When you hear of Karnatanaka, you would say that the name is familiar. That is because IT or computers made Bangalore famous, and Bangalore (now Bengaluru) is in Karnataka. But there are also a lot of places to visit in karnataka, like Hampi, Badami, Pattadakal, Bidar Bijapur, Srirangapatna, Mysore.

The topic of our discussion today, Hampi is not quite far from Bangalore. The nearest town, Hospet, is about 350 KMs by road from Bangalore and is connected by rail from Bijapur, Hubli and Guntukul besides Bangalore. You can take a flight to Bangalore and from there take a train and soak the beauty of Rural Northen Karnataka along the way. If you want to see India, you need to travel by train.

Hampi was once the proud capital of the Vijayanagara Empire, and it was ravaged by the Bahmani Armies centuries back. The ruins have stood the tests of time and today remains proud as ever, beautiful and majestic. The Vijayanagara Kingdom prospered between 1336 and 1565 AD in the Southern part of India.

The Vittala temple complex remains tall, and is a major tourist destination, and so does the Royal marketplace where once was traded stuff that the western explorers dream of, a few centuries later, Spices, Silver, Gold, Jewellery.

Four Dynasties ruled this once rocky terrain and transformed into the beauty that we still talk about today. Hampi entered its golden era during the rule of Krishnadeva Raya (1509-1539), when Art and Architecture flourished under this Warrior Poet.

Hampi is today a UNESCO world heritage site, and the end of the Hampi happed when the bahmani Kingdoms of Bijapur, Bidar, Ahmednagar and Golconda defeated the Vijayanaga Empire in the battle if Talikota in 1565 AD. It is believed that the conquering army plundered the kingdom for 6 months leaving it to ruins for fear that the beauty of the kingdom might attract other Kings of that time to attack it.

We can still see the ruins of Temples, palaces, monuments and a criss cross of Aqueducts built during this era. There are also Swimming pools inside the palace campus, which indicates the quality of living the kings had..
Some of the legacy that you will get to experience:

Lotus Mahal:This was a summer palace for the queen shaped like a lotus flower from top, this is a two-story palace with beautiful arcways. It was air-cooled using advance ventilation technology.
Elephant Stables: A huge elephant stable, that housed 11 elephants.
Pushkarini Tank: These is where pilgrims took bath before entering the temples.
Mahanavami Dibba: A wooden structure/platform from which the royalty viewed Hampi.
Mustard Ganesh: A single stone statue of the lord Ganesha, also known as Sasivikalu Ganesha.

Noblemen’s Palace: A recent excavation which was used for aristocrats and high-ranking officials.

This is a must visit if you are in Bangalore, or for that matter India.
For more information visit the official karnataka tourism site.

Here is the Hampi Map.

Mysore is one place that you should visit if you happen to be in Bangalore. You can either drive down or take a bus from Majestic. It was, I guess, 6 years back when I first visited the place, taking that 3 hour bus drive from Mysore (it is a 140 Km stretch). A perfect weekend getaway.

As the name suggests it is a land of Palaces and the Mysore palace is a sight to watch.
Mysore palace is the most magnificient of all the palaces.
Designed by the English Architect, Henry Irwin, the Mysore Palace dominates the skyline of Mysore. A three storied structure in the Indo-Saracenic style built between 1897-1912, the palace has beautifully designed square towers at cardinal points, covered with domes. The architecture is a mix of Dravidian, Oriental and Roman. The Durbar Hall with its ornate ceiling and sculpted pillars and the Kalyanamantapa (Marriage Pavilion) with its glazed tiled flooring and stained glass, domed ceiling are worth noting. Intricately carved doors, the golden howdah ,paintings as well as the fabulous, jewel encrusted golden throne, the Gombe Thotti or the Doll’s Pavilion are amongst the palace’s other treasures. It was the doors that amazed me, and this palace was not even very old..

There are seven canons in front of the Gombe Thotti. These canons are used during the Dussehra. The Golden Throne is also displayed during the Dussehra, and 97000 bulb are used to light the palace during the festival. Plan your next holiday around the Dussehra.. (Dussehra is a very popular Hindu festival, which marks the defeat of Ravana by Lord Rama.) Dussehra usually falls during October/November.

The palace has chamber called Diwan-e-Khas used by the emperor for private audience and another chamber called the Diwan-e-Aam for public audience. Walking through the Palace is walking through a museum, and there were some palaces which said “Entry not allowed” and I felt so curious, I felt like breaking in.. Too bad, I couldn’t take any pictures since cameras weren’t allowed.

Chamundi Hills: The Chamundi hill is one must visit if you go to Mysore. We went to the Chamundeshwari temple on top of the hill.. My friends went in to pray, but I just stayed outside watching the temple which is dated back to the 11th century. The statue of Nandi marks the entry to the hills. Legend says that this colossal Nandi was a gift of Dodda Deva Raja. Over 25 ft long and 4.8 mt high (16ft high), adorned with ropes, chains, bells and jewels of stone, the bull with half shut eyes, which seem, in yogic fashion. And there is a larger than life statue (or perhaps it was smaller) of a Demon, the Mahishasura that was destroyed by Goddess Chamundi.
The hill is 3,489ft. above the sea levels and is 12 km from Mysore city. An energetic visitor will be well repaid by climbing up the 1000 steps, fashioned about 300 years ago. We went by car along the road.

On our way upto the temple, we could also see the The Lalitha Palace Hotel, a heritage hotel near the Chamundi Hills of Mysore. I think some Bollywood movies were shot here, I don’t remember which. The temple was a beauty like all other things in Mysore.

We then went to the St Philomena Church, where the movie Amar Akbar Anthony was shot. It felt really good, since it is one of my favorite movies, and It seemed like Amitabh Bachchan would walk out of the Church, singing.

This Roman Catholic Church was built in AD 1840 and was known as St. Joseph Chaver. The twin towers of the church stand majestically at 175 feet, the design is gothic and it is said to resemble the St. Patrick’s cathedral at New York and a church at Cologne. They had a dungeon like basement which was quite a scary thing.. The church is located about I km from Mysore Palace on the Bangalore highway. The then king of Mysore Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV laid the foundation for construction of the church in 1933.

We also visited the Brindavan garden and the dancing gardens. The dancing fountains in Las Vegas wouldn’t have been more beautiful. I also grew up watching Hindi Movies where my favorite stars danced in the Brindavan gardens and it was quite a nostalgia.

The Krishnaraja Sagar reservoir across the legendary Cauvery River is round 18km north-west of Mysore. The Brindavan Gardens are located just a level below the dam.

Often described as the best example of illuminated terrace gardens in the country, the idea was brainchild of Sir M.Visveshwaraiah and Sir Mirza M ismail, former Devans of Mysore.