Hampi is a tiny hamlet filled with heritage, with around 1600 monuments spread across the boulder landscape that has protected stories from ages past. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that carries the legacy not only of this era, but also traces of the Stone Age. Hampi flourished during the reign of King Krishnadevaraya, and today its remains include temples, institutional buildings, bazaar streets, gateways, wells, stepped tanks, and much more.
Though the historic town now stands in ruins, the scale of these ruins is so massive that they leave us imagining the true grandeur of the City of Victory. But this is no longer just imagination. Over the years, Hampi has been deeply researched, and Reminiscing History has been working to recreate and revive these lost spaces.
A special part of this journey is Reminiscing Hampi, a book that is also part of the yatra hosted by its author, Parnavi Bangar. More than just a travel guide, it acts like a portal into the past. Through transparent revival illustrations, the book brings the broken monuments of Hampi back to life using literature, architecture, and historical evidence.
This yatra is not just about visiting ruins; it is about discovering the lost Hampi, its architecture, culture, stories, and forgotten meaning. Everyone who sees the massive remains of Hampi wonders how beautiful and grand this city must once have been. In this yatra, we will not only imagine it, but experience it through storytelling. If you love history, mystery, and untold stories hidden in stones, this is the experience for you.
Arrive in Hampi before 1:00 PM
Check-in and lunch
Sightseeing Post Lunch:
Dinner
Breakfast
Depart for sightseeing at 9:00 AM
Lunch
Post-lunch 2:00 PM
Dinner
Early morning, 7:00 AM sightseeing:
Late breakfast and check out
Depart for the onward journey.
Reminiscing History Foundation is a research and conservation initiative founded by Ar. Parnavi Bangar. The practice focuses on digitally reviving lost and broken heritage through research-based illustrations, documentation, publications, and studies. The work has covered sites such as Hampi, Bhaktapur, Kashmir, Raigad Fort, Angkor Wat, and Ambernath. The approach is detailed in the research paper Reminiscing History: Reviving Lost Heritage and continues through publications like Reminiscing Hampi, exhibitions such as Living Temples, and curated heritage walks and immersive tours in Hampi. Her work has been featured by Humans of Hyderabad, published in multiple news features, included in the Council of Architecture magazine, and she has also spoken at TEDx.
One of the oldest living temples in Hampi, the Virupaksha Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and stands gracefully on the banks of the Tungabhadra River. Built in the 7th century and expanded during King Deva Raya II’s reign, the temple still carries a strong spiritual energy. From ancient rituals to meeting Lakshmi the elephant, every visit feels unforgettable. If you visit during March or April, the grand Virupaksha Chariot Festival is a celebration you should not miss.
The Vijay Vitthala Temple is one of Hampi’s most iconic landmarks and a symbol of the Vijayanagara Empire’s glory. Built during King Krishnadevaraya’s reign, the temple is famous for its magnificent Stone Chariot and grand architecture. Even in ruins, the complex amazes visitors with its vast courtyards, mandapas, step wells, bazaar streets, and the famous King’s Balance. Every corner of the temple reflects the scale and brilliance of Hampi’s golden age.
Hidden within the Zenana Enclosure, the Lotus Mahal was a royal retreat designed for peace and comfort. Inspired by the shape of a lotus, the elegant two-storey structure is known for its beautiful arches and clever cooling design. Surrounded by fortified walls and watchtowers, the enclosure once housed the royal women of the empire, making it one of Hampi’s most unique architectural spaces.
Built after King Krishnadevaraya’s victory at Udayagiri, the Krishna Temple is among the best-preserved temples in Hampi. Dedicated to Balakrishna, the temple complex once had a lively marketplace lined with stone pavilions. Visitors can still see the stepped tank, ancient inscriptions, and traces of the bustling streets that once surrounded this sacred space.
This temple complex has essentially one great temple which is emblematic of the early dravida style as seen in these parts of India. The temple is made in pure dravida style with a pyramidal tier roof rising over the garbhagriha. The mandapa is huge and closed with a sloping roof structure topped with stones in the shape of wooden beams indicating that early Hindu temple architecture in stone was copied from the wooden architecture. The temple also has an open mandapa which can also be called as the nandi mandapa but is in architectural continuation with the rest of the structure. Situated in a grove at a secluded corner of the district this temple is a great marvel of early Chalukyan architecture.
One of the earliest structural temples of India, built towards the end of the sixth and the beginning of the seventh century, this temple complex is dedicated primarily to Lord Shiva. Built by the great Chalukyas this site also sports great early nagara temples along with dravida temples around a sacred pond. With the walls of the temples of two styles virtually indistinguishable and differences arising only in shikharas, this marks the beginning of the mixed (vesara) style of architecture in Karnataka. A natural stream is captured in the temple pond which is called the Papavinashaka Kunda, where it is believed that our sins are washed away. In the center of this pond is a panchmukhi Shivalinga. These temples are remarkable for their early design and beautiful sculpture and the fact that they are still functioning and are living structures.
If one has to choose one cradle of temple architecture in all of India then it is Pattadakallu. Created in the early 7th and 8th centuries, by the great Badami Chalukya dynasty, it represents the next great stage in evolution of Hindu temple architecture. If Badami caves represent the earliest experiments of Hindus in cave temples, then Pattadakallu represents one of the earliest great experiments in structural temples. There are very few other sites in India where on one platform you can see as many temple styles and their evolution through ages as you can in Pattadakallu. Situated on the banks of the Malaprabha river, this used to be the place where the Badami Chalukya kings were consecrated. Galgantha represents a mature style of the same latina nagara style.
If one has to choose one cradle of temple architecture in all of India then it is Pattadakallu. Created in the early 7th and 8th centuries, by the great Badami Chalukya dynasty, it represents the next great stage in evolution of Hindu temple architecture. If Badami caves represent the earliest experiments of Hindus in cave temples, then Pattadakallu represents one of the earliest great experiments in structural temples. There are very few other sites in India where on one platform you can see as many temple styles and their evolution through ages as you can in Pattadakallu. Situated on the banks of the Malaprabha river, this used to be the place where the Badami Chalukya kings were consecrated. Kasiddheshwara is small but represents the earliest stages of latina nagara style of temples.
If one has to choose one cradle of temple architecture in all of India then it is Pattadakallu. Created in the early 7th and 8th centuries, by the great Badami Chalukya dynasty, it represents the next great stage in evolution of Hindu temple architecture. If Badami caves represent the earliest experiments of Hindus in cave temples, then Pattadakallu represents one of the earliest great experiments in structural temples. There are very few other sites in India where on one platform you can see as many temple styles and their evolution through ages as you can in Pattadakallu. Situated on the banks of the Malaprabha river, this used to be the place where the Badami Chalukya kings were consecrated. Sangameshwara represents the period of early maturity of Dravida style shikhara where most of the elements of the style are in place.
