Welcome to Mowgli Guesthouse

Welcome to MOWGLI GUESTHOUSE.

I want to extend a warm welcome to all friends and guests of Mowgli Guesthouse. We have created this blog to give you some information about our guesthouse, the wonderful city of Hampi and its amazing remains and ruins of the Vijayanagar empire that you might find useful to know before you come to Hampi. Me, my family and all the good people on our staff will try our best to make your stay a pleasant one and we hope you will enjoy your visit to
Hampi.
With kind regards, Mr Ngopalaswamy, owner of the Mowgli
, family and staff.



My family has been running the guesthouse for more than 17 years starting with only four rooms in 1992. We have added a few
more rooms over the years as more and more people came to visit
and our rooms and restaurant/lounge have been a popular place
for many visitors to Hampi. We are located just north of Hampi Bazaar in the peaceful and quiet village of Virupapuragadda just five minutes walking from the small ferry that crosses the river.
Today the guesthouse offers 35 rooms of different types and starting from 250 rupees per night for a single room with shared bathroom. We also have very lovely bamboo huts with swing chairs and a view over the rice paddy’s, the river and the boulders
of Hampi. All rooms have a fan and a outdoors verandah.
Our latest addition is a new building with rooms with airconditioning and fan, attached bathrooms, painted in bright colors and with great views. From the verandah and balconies you can enjoy the sunrise and sunset like nowhere else
Our restaurant and lounge have been an quiet oasis where you can relax after a day of exploring the sights of Hampi. We serve great Italian and Israeli food, we have a wood fired pizza oven and we serve great fresh fruit juices and lassi’s. The restaurant is open from 7.30 am for breakfast and it remains open untill midnight. There is also a pool table to enjoy a game of pool in the evening with a drink while the wind blows in gently over the rice fields.
The guesthouse tries to help all guests and visitors with all their travel needs. We can arrange tickets for bus and train or book a taxi for your onward journey if you decide to leave us. There is a laundry service and bike and motorbike/scooter rental available. We have four computers with a broadband internet connection available to our guests and we can change your money at very good rates as well.

Rooms and Tariffs

Rooms and Tariffs 2009.

We have different categories of rooms in Mowgli Guesthouse.










The cottage, with double bed, overhead fan, mosquito net, and attached bathroom. Some facing the the courtyard, some facing the ricefields and the river. From 1000 rupees.









The cottages with double bed, overhead fan, mosquito net, attached bathroom and swingbed facing the rice fields. From 1200 rupees.




















Airconditioned rooms, with private balcony, overhead fan and attached bathroom. With great views of the river, the boulders and the ricefields from 1000 rupees without A/C and 1400 with A/C.

Directions to Mowgli Guest house and Restaurant

Directions for Mowgli Guesthouse and Location.

Hampi is located in south India, about 350km NW of Bangalore, in the state of Karnataka.

Hampi can be accessed from two big cities with international airports: Mumbai/Bombay and Bangalore, both located in South India. From thes two cities, Hampi can be reached by bus, train or taxi. The most comfortable, fast, but also most expensive option, is the taxi. The journey from Bangalore to Hampi in a hired jeep takes approx 8.5 hours.

From Goa you can take a taxi to Hampi and it is a scenic drive. Make note that after Hubli, you go to Gadag and on to Koppal. After Kopal you find a hotel named Simla dhaba en shortly after that hotel you will find the Anegundi, Gangawati road. This road will lead you to Sanapur and then you will after 3 kilometers the old bridge. Turn of the road, cross the river and up the dirt road you will find the Mowgli Guesthouse after 0,5 kilometer

Trains are a comfortable option. From Mumbai and Bangalore is is possible to get to Hospet, the main railway station for Hampi by nighttrains. India rail provides you with three classes of travel.The cheapest option is a second class sleeper (try and ge tan upper berth), and there are also two classes of airconditioned sleeper berths. The AC classes are more expensive but also more comfortable and more quiet at night.

From Goa, Madgaon raiway station, there is a day train which will take seven hours to reach Hospet. It is a beautiful journey through the mountains with waterfalls and great scenery. The train leaves Madgaon, on most days, at eight o’clock in the morning.

