South India · Heritage Tour
Hampi
A ruined empire scattered across a boulder valley.
Hampi
A ruined empire scattered across a boulder valley.
Hampi is one of India's strangest and most photogenic landscapes: the ruined capital of the 14th-century Vijayanagara Empire, scattered across a valley of giant granite boulders on the Tungabhadra River. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it rewards two unhurried days of temple-hopping, bicycle rides and sunset viewpoints.
Explore the Virupaksha Temple and the bazaar street leading to it, then the riverside temples and the Achyutaraya complex.
Visit the Vittala Temple's stone chariot and musical pillars, the Elephant Stables and Lotus Mahal in the Royal Centre, then climb Matanga Hill for sunset over the boulders.
Vijayanagara ruins, HampiA relaxed extra day to cycle between the outlying ruins at your own pace, or cross the river by coracle to the Anegundi side.
Bicycles and mopeds are the most popular way to cover the spread-out ruins; we can also arrange a car and driver for a more guided pace.
2 days covers the major sites comfortably; photographers and history enthusiasts often prefer 3 to explore at a slower pace.
Hampi's granite landscape gets very warm by midday even in the cool season — we schedule the main walking around early morning and late afternoon.
Houseboat cruises through palm-lined canals, tea-garden hills, and Ayurvedic wellness stays.
Towering Dravidian temple gopurams, a Chola-era masterpiece, and the French quarter of Pondicherry.
A lit-up royal palace, coffee plantations, and misty Western Ghats hill country.