Driving through the town of Hampi - Hyderabad to Hampi road trip
Driving through the town of Hampi

Hyderabad to Hampi Road trip – An amazing drive!

It was during the Holi weekend, I visited Hampi along with my parents. And as you might have guessed, it was a road trip! This blog post is going to be about Hyderabad to Hampi road trip. If you’re planning one, this could be useful.

I started this year by revisiting Bijapur, Aihole, and Pattadakal. While I loved the gems of Bijapur in Gol Gumbaz and Ibrahim Rouza, I absolutely fell in love with the temples in Aihole and Pattadakal. That’s what got me interested in the Vijaynagar empire. And that made me want to visit Hampi even more.

Hyderabad to Hampi Road Trip

Hampi is a small town located in the state of Karnataka. One of the larger cities near Hampi is Hospet. Hampi was the capital of the Vijaynagar empire and the throne of Krishnadevray. It’s known for its ancient Hindu temples, bazaars, and other structures, there’s also a UNESCO world heritage site there.

Route

Hampi is close to 400 km from Hyderabad and can take anywhere between 8-10 hours. There are multiple routes that you can take to reach Hampi from Hyderabad.

Route 1 (Shortest):
Hyderabad -> Shadnagar -> Mahabugnagar -> Raichur -> Manvi -> Pothnal -> Sindhanur -> Karatgi -> Gangavathi -> Kamalpur -> Hampi

Route 2:
Hyderabad -> Chevella -> Kodangal -> Gurumitkal -> Mailapur -> Kudlur -> Devarsugur -> Raichur -> Manvi -> Pothnal -> Sindhanur -> Karatgi -> Gangavathi -> Kamalpur -> Hampi

Route 3 (Longest):
Hyderabad -> Shadnagar -> Jadcherla -> Kothakota -> Kurnool -> Allur -> Bellari -> Kamalpur -> Hampi

I took route 1, not only because it was the shortest but if you notice, this is the same route that I took while coming back from Bijapur. So the stretch from Hyderabad to Raichur was a familiar route to me. Route 3 would be better in terms of the road conditions (I assume) as you spend a little more time on NH-44.

In terms of tolls, paid Rs 320 in total from Hyderabad to Hampi and back.

Road Conditions

The plan was to leave by 5 AM, but we left around 6 which is fine. We had stocked up water bottles and snacks for the road trip. Plus since parents were also traveling, there was chai on demand too (my dad runs on chai)

I guess I’ve mentioned this earlier as well, but the road condition in Telangana is pretty good. Whether it’s towards Adilabad or Jadcherla. We took the ORR took exit 15 and diverted to NH-44 towards Jadcherla. Watched a beautiful sunrise and drove toward Mahabubnagar.

Road conditions Hyderabad to Hampi Road Trip
Road conditions from Hyderabad to Hampi

The road from Mahabunagar to Raichur is pretty good. Though it’s not 4 lanes, the condition is good. Just that Krishna bridge that separates the state of Telangana and Karnataka is a bottleneck. The drive from there, using the Raichur bypass is sublime.

We took a turn towards Manvi. The boards mentioned Manvi as the land of paddy. We were stunned to see the lush green paddy fields for quite some time. The road condition here is decent but the views are just amazing. The road passes through a lot of towns and cities and hence you will encounter typical city traffic that can slow down the pace.

Lush green paddy fields on the way
Lush green paddy fields on the way

The last and final stretch from Karatgi to Gangavathi and Hampi is strenuous. The roads are narrow and a lot of town traffic. It would be fair to say that as you reach closer to Hampi the roads become narrower. Along with that even the landscape changes. Rock mountains and huge stones were in the backdrop while the paddy fields were a constant.

It was about 2 PM when we reached our hotel, KSTDC Mayura Bhuvaneshwari. Along with Clark’s Inn, these are the two hotels listed online which are closer to all the places of interest in Hampi.

So it took just above 8 hours to complete a trip of 362 km. My Tata Punch gave me an average of 20.5 for Hyderabad->Hampi->Hyderabad, ~900 km and I drove on eco mode for the entire trip. Further in terms to fuel, before the start of the trip I had refueled for Rs 2000, refueled for Rs 2600 after reaching Hampi, and Rs 1000 near Shadnagar before driving back home. The last refuel wasn’t necessary, but just to be on the safe side, I refueled.

Driving through the town of Hampi - Hyderabad to Hampi road trip
Driving through the town of Hampi

Road Trip Amongst Paddy Fields

As much as I loved driving on the amazing roads in Telangana, I detested driving the final stretch to Hampi. The only thing that I loved about the road trip was the paddy fields. I just couldn’t get enough of it. We had multiple chai/snack stops by the fields whenever we got some space (since most of the roads are 2 lanes, it’s difficult to pull over)

However, if you’re an architecture buff and also love history, you must visit Hampi. Trust me you’ll fall in love with the place. Even the Hyderabad to Hampi road trip is a good enough distance for a road trip. I didn’t visit many places in Hampi but did visit the famous Virupaksha Temple and Vithalla Temple along with Lotus Mahal and Elephants Stable. Will talk about them in the upcoming posts.

Have you been to Hampi ever? How was your experience? Let me know in the comments below, tweet to me at @Atulmaharaj, DM me on Instagram, or Get In Touch.

About Atulmaharaj

A seasoned blogger and a content marketer for close to a decade now. I write about Food, Technology, Lifestyle, Travel, and Finance related posts. Blogging brings me joy and the best part is I get to read and e-meet so many amazing bloggers! PS: I'm also the founder for Socialmaharaj.com :) Favorite Quote: "Traveling is like reading a book, one who hasn't traveled, hasn't turned a page.

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10 comments

  1. I have planned my trip for 23rd Dec weekend. Wondering if I should take hyd-raichur-humpi or hyd-kurnl-humpi.
    Nys blog, thank you!

  2. Good to read this. What are the best hotels to stay in Hampi with family?

    • We stayed at the KSTDC Bhuvaneshwari which is very close to all the locations – not a very great place, but then we were here only to spend the night. Most other private properties are a little far off from the monuments. You can try the KSTDC one in Hospete as well.

  3. Hi Atul

    Nicely written. Could you please tell me more about your stay? I understand you booked a room at the KSTDC hotel. I am also planning to stay at KSTDC in Hampi and would love to hear from you on your stay experience.

    • Thanks Nemish, The hotels is very basic and just ok. The service isn’t great though. I was here mostly during the night to sleep and from that point of view it’s okay.

  4. Hey, great writeup. Planning to take the same route via Raichur, hope it’s good during monsoons as well ?
    Can you suggest a few good restaurants on the way for breakfast?

    • Thanks Himanshu. Yes most road is tarred so shouldnt be an issue. After Manvi the roads are double lane, plus city traffic and more close to Hampi, you’ll encounter traffic. In terms of food, I’m a vegetarian and when I’m out with my parents I often look for vegetarian places. Not many that I found on the way. There’s a few around Raichur and after Manvi when you enter the town. Hope this helps.

  5. Nice write up for Hampi trip.

    Just curious, how many days did you spend in Hampi and how was the return route?

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