In Hospet expect many rickshaw drivers waiting to take you to Hampi ( it should cost no more than 100 – 150 rupees for the 15 kilometer journey). But you can also take the bus from the busstation, less than 1 kilometer or a 10 – 20 rupee rickshaw ride away from the train station. The bus will cost 10 rupees and will take you to the bus station in Hampi.
From the busstation in Hampi you will have to walk through the main bazaar leading up to the Virupaksha temple. Just before the entrance to the temple you must take the road to your right and follow this road to the river, walk along the river overlooking the ghats untill the end where you can take the steps down to the river.
Here you must take the ferry boat, 10 rupees or 15 with luggage, and on the other side you will walk up and take the first road left and after 200 meters you are at Mowgli’s. The whole walk from the busstand to the ferry is no more than ten minutes.


Map of the Karnataka state in SW India.

Mowgli Restaurant and Lounge

Mowgli restaurant and lounge.

Our restaurant and Lounge are a quiet place to enjoy dinner after a long day exploring the sites of Hampi. We have a nice lounge area where you can see the sunset and the view of the river and the rice paddy’s is quite special.
We serve home made food ranging from pizza’s from our wood fired oven to israeli specials like falaffel. But we like our own indian food very
much

and hope you will try it as well. Everything is made fresh every day so sit down, enjoy your drink and enjoy the view.

We open as early as 7.30 in the morning for a hearty breakfast with muesli, cornf lakes, fresh fruit salads and fresh bread and cakes and we will continue to serve all food from our menu untill midnight.
We have a nice selection of fresh fruit juices, lassi’s and milkshakes and very, very cold soft drinks.
There is a pooltable as well so you can have a game of pool while you enjoy your cold beer and feel the breeze through the trees.

Please see Lonely Planet recommendation at the below link:

http://hotels.lonelyplanet.com/hotel/Hampi-Mowgli-P1000476698.html

Hampi sites and history

Hampi, sites and history of the Vijayanagara Empire.

Hampi, the 14th century capital of one of the greatest empires of the world, lies in the Deccan heartland in the state of Karnataka or Karu’nadu (meaning 'elevated land'). The ruins of Hampi are scattered throughout an area of 26 sq. km area, amidst giant boulders and vegetation. Protected by the tempestuous river Tungabhadra in the north and rocky granite ridges on the other three sides, the ruins narrate silenty the story of grandeur splendor and fabulous wealth. The splendid remains of palaces and gateways of the broken city tells a tale of man's infinite talent and power of creativity together with his capacity for senseless destruction.
The genesis of the place, known today as Hampi, dates back to the age of the Hindu epic 'Ramayana' when it was the site of Kishkinda, a monkey kingdom. Between the 9th and 10th century, this area was known as Vijaypur and later in 1150 AD as Vijaynagar under the king Vijayadhawaja. Vijayanagara, the capital of the mighty Vijayanagara, was founded in 1336 AD by two Hindu brothers Hakka and Bukka under the able guidance of a Brahmin priest Madhva Vidyaranya. The empire that lasted for over twenty years despite to dizzy heights culminating into the golden era of South Indian history. The Empire, that extended from river Krishna to Cape Comorin, included the modern state of Orrisa and was ruled from a capital stretched over 165 sq. miles, the central portion of which is called Hampi today. The Vijayanagara Empire also annexed the state of Goa as early as 1380 under Madhavacharya, a minister of king Harihara. The most well-known and powerful ruler of this empire was Krishna Deva Raya (1423-May 1446 AD)
This fairy tale city was devoid of all its strength and splendor in 1565 AD when the then ruler Rama Raya was defeated and killed by a confederation of Muslim kings. The capital was ransacked and reduced to Shambles within 6 months by the victorious Mohamedans who left it desolate, resembling more a ghost city than a former captital. The state of Goa lost its prominence after the fall of this empire as the then rulers, the Portuguese, lost interest in this territory because of the fall in spice and horse trade.
Today a world heritage site, archeologist try to reveil the unknown secrets and they are working patiently at this remote (yet beautiful place) and treasure, when they excavate to unearth, beautifully preserved monuments.
There are many amazing temples and sites to see in and around Hampi.

The great boulders that surround this lovely little place are breathtaking!

Temples to see in the north side of the river ( Virupapuragadda) :

Hanuman Temple (Monkey Temple)
Laxmi Temple

Durga Temple

Links:
http://ww.hampi.in/sites.htm
http://www.vijayanagara.org/