Children’s Tour of Hampi
As a part of its heritage education program, the Deccan Heritage Foundation India has been organising an annual two-day tour of Hampi for the Grade 6 students of The International School, Bangalore (TISB) since January 2017. This tour’s objectives are to:
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Introduce the concepts of map-reading and map-making
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Introduce the subjects of archaeology and heritage conservation through activities
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Conduct the tour of the UNESCO World Heritage Site for the students, highlighting both the natural and the man-made heritage of Hampi
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Introduce methods of heritage interpretation such as reading inscriptions and archival documentation
In the 2019 edition of the tour, on the first day, the tour began with a session on techniques of reading maps on the top of Hemakuta hill. The students undertook a navigation activity to understand the concepts of map reading. They visited a live archaeological site, where the process of excavation was explained. The half day tour was conducted along the river covering the sacred sites of Hampi.
The second day commenced with a trek up Matanga hill. The students learnt important geographical concepts atop the Matanga hill. Afterwards, they visited the royal enclosure. Old archival photographs were used to help them understand a comparative study of the monuments. Within the royal enclosure, students learnt about the ancient rituals and practices of the Vijayanagara kings and also studied the various inscriptions.
A total of 66 students participated in this educational trip and the tour was organised in partnership with Fieldtrips, a travel management company.
