Trip Members: Me, Surendra, Ravi, Sony
Date of trip: 29th Oct 2010 Friday 9 PM to 1st Nov 2010 Monday 10 PM
Total distance covered from Bangalore: Around 1500 KmsTungaBhadra Dam- Hospet
Distance: Around 320 Kms from Bangalore
Route we took: Bangalore-Tumkur- Chitradurga-Hospet
Place Type: DamTime of our visit: 30th Oct Saturday around 7 AM
Description: TB dam was full when we visited the place and view from the top of the dam looked like a sea. TB dam premise also has a garden with musical fountain.Hampi
Distance: Around 15Kms from Hospet
Route: Hospet- Hampi
Place Type: World Heritage SiteTime of our visit: 30th Oct Saturday around 9 AM
Description: Hampi is a world heritage site which has ruins of Vijayanagar empire located along TungaBhadra river. There are lots of places to see in Hampi and the places are quite far from each other. We hired a Auto for Rs 400, the Auto driver was also our guide and he took us around all of 
Hampi and with the help of him we saw most of the major places of Hampi in 4 Hrs. The Architecture of sculptures and different kinds of places is wonderful and one can have good imagination of vastness of the Vijaynagar empire. It requires more than a day to fully visit all the places. Some of the wonderful places of Hampi we saw are Kadalekalu Ganesha, Sasivekalu Ganesha, Krishna temple, Statue of Ugra Narasimha, Badavilinga Temple, Akka Tangi Gudda, Zenena Enclosure, Lotus Mahal, Elephant stables , Guard’s quarters, Archeological Museum, Hazara Rama temple, Mahanavami Dibba, Stone Doors, Queen's bath, Vittala temple.Daroji Bear Sanctuary
Distance: Around 15 Kms from Hampi
Route: Hampi- Bear Sanctuary (Ask for directions from Hampi)
Place Type: Wild LifeTime of our visit: 30th Oct Saturday around 2.30 PM
Description: Forest Officer told that there around 120 bears and one can usually see around 4-8 bears if we wait for around 2 hrs from the watch tower which is built inside the sanctuary. We waited for around 20 minutes for bears and we did not see any bear but we only saw some peacocks. It was cloudy and it began to rain after waiting for 20 Mins, forest guard told that bears don’t come out during rain. Entry ticket is Rs 30 per individual and Rs 150 for our car. After visiting the Sanctuary w
e felt that, it was not worth the visit
e felt that, it was not worth the visitBanashankari
Distance: Around 150 Kms from HospetRoute: Hampi- Hospet- Banashankari (ask for directions)
Place Type: ReligiousTime of our visit: 30th Oct Saturday around 8 PM
Description: We made a quick visit to Banashankari which has a temple dedicated to goddess Banashankari and the temple is just 5 Kms from BadamiBadami
Distance: Around 155 Kms from Hospet
Route: Hampi- Hospet- Badami (ask for directions)
Place Type: Archaeological SiteTime of our visit: 31st Oct Sunday around 7 AM
Description: Badami has amazing four cave temples in four floors dedicated to Vishnu, Shiva and Jain temple built by Chalukyas in 6-7th Centuries. Caves are beautifully carved and one can have a good view of Agasthya-Tirtha Lake, Bhoothanatha temple from the top. One can also visit Bhoothanatha temple, Archaeological Museum and climb to top of the fort which lies at the opposite side of the caves. Ask for directions; Roads are bad and narrow.Mahakuta
Distance: Around 15 Kms from Badami
Route: Badami - Mahakuta
Place Type: ReligiousTime of our visit: 31st Oct Sunday around 10 AM
Description: We visited Mahakuta temple which is on the way from Badami to Pattadakal. Mahakuta has temples constructed by the early kings of the Chalukya dynasty. I can remember seeing sculptures of Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara deities inside the temple complex.Pattadakal
Distance: Around 22Kms from Badami
Route: Badami- Pattadakal
Place Type: World Heritage SiteTime of our visit: 31th Oct Sunday around 10.30 AM
Description: Pattadakal is a world heritage site which has group of monuments built by Chalukya dynasty along Malaprabha River. The architecture and sculptures of all the temples are remarkable and is very well maintained by the concerned authorities.Aihole
