“A people’s relationship to their heritage is the same as
the relationship of a child to its mother.” – John Henrik Clarke
When I first shifted to Bangalore more than a year ago,
Hampi was never close to being on my list of must visit places. But then of
course all that went out of the window courtesy my travel freak of a boyfriend!
So on the last weekend of November 2013 we decided it was time
for some lessons into Indian history and heritage!
Hampi is an overnight bus journey away from Bangalore. The
closest “town” is Hospet which is around 11km from Hampi, but with more
potholes than roads the distance takes close to 45 minutes to cover! We didn’t book
any accommodation before hand, so we just went relying on luck and the goodness
of mankind! And as luck would have it, we did find a room in Pushpa Guest
House, bang in the middle of Hampi. (Travel Tip # 1: Try not booking
accommodation in advance to avoid paying more than necessary and also to not
miss out on wonderful opportunities to meet new people during your stay!)
With a dozen or more sites to visit and just about as much
time in our hands, we set off with our auto-wallah to take us on a tour across
the now-ruined-once-glorious-empire. (Travel Tip # 2: Keep in mind the weather,
the number of sites to visit and the roads (or lack of it!), so even if cycling
or walking around seems tempting, an auto would be more viable)
And so began our journey through our past and back to
present. From the Sister Stones to the Ugranarsimha, from the intricately
carved walls of the Krishna temple to the forlornly desolate and intriguing
Hampi Bazaar, every site still clearly had signs of the magnificence they once
bore.
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| Ugranarsimha Temple |
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| Lotus Mahal |
Some of the more interesting sites are:
1. Underground
Shiva Temple: this underground temple was excavated quite recently and being
completely underground the entire sanctum and most parts of the temple are
under water.
2. Virupaksha
Temple: the oldest and the principal temple of Hampi, is located on the
banks of river Tungabhadra. With the resident elephant blessing devotees or being given a shower in public for show or the natural pin hole camera inside the
shrine showing inverted images of the main gopuram, this one is a must visit
and even better at non-aarti times.
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| Virupaksha Temple as seen from the Hemkuta Hill |
3. Vittala
Temple: this is by far the most extravagant sites of them all! The temple
is in the centre of a sprawling campus with several halls and temples in the
compound.
4. Matunga
Hill: a trip to Hampi is incomplete if one hasn’t huffed and puffed one’s
way up the Matunga Hill in pitch darkness at 4am only to catch the most
magnificent sight of the sun rising and illuminating the old and new, the ruins
and the flourishing at the same time. It is the highest point in Hampi and gives
brilliant aerial views of the town. On the way down one can check out the
Achutaraya Temple complex. (Travel Tip # 3: Carry a pocket torch as the
path is not well it, and the steps though almost intact, however are as old as
the Vijayanagar kingdom so high chances of slipping and hurting oneself)
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| Sunrise at Matunga Hill |
Apart from these, one can take a
coracle ride across the Tungabhadra, cycle for 2km and then climb another
100
stairs of so to reach the Hamuman Temple on the other side of the river. Or
just watch the sun set from the
Hemkuta Hill, have some good food at Mango Tree or
just relax in the gardens of the Lotus Mahal and watch an
era long forgotten
interplay with your present.
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| Elephant Stables |
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| Sunset at Hemkuta Hill |
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| Coracle ride across Tungabhadra river |
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| Achutaraya Temple |
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