Roadtrip Day 2: Hospet to Vijaypura (Bijapur)

Not all plans are meant to be kept intact. Some do change.

I had mentioned in my previous post that I had planned to start from Hospet the next day morning. I was not sure what would be next stop. I had earlier thought of going all the way to Shirdi but Hospet to Shirdi distance stands at whooping 500+ kms . I had talked to Rakesh (reference in my previous post) about the next destination. Rakesh mentioned that from Bijapur to Pandharpur, it is single lane road. So it would ought to take more time. Rakesh was also fairly insistent on staying for one more day at Hospet & do a bit of sight-seeing. I decided to give in to his request & decided to do justice to TB Dam (Tungabhadra dam).

The next day morning, I was up early. From the place I stayed, the TB Dam was at a walking distance. Once inside main gate, there are two ways, one goes to the dam & other to the park & zoo. I chose the dam route. It was a km long walk. Visitors were not allowed to walk on the dam.

There is a park next to the dam from where you get the front + side view of the dam.

Rakesh soon joined me & we headed to the view point on the other side of the dam. The area is locally known as ‘backwater’ & comes under the Munirabad area. There are stairs & place to sit on it. I had earlier thought of taking a dip but then I did not find the water ‘very’ clean & decided against it.

The dam & the view reminded me of the vast Bhopal lake. Bhopal is my hometown. For both, the TB dam & Bhopal lake, the far end of the water body is not visible, making it feel like an ocean.

We were back to my hotel room by 11:30 & I decided to start on my onward journey to Bijapur.

Rakesh had suggested to stop by at Kudala Sangama where two rivers meet & there is a temple there as well. It was a small detour from main road. The road from Hospet to Kudala Sangama was as usual highway road.

I was concerned of leaving luggage on my bike but there was a 2 wheeler parking area where there were some cops standing. So I figured it would be safe to leave things. Once inside the temple, I quickly went to the back side to see the sangam. There was a nominal Rs 5 ticket to enter the area.

There is also a Shivalinga located ‘deep down’ with spiral staircases leading to it.

I guess the place has religious significance but it did not impress me much.

I was back from the temple visit & resumed my ride towards Bijapur which I reached by 4:30 PM. I directly headed towards Gol Gumbaj as I could see that the place closes in the evening. The ride to Bijapur was uneventful. The roads were good.

I did have a concern of my luggage on the bike but I figured I will find a way once I reach there. If I would have spent time trying to find the right hotel, I will miss the window.

There is a restaurant bang opposite Gol Gumbaj entrance where I had idli & tea. I parked my bike as deep inside as I can & he obliged to my request of keeping an eye on my bike & the luggage. The entrance to the Gumbaj closes at 5:40 PM. I was able to get in by 5 PM but it was late for the museum which got shut at that time. So I headed towards Gumbaj. The entry fees of the place was Rs 25.

Gol Gumbaj did not disappoint me. As soon as you enter the place, you will hear all kinds of people shouting & their echos inside it. There is a whispering gallery on the top & there are stairs from inside which lead to it. Once I reached the gallery, I figured the source of all the shouting/echo. You also get the city view from top of the Gumbaj.

Now I had to find a place to stay. I asked the restaurant owner where I had parked the bike about good hotels & he suggested Lalit Mahal. I looked up google for the number of the hotel but the number that showed up did not work.

As I had mentioned in my opening post that I had budget of Rs 500 per day, I had also googled about Yatri Nivas hotel in the bus stand. I first went to Lalit Mahal. It was very nice hotel with ample parking space right in the center of the hotel building. There was a soft music playing there. I met a guy named Shreyas who quoted Rs 800 for single room. With the conversation, it became clear that there was no room for negotiation.

I left my bike parked at the location & went to check other hotels. I could not find anything worthwhile around the bus stand area. It looked like I had to hire the hotel room at Lalit Mahal & break the budget limit I had. As one last attempt, I opened google & looked for hotels in bijapur that had price listed. I saw VKG Lodge with an online price of Rs 900+ . I called the number mentioned & one guy named Sandeep picked up. On asking for room tarrif, he quoted Rs 500 & he would give it to me for Rs 400. He also mentioned that they have basement parking for vehicles. Next moment, I walked back to Lalit Mahal, thanked Shreyas & drove to VKG Lodge.

The first impression of the lodge was not very great. The single rooms were cramped & not that clean. On my request, explaining about my roadtrip & budget and on promise of writing a decent review, Mr Sandeep offered me a double room which was much better for Rs 500. Link - https://goo.gl/maps/H7esqJDF4KCMtY3T6 . I just now read a few reviews on how some rooms had bed bugs. The thing about cockroaches in washroom was right & I did see it myself but they do seem to have some clean rooms & the room I stayed in (310), dint have bed bugs.

Later I looked up places with recommendation for food & found Mysore Restaurant. I ate benne dosa there which was decent (it was nothing extra-ordinary). I also figured that the place has stay options. On inquiring, the guy said Rs 600 for single room. I do remember seeing a placard on the entrance which mentioned all precautions like room sanitization for covid. I would recommend this place although I did not check the rooms. The only challenge could be parking. So do check it before you checkin there.

My learning finding a decent place in Bijapur is - the farther you look at a hotel from the bus stand, the cheaper you will get it. You CAN get a place for < 500.

Post dinner at Mysore Restaurant, I roamed around the market. One thing I noticed about Bijapur market is that the building looked fairly antique/exotic. If you have seen IIMB construction of stones, it looked the same. I would recommend a tour of Bijapur market although none of the local folks recommended that to me.

My bullet drew a lot of attention from public but they were all nice people & harmless. I also answered their curious questions etc. In general, I liked the vibes at Bijapur. Post roaming around in the market, I went back to the hotel. Bijapur was hot in March which I only realized later in the night but it wasn’t unbearable. I retired to bed looking forward to Day 3 of my trip.