“Many worlds of Hampi” is a 3-day photography tour designed to cover a wide range of interesting subjects that goes beyond the architectural splendours of Hampi. We have explored all the corners of Hampi to bring you the best in landscapes, wildlife and architecture of Hampi.
To know more about each of these aspects of Hampi, click on the tabs to the left.
Landscapes – the river, boulders and hills of Hampi. Standing on the top of one of the highest landmarks of Hampi on an early morning as we wait for the the first rays of sun, our group of photographers will see the eagle’s eye view of the vast boulderscapes of Hampi with ancient temples and pavilions (mantapas) dotting the landscape. The Tungabhadra River magically squeezes its way through this arid landscapes, gently reflecting the blue skylights of the morning, perhaps with a coracle or two floating on it, ferrying people from the bathing ghats to Vithala Temple. Have you ever felt, in places like this, that no photographs can justify the beauty of nature in front of you? We tend to agree, but we will also stay with you to bridge that gap between what you see and what you capture.
Sunsets can be equally captivating, as the sun paints the sky in hues of deep orange-pink, as we gather on a lively hillock littered with pillared pavilions, large boulders, small temples and a fragrant frangipani tree. Don’t be surprised if you forget photography for a moment and get engrossed in the evening landscape. But Darter Photography Expert will make sure you have the time of your life, with your experiences of the place as well as with your camera. There is no way you will go back home without taking great pictures and a brilliant smile.
Wildlife – Birds and Bears. A short drive from Hampi is a wildlife sanctuary dedicated to protecting a dense population of sloth bears that wander the shrub jungles adjoining the ancient city. It is not just the big, fat, adorable bears that we have here. Painted Sandgrouses, Grey Francolins, Flocks of parakeets, Black Redstarts, Sirkeer Malkohas, Yellow Throatred Bulbuls, White Browed Bulbuls, Indian Peafowl (Peacocks), Monitor Lizards and Star Tortoises are part of the big list of wildlife that our photographers have captured in Hampi. While wildlife sightings are left to chance, we know where to find them all, and the best ways to photograph this wildlife. Of course, expect plenty of leads on making great wildlife images as we go hunting these birds and animals on our way to Daroji Sloth Bear Sanctuary.
The famed ruins of Vijayanagar Empire. Of course you would have heard of these. Hampi’s architectural heritage and its temples in various stages of ruination have brought this small village the UNESCO world heritage site status. A large number of monuments more than four hundred years old are strewn all across the plains of Hampi, inviting photographers to lose themselves in the ruins. But it would make little sense in making mere imprints of these beauties in your camera. With nearly half a dozen visits to the site, your photography expert has done a lot of work to find out what are the best monuments to shoot at what time of the day, to assess the direction of light that works good on these monuments and some great locations of Hampi and the right hour to capture their essence. All this knowledge is at the disposal of our participants, which helps make the tour a highly fruitful photography sojourn. The photography expert is there with you all the time, helping you when you have problems, reviewing your pictures and assisting you on field, ensuring that you get the best of what Hampi has to offer.
This tour takes a limited number of participants, which means that our photography expert can spend a lot of time with every participant. We will be visiting many important and beautiful sights of Hampi, which makes the tour worthwhile for non-photographers as well.
The Hampi Photography Tour is designed to (a) help beginners, amateurs and photographers of any level of expertize to see and capture the beauty of Hampi (b) travellers keen to explore the diversity of Hampi. People who are just starting with photography, or those who simply want to explore Hampi without a camera are welcome.
Our tour is built in such a way that (a) we work closely with every photographer, helping them no matter what is their level of expertize (b) help beginners understand the basic nuances of photography and get beautiful images of Hampi (c) facilitate expert photographers to see and capture the right place at the right light, assisting them further when necessary (d) allow non-photographers to explore the diversity of Hampi.
The tour calendar includes
- Visit to sites in Hampi that offer excellent photography opportunities in landscapes, wildlife and architecture
- Photography sessions at the resort that help participants in (a) capturing the best of what Hampi has to offer and (b) sprucing up your photography skills
- Daily image reviews at the end of the day
Accommodation
We will be staying at the Sloth Bear Resort, the new offering from Jungle Lodges and Resorts, on the boundary of the Daroji Bear Sanctuary.
The cost includes:
- Accommodation on twin sharing basis and all meals at Sloth Bear Resort
- Visits to the sites and local transfers
- Photography sessions and services of expert photographer for the group
- Transport from Hospet to Sloth Bear Resort (for buses and trains arriving to a pre-planned schedule only) and transport during the three days in and around Hampi.
The cost does not include:
- Transport from your location to Hospet/Hampi
- Additional soft drinks/mineral water/liquor ordered at Sloth Bear Resort
- Additional snacks or eatables ordered at Sloth Bear Resort
- Tips and anything that is not part of the includes list above
Arun Bhat
Arun Bhat Accomplished travel and landscape photographer Arun Bhat’s works have been used by publications in India and across the world, all the way from Japan to USA. He is a professional photographer who has extensively travelled across India, creating some of the finest imagery of India’s landscapes and heritage sites.
Having travelled the country many times over and being used to waking up at 5am in bitter cold winter days, he has seen and captured finest landscapes all the way from Himalayas to the peninsular India but is yet to see anything as spectacular as the ‘morningscapes’ seen from the top of Hampi’s Hills. More than half-a-dozen visits to Hampi have helped Arun develop a sense of familiarity and a good understanding of Hampi’s photography opportunities. Expect his guidance to come in your favour in making beautiful images of Hampi’s attractions.
To register for the tour or for more details, please fill in the form at the end of this page.
Alternatively, you could email us at register@darter.in or call us at 9880006460 (Arun Bhat) / 9740083260 (Shreeram M V)
