A weekend at Hampi

Hampi is a world heritage site located on the banks of the Tungabhadra river in Northern Karnataka. It was one of the richest and largest cities in the world during its prime. It is located within the ruins of the city of Vijayanagara, the former capital of the Vijayanagara Empire. Predating the city of Vijayanagara, Hampi continues to be an important religious centre, housing the Virupaksha Temple and several other monuments belonging to the old city.

For me Hampi was an escape from the hustle and bustle of the city and the monotonous home and office routine, accompanied by 800 km of sheer driving pleasure, great food, amazing historic architecture and above all the camera shutter and the wide angle.

Accommodation: Mowgli Guest House, Hampi

Day 1: Monkey point on the Ajinkya Hill. Reaching the top of the hill is humongous as it involves climbing 575 steps.

The monkey point atop the Ajinkya Hill, is believed to be the birthplace of the Monkey God "Lord Hanuman"

Day 2: A coracle ride to reach the the heritage locations of Hampi. Hampi as per the locales has two sides to it – the secular and the religious. The religious side of Hampi covers all the temples and the secular side covered the recreational monuments built by the rulers. I started with the religious side. You need not be a religious person to be captivated by the sheer grandeur of these historic temples and you will enjoy every bit of it. It is better to have a guide from your hotel or read through travelogues written by other backpackers before you land in this place as you will be swarmed by the wannabe guides and auto drivers. Also, be prepared to walk a lot in the hot sun as Hampi involves lot of walking. The only relief I found was in the coracle boat ride to the Vittala Temple. In the middle of the Tungabhadra river you have a enclosure between the rocks which the locals call as "Air Conditioner" and believe me it does complete justice to it's name. The 5 minute stop there is quite welcoming after being in the hot sun the whole day.

Virupaksha Temple, converted from a shrine to a large complex by the Vijayanagara rulers and further improvised by the Chalukya and Hoysala rulers.

The temple ruins atop Hemakuta hill, which looks like a gigantic monolithic rock. This I believe was one of the most scenic and beautiful sites in Hampi. These temples often mistaken for Jain temples due to its pyramid-like roofs are Hindu temples dedicated to Hindu deities Shiva, Ganesh and Hanuman. The best attraction here is the sunset here, which is breathtakingly beautiful.

Achyuta Raya's Temple: The temple dedicated to Lord Tiruvengalanatha, a form of Vishnu, was constructed by an officer in Achyuta Raya’s rule during the 15th century. The temple complex and the ruined market street in front of it located in a semi secluded valley created by the Gandhamadana & Matanga hills forms a picturesque landscape. This location is not accounted for by most of the tourists in their plans and hence quite welcomed by the ones who love the silence.

Hampi Bazaar or Market.

Vittala Temple, well known for the iconic Stone Chariot is an extravagant and iconic architectural wonder of Hampi. It is dedicated to Vittala a form of Lord Vishnu. It is one of the most clicked structures in Hampi and getting a clear shot, without the need to use the content aware tool requires some amount of patience.

Second half of the day, post lunch involved exploring the secular side of Hampi. Probably because of tiredness, I was not able to enjoy this side of Hampi.

Lotus Mahal, the palace for the queen. This was constructed during the fag end of Vijayanagara period and displays Islamic influence in its construction - arched gateways and vaulted ceilings.

Royal Elephant Stables which housed the 11 best elephants of the Vijaynagara rulers. Once inside the structure you can never imagine that it is just a stable from the past. The architecture, the symmetry in which it was built, was enough to depict the architectural skills of the rulers.

Second half of the day, post lunch involved exploring the secular side of Hampi. Probably because of tiredness, I was not able to enjoy this side of Hampi. The day ended with the amazing sunset on the Hemakuta hills.

Day 3: The trip to Hampi is incomplete with visit to Aihole, Pattadakal and Badami. The third day involved exploring these historic places.The effort that had gone into making these temples made me think “What else did the kings do other than making Temples? Did it not pave the way for the foreign rulers to enter the country, as the Hindu kings concentrated only on religious activities?” Probably just a random thought that came into my mind. In addition to to these prominent locations, you will also come across many old temples converted to houses by the locales. On a casual talks with one of the caretakers in the Aihole temple, I was informed that there there are 125 temples, built by the Chalukya kings spread across the village. The villagers have been asked to vacate the temples but with no luck.

The lovely vacation ended but not without a great 400 km drive.