Kalyana Karnataka · Deccan Inland Plateau
How to reach
By air
- Kalaburagi Airport (GBI) — Opened to scheduled flights in 2019; the only airport inside the region with regular service.
- Jindal Vidyanagar Airport, near Ballari — A private airport at the steel plant with limited scheduled service; useful for Hampi and Ballari.
- Bidar — A civil enclave at the air force station with intermittent scheduled service — check whether flights are running before planning around it.
- Hyderabad — Realistically the gateway for Bidar and Kalaburagi — around 130 km and 220 km respectively, and better connected than anything closer.
By rail
- Wadi Junction (WADI) — The junction that made the region — where the Mumbai–Chennai trunk meets the Hyderabad line.
- Kalaburagi — On the Mumbai–Chennai main line, with fast trains from both directions.
- Hosapete Junction (HPT) — The station for Hampi, 13 km away; the overnight trains from Bengaluru arrive here.
- Ballari (BAY)
- Raichur — On the main line, and the railhead for the doab and for Mantralayam.
- Bidar — End of a branch, with limited services; the road from Hyderabad is usually faster.
By road
The Solapur–Kalaburagi–Hyderabad road, the region's main east–west arteryThe Hyderabad–Bidar road, about three hoursThe Bengaluru–Ballari–Hosapete road for Hampi, roughly eight hoursThe Raichur–Mantralayam road, crossing the Tungabhadra into the Telugu countryDistrict roads across black soil, which are usable in the dry months and unreliable after heavy rain
By water
Coracle crossings on the Tungabhadra at Hampi and Anegundi, running in daylight when the river is not high
Getting around
Buses between district towns are frequent and cheap; within towns it is autos and shared tempos. Hampi is best done by bicycle or moped from Kamalapura or Anegundi, and the north-bank crossing by coracle stops when the river runs high. Distances are long and the plateau is hot — start early.
How to reach Kalyana Karnataka by air, rail, road and water, and how to get around once there. (10)