Vittala Temple in Hampi is the place of the beautiful and iconic stone chariot of Hampi which each one of us has seen in our history books. This is the epicenter of tourist attractions in Hampi and certainly not to be missed.
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Vittala Temple is located around 2 kilometers from main road and private vehicles are not allowed beyond main road (To avoid damage to monuments from vibration and dust pollution). You can catch battery operated vehicles (golf cart and buses) and can reach to the site within 5 minutes (Rs 10 per person one way).
Once you enter the temple complex, you can see the stone chariot right in front of you followed by multiple temple halls (also called Mantapas). Pillars of the halls also produce musical sound if you just knock them. However most of the musical pillars are now out of bound for public to avoid any damage to them. Place is very crowded during the afternoon and you will see people rushing all around and children hanging on elephants and even stone chariot.
It was sad to see that there were no guards to control people from damaging the structures. People should be more responsible in enjoying our cultural heritage and should not cause any damage to structures. You can take a round circle and again reach to the main entrance visiting all halls (even underground passage within main hall) and enjoying the splendid architecture of the temple.
Just outside the temple, there are ruins from an ancient market. These ruins too are very beautiful and considering that very few people visit these ruins, you can enjoy the magnificence of our past at calm over here.
Market ruins are beautiful and you will certainly get some memorable clicks through the pillars and will also feel at calm sitting at the stairs.
Location
Google Map with above two locations –
Vittala Temple Timings
Temple opens from 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM. It is advised to visit in morning time as crowd, noise and dust builds up during the day time.
Entry Tickets
Entry tickets cost Rs 10 per person and can be bought on the spot. Please note that same tickets shall be eligible for entry to Lotus Temple and Elephant Stable (and vice versa too), so keep them safe to use again.
Battery operated Carts and Buses
As private vehicles are not allowed beyond main road, so take either a cart of bus (battery operated) from the bus stand right at the road (Frequency every 5 minutes). They charge Rs 10 per person one way and take 5 minutes time to reach the complex entry gate. Though distance is only ~2 KMs and one can even walk but it is advised to take bus or cart as dust builds up during the day and it gets tough to walk in heat and dust.