Now, a nocturnal journey through Hampi ruins

Monuments lit up at night delight tourists

The living sculptures at Hampi spread over a radius of 12 km. Tourists were finding it difficult to visit all the places of interest, particularly during summer. The town located in the mining district of Bellary, is also known for its scorching sun. All that could be a thing of the past with the launch of ‘Hampi By Night’ project.

The historic monuments of the Vijayanagara empire now bask in the glow of electric lights. With a pre-recorded brief explanation in the background, visiting Hampi can now be a more memorable experience. “It is an altogether a different experience to see the monuments in the night,” Sushma, a tourist from Madikeri told Deccan Herald.

The Hampi Development Corporation is implementing this Rs 12.5-crore unique project with State and Central assistance. The nocturnal journey through the ruins comes for a separate fee and is available only during weekends, initially. The facility will be made a daily feature by February end, Tourism Department director Vishwanatha Reddy and secretary Jyotiramalingam said.

Of the Rs 81-crore plan formulated for the comprehensive development of Hampi, the Union and the State governments have released Rs 51 crore and Rs 31 crore respectively, they said. Meanwhile, curtains came down on the three-day grand Hampi Utsav on Saturday. However, in view of the overwhelming response, the organisers have decided to continue the special lighting arrangement to the monuments. As many as 15 lights - including parcane and metallic ones of one KW - erected on monolithic rocks throw “light” on the Hampi ruins. LED lights have been preferred this time to save energy. The monuments have been lit up at a cost of Rs one crore, said Venkatesh, of Asteriks Audio Visuals, the contractor.