Distance: Around 20 Kms from Pattadakal
Route: Pattadakal - Aihole
Place Type: Archaeological SiteTime of our visit: 31st Oct Sunday around 12 PM
Description: Aihole has a group of temples; some of them located close to village houses. I particularly remember some enthusiastic kids showing us Inverted image of an object in a pillar and Linga where one can see reflection of Nandi; the temple was located outside the main group of temples and is first/second temple one sees when travelling from Pattadakal. Intricately carved sculptures at the main Durga Temple are incredible and there is also a museum located within the temple complex maintained by archaeological survey of India.KudalaSangama
Distance: Around 45 Kms from Aihole
Route: Aihole - KudalaSangama
Place Type: PilgrimageTime of our visit: 31st Oct Sunday around 1.30 PM
Description: Kudalasangama is a pilgrimage center and has a temple dedicated to Shiva. Basavanna who is a 12th century social reformer samadhi is present in Kudalasangama. View from the bridge which is inside the temple complex is amazing and one can see Krishna river and Ghataprabha river getting mergedAlmatti dam
Distance: Around 15 Kms from KudalaSangama
Route: KudalaSangama – Almatti Dam
Place Type: DamTime of our visit: 31st Oct Sunday around 3.00 PM
Description: Almatti dam is built across Krishna River and visitors to the dam are not allowed. There is some kind of park where one can see waters of the dam and one can also visit a park which is near the entrance to the dam.GolGumbaz
Distance: Around 60 Kms from Almatti dam
Route: Almatti Dam- Bijapur
Place Type: Archaeological SiteTime of our visit: 31st Oct Sunday around 5.00 PM
Description: GolGumbaz has one of the world largest dome and was constructed by Mohammed Adil Shah. GolGumbaz has a whispering gallery and one can see lots of people shouting as it get echoed around 7 times. Anyone talking from one corner of the gallery can be heard clearly on the diagonally opposite side by holding your ears to the wall. GolGumbaz premises is very well maintained by archeological survey of India.JamiMasjid – Bijapur
Distance: Around 2 Kms from GolGumbaz
Place Type: Mosque
Time of our visit: 31st Oct Sunday around 5.50 PMDescription: We visited Jami Masjid built by Ali Adil Shah to commemorate the victory of Vijayanagara. It houses golden written copy of the Holy Koran.
Gokak Falls
Distance: Around 150 kms from Bijapur
Route: Bijapur - Jamkhandi - Gokak
Place Type: FallsTime of our visit: 1st Nov Monday around 6.15 Am
Description: Gokak falls is located at 6 Kms from Gokak and Ghataprabha river takes a leap. There is a view point across the river which can be crossed using the hanging bridge. We were bit disappointed with very less water flowing and we soon got over it by seeing stunning sun rise.Saundatti
Distance: Around 60Kms from Gokak
Route: Gokak- Saundatti (Ask for directions)
Place Type: Reservoir, PilgrimageTime of our visit: 1st Nov Monday around 10 AM
Description: We saw Renuka Sagara a reservoir for the Malaprabha River from a beautifully maintained park with variety of flowers and visited ancient temple of Goddess Renuka Yellamma; a popular pilgrimage site.ChitraDurga Fort
Distance: Around 270 Kms from Saundatti, 210 Kms from Hubli
Route: Saundatti- Dharwad- Hubli- Haveri- Ranebennur – Davangere (NH-4)
Place Type: FortTime of our visit: 1st Nov Monday around 4.30 PM
Description: Chitradurga fort has a huge area and perhaps requires a day to cover all the hills view points. We visited one hill view point and it was quite tiring. The attraction of the fort is Obavanna Kindi named after onake Obavva who fought against several Hyder Ali’s soldiers. Movie Nagara Havu by Puttanna Kanagal has made Chitradurga fort very popular.The title of this blog is tour to rocks; as we saw dams, great temple architecture, caves, golgumbaz, fort; all related to rocks and even Gokak falls was full of rocks
-Mahesh
