There is something about the city of Hampi that takes you back in time. The city oozes out history and culture, yet maintains a melancholy with its ruins and old monuments. The sweltering weather and low connectivity are enough to dampen the mood to travel outdoors, even for people who survived Pilani summers. But here are some places and things we did manage to attend.
I have personally believed that there are two sides to visiting a new place: as a tourist, where you visit all the popular spots that Google Maps or Thrillophilia highlights for you; or as a traveller, where you go with the flow and let the place surprise you with exotic locations. Luckily for us, I have had enough visits to live both. Offering you a short perspective into each side:
#1 As a tourist:
The Virupaksha Temple with all its magnificence can be spotted from anywhere in Hampi. There is a reason for that. Temples used to the cultural and spiritual hub of the city in ancient days. It was considered auspicious to build a house with a view of the temple (it still is in many parts of India). Well, Virupaksha doesn't fail here. Much of the temple is being renovated, but the main areas are still accessible to the tourist. Many local books and tour guides offer you a deeper dive into the secrets of the city.
Next, comes the Lotus Temple and the Elephant stables. This might sound boring but was a good respite from the heat. The Lotus mahal has a symmetrical structure and is said to have a touch of Persian architecture. If so, it is a perfect example of the blend of cultures that dominated medieval India. Something that I noticed was that many of Hampi's temples are built of stone and deity-less, plundered or looted by invaders. Hence, at first sight its hard to believe that this monument, with its axial corridors and no chambers would be used as a temple. That's some impressive stone cutting and assembling.
The Elephant Stable in Hampi was used to provide shelter to the royal elephants of the Vijayanagara empire. It is one of the few structures that survived the Mughal attack on Hampi that led to the downfall of Vijayanagar.
The archeological museum at Kamalapura in Hampi, right adjacent to the Elephant Stables, is a treasure trove of beautiful historical relics (seals, statues and engravings). The Hanuman temple or more popularly referred as the Monkey temple on Anjenaya Hill is believed to be the birthplace of Hanuman.
The famous Sun chariot is a stunning site to see. Like most sculptures in Hampi, even this structure is a monolith, completely carved out of a single stone, but has an altogether different level of artistic grandeur. It is situated in the center of the courtyard, where other temples dedicated to Shiva and Vishnu are also located.
#2 As a traveler:
A boat ride along the ancient bridge is a must do when you are at Hampi. The boats in Hampi are somewhat peculiar for the fact that they can carry 10 people at once (astonishing and terrifying at the same time), yet do not go more than 15 cm above the water level when full. You can imagine our nervousness when we are informed that the water goes as deep as 50 feet at some spots in the distributary.
The boats, which are basically bamboo strips skeleton with a tar sheet base don't really give you the satisfaction of a safe trip but does not fall short on the fun part.
What I was execting to be like a boring ride, turns out to be calm and peaceful travel through the temple ruins that line the banks (although we got roasted very quickly). Occasionally the boatsman gives the boat quick spins, which would make us dizzy, but still wanting for more!
We did find some traditional boats. But they were wretched and stranded by some stream on the way to monkey temple. It was also a relief to step into the cold water nearby when it's effing 40 degrees outside.
A quick mention about my favorite click which came very early in our journey, also the cover pic of the post. An old fellow offered an interesting composition. Months later I published this photo in VSCO gallery only to find out that it was selected for the curated edition of the month. I will leave you guys with a quote that I saw at the marketplace:
“What you think you become, what you feel you attract, what you imagine you create”