A solid hearty breakfast in the morning is an essential element in such tours. We started the day with a visit to ASI Museum at Hampi which is located around 10 Kms from Hospet.
Brief History of Hampi: Located on the Southern Banks of the Tungabhadra River, Hampi is believed to be the ancient city of Kishkintha of Ramayana fame. Asokan rock edicts located near this place have attested to Grand Mauryan antiquity. Buddhist limestone panels excavated show the prevalence of Buddhism during the 1st-2nd century AD.Hampi was also ruled by various other kingdoms - by the Chalukyas of Badami(5th-6th Century AD), Rashtrakutas (7th-8th century AD),Chalukyas of Kalyani (9th-11th Century AD),Hoysalas (11th-13th century AD) and Yadavas of Devagiri (13th Century AD).
This was followed by the rule of the magnificent Vijayanagara Empire which ruled for close to three centuries and flourished and prospered under various rulers, the most famous and powerful being Krishna Deva Raya who took the Empire to glorious heights.
The ASI musuem contains a large and exquisite collection of sculptures from various periods including the Vijayanagara era. I have clicked several hundred photographs but I am presenting only a few select pictures for your viewing.

Pics of the group on arrival at ASI Museum Hampi

The spacious and lush green carpeted campus of the ASI Museum

Mahishasamardini

Ten armed Virabhadra

Four Armed Bhairava

Shakti Ganesha

Durga ?

Vishnu in reclining pose

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Hanuman

A Scene from Ashoka Vana: Hanuman meeting Sita in the presence of a Rakshasi

Venu Gopal

Garuda

Varaha: An avatar of Vishnu

Lakshmi

Vishnu

Nandi

Shiva Linga

Lakshmi Narayanan

Narasimha in Padmasana

Since ASI person was accompanying the team we were received warmly and courteously and did not have to shell out royal sums of money for still/video cameras.

Please also visit: 

Rhesus Monkeys at Virupaksha Temple-Hampi

Fortune Tellers at Hampi