Hampi itinerary: how to plan 1, 2 or 3 days

Take a rickshaw for the day (approx. ₹1,000–1,500) and agree the list of sites before you start; a scooter is the alternative if you ride.

Dawn: Virupaksha, then Hemakuta Hill and Kadalekalu Ganesha on foot. Morning: the Lakshmi Narasimha monolith and Badavi Linga, then the Royal Centre before the heat: Hazara Rama, Mahanavami Dibba, the Stepped Tank, the Lotus Mahal and the Elephant Stables. Midday: rest. Late afternoon: Vittala and the Stone Chariot until sunset.

One day sees the highlights at a run. It leaves out the museum, the hill sunrises and everything across the river.

Dawn: the morning puja at the Virupaksha Temple, the one temple here in continuous worship since about the seventh century (shoulders and knees covered, shoes off at the entrance).

Morning: climb Hemakuta Hill behind it, then Kadalekalu Ganesha, a 4.5 m Ganesha cut from one boulder, whose porch frames the whole bazaar. Walk the kilometre of colonnade of Hampi Bazaar to the Monolithic Bull at its far end, and take the steps to its left over the ridge to the Achyutaraya Temple, which most visitors never reach.

Midday: lunch and shade in the bazaar.

Late afternoon: the riverside path past the King's Balance to the Vittala Temple and the Stone Chariot, when the stone turns gold. Vehicles stop at the ticket office; the last kilometre is on foot or by electric cart. The complex closes at sunset.

Sunrise: Matanga Hill for the view over the whole site, or the Malyavanta Raghunatha Temple for a quieter dawn among the boulders.

Morning: the Archaeological Museum in Kamalapura when it opens at 9:00 (closed on Fridays): its scale model of the whole landscape makes the rest of the day legible. The Pattabhirama Temple, a kilometre away, is huge and usually empty. Then the Royal Centre while it is still cool, since it has little shade: the Queen's Bath, Mahanavami Dibba, the Stepped Tank, the Hazara Rama Temple with the Ramayana carved along its walls, the Underground Shiva Temple, and the Zenana Enclosure with the Lotus Mahal and the Elephant Stables.

Afternoon: on the road back to the bazaar, the Krishna Temple, the 6.7 m Lakshmi Narasimha monolith and the Badavi Linga, standing in water.

Sunset: Hemakuta Hill, where the whole village goes.

Cross the Tungabhadra by motorboat (roughly 07:00–17:30, cash only) or coracle.

Early morning: Pampa Sarovar, the lotus tank tied to Shabari and the goddess Pampa, as the lotuses open. Then the Anjanadri hill, held to be Hanuman's birthplace: a long stair to a small hilltop temple and a view over the whole boulder country. For the sunrise on top, you need to sleep on the north bank: the motorboat starts only around 07:00.

Late morning: Nava Brindavana island, the shrines of nine Madhva saints, a short coracle hop from Anegundi; go before noon, when the rituals end. Then Anegundi village and the Gagan Mahal pavilion, and the banana-fibre craft of The Kishkinda Trust.

Late afternoon: Sanapur Lake in its bowl of boulders. Do not swim: the depths are deceptive and crocodiles have been seen.

The last boat back crosses before sunset; after that it is a 25 km road detour over the Anegundi bridge. In the monsoon the crossing can close altogether.

Details that change how the days work.