India (Frommer's, 4th Edition) - Keith Bain [330]
Hoysala Village With clusters of cottages spread over 2 hectares (5 acres) and surrounded by ample greenery, Hoysala Village is ideal for a 1-night stopover if you don’t necessarily want to travel all the way to Chikmagalur. It’s not exactly posh and the unimaginative interiors leave much to be desired, but it does have a pool, a bar and decent cuisine—ask for a room or suite in the fourth cluster closer to the pool area, which has a nice patch of garden with hammocks. Given the limited options in hand and the large tourist inflow, it’s a blessing, but if you care about your accommodation surroundings, try The Gateway in Chikmagalur.
Belur Rd., Hassan. 08172/256-764, -793 or 080/25325302. www.trailsindia.com. info@trailsindia.com. 33 units. Rs 4,000 standard rooms; Rs 4,500 suites. Rates include all meals. AE, DC, MC, V. Amenities: Restaurant; bar; airport transfer (Rs 3,500); carom, chess; pool; room service. In room: A/C, TV.
Traveling Via Mangalore
Once a seaport of some significance, Mangalore is an important center for the processing and export of Karnataka’s spices, coffee, and cashews, and known as the bidi cigarette capital of the world. (The bidi, effectively a roll of dried tobacco leaf, is also known as the “pauper’s puff.” Apparently 90 people die every hour in India from tobacco-related cancer.) Its greatest significance for travelers is that it makes a convenient pit stop on the section of the Konkan Railway that runs between Goa and Kerala, and provides road access to Belur, Halebid, and Sravanabelgola, as well as Mysore. The Gateway Hotel (Old Port Rd. 0824/666-0420; www.tajhotels.com; doubles from Rs 4,000) is the best hotel in Mangalore. Accommodations are comfortable, if not particularly luxurious. If you’re feeling flush, book a suite with a river-cum-ocean facing view (Rs 8,000). Staff will arrange trips to the beach and local temples, as well as tours of a cashew-nut factory or tours to see how Mangalore’s famous red-clay roof tiles are made.
4 Hampi & the Ruined City of Vijayanagar
Hampi is 460km (285 miles) NW of Bengaluru and 13km (8 miles) E of Hospet
The surreal, boulder-strewn landscape of Karnataka’s hinterland is the backdrop to the largest complex of ruins in India. Hampi, capital of one of India’s most formidable empires, the powerful Vijayanagara—whose rule stretched from the Arabian Sea to the Indian Ocean—was home to a population of half a million, and protected by more than a million soldiers. Set in a vast valley sprawling from the banks of the Tungabhadra River, the splendid “City of Victory”—where even the king’s horses were adorned in jewels—is now a ghost city with numerous temples, fortification ramparts, stables, royal apartments, and palaces, popular with determined sightseers and trance and rave party disciples. Long popular with Bollywood as a shooting location, Hampi is also where scenes from the 2005 Jackie Chan thriller The Myth were shot. Hampi may be a little difficult to get to, but this remoteness is to a large extent its charm. You can easily enjoy 2 or 3 days in this serene atmosphere, particularly if you’ve booked at Hampi’s Boulders (see “Where to Stay,” below), a comfortable resort within striking distance of the ruins.
ESSENTIALS
GETTING THERE The overnight Hampi Express leaves Bengaluru daily at 10:20pm, arriving in unremarkable Hospet, the nearest town, at 7:40am. From Hyderabad, the Rayalseema Express departs at 5:25pm and arrives early the following morning, at 5:10am. Hampi is 15km (9 1⁄3 miles) away. Taxis charge around Rs 600 for the one-way trip; be sure to negotiate. Hampi is also connected to Goa by an overnight bus service. Kingfisher Airlines operates flights from Goa and Bengaluru to Vidyanagar airport at Toranagallu (38km/24 miles from Hospet)—check the website (www.flykingfisher.com) for details.
VISITOR INFORMATION If you reserve lodging at Hampi