Hospet : An Underrated Tourist Spot

Hospet is a beautiful place, which a tourist would dream to visit at least once in his lifetime. It is located in the Ballari distict. This city is 12 kms far from the famous World Heritage Site of India “Hampi”. The main speciality of this city is that it is located on the Tungabhadra River.

But just visiting any place without prior planning doesn’t make any sense. We should consider some of the important factors while visiting any tourist places. The factor that I am going to discuss in this article is about “The best time to visit Hospet”. You all may be wondering as though why we should consider going to any places on a specific time. Even I used to wonder and have the same question in my mind, until I experienced the difference after visiting the same place in different seasons.

Before going to the actual topic, if you are visiting Hospet for the first time, then you should compulsorily visit some spots, because of which Hospet is interesting and beautiful. The first centre of attraction in Hospet is the famous Tungabhadra dam. The dam facilitates many purposes like power generation, irrigation, rainwater harvest and preventing floods. Hospet is known as the Fort Town of Karnataka. The city is famous for the alluring town of Chitradurga. Another important centre of attraction is the famous Raghunath Temple in Hospet. The temple is considered to be special because of its unique white-washed pillars in the middle of the temple. The temple also contains a portico just before the compound.

Another special thing that this city owns is The King’s Balance. The balance was used in the ancient times, to weight the King against the wealth, metals, and food. The five-meter-long tall balance contains three loops on the top and the carvings of the Kings, which is the major attraction. Now coming to the important and a must watch spot, “The Virupaksha temple”. Declared to be one of the World Heritage Site by UNESCO, the temple contains carving dated back to 8th and 9th century. The temple is supposed to be built in the 7th Century and the elevation was built up around fifty meters above the ground. Another spectacular feature of this temple is the fifty-six musical pillars that produce different sounds when struck.

Now finally the time has come to discuss about the above mentioned title, the best and the right time to visit Hospet and surely with a valid reason. Hospet is a place where people can enjoy each seasons to the fullest. Let it be the summer, winter or monsoons. Hospet is a dry and moderate place throughout the year. The weather in Hospet remains moderately cool except for peak afternoon during normal days. But the summer season in Hospet bring soaring high temperature ranging between 33⁰C and 43⁰C. Monsoons in Hospet get average but inconsistent rainfall, keeping the temperature little low and humid. The terrains will be slippery during monsoons and it is advised to stay away from them to avoid accidents.

But according to me, the best time to visit Hospet is during the months September to February or in simple words, during winter season. The greenery left behind by inconsistent rain during monsoons keep the surroundings look mesmerizing and feels as if it is a boon to the human eye. The water level in the River Tungabhadra is also decent and the river flows gently. Other than peak afternoons, the rest of the day remains quite pleasant. Since Hampi is best explored in winter season, it is advised not to miss the “Vijaya Utsava” festival in Hampi in the month of November.