Unearthing the Ruins of Hampi

Having been bitten by a travel bug is a pretty bad thing, you crave to travel every other holiday that you get. We planned a spontaneous trip to Hampi, hence. Initially we decided we’d cover Aihole, Pattadkal and Badami in addition to Hampi. However since we had planned to cover two parts of Hampi, one being Virupapur Gadde (Hippie Island) on the first day and Old Hampi on the second, we realised that we may fall short of time.

Being at almost 350 kms from Bangalore, we chose to travel by a sleeper bus. Having reached almost as early as 6.30 am, we took a bus from the hospet bus stand to Hampi, the travel time being roughly around 30 minutes, and the drive being through pretty landscapes.

Virupapura Gadde (Hippie Island):

On reaching Hampi, we walked past the Virupaksha Temple which happens to be a mere 5 minute walk from the Hampi bus stand, and were ferried across to the other side on a small boat. As we walked along, we saw many small stalls lined across uphill, and found quite a few budget guest houses here. Most of these hotels were ideal for backpackers, a small group of friends and even families. They even offered bikes on rent alongside sightseeing contacts.

We chose to stay at a place which offered us accommodations in their huts and had a small cozy colorfully lit café within its premises. The view from the back of our guest was absolutely brilliant, with the cottony clouds floating in the blue skies – the sun shone bright on an expanse of freshly watered fields, coconut groves and high rocky mountains.

After freshening up in our respective huts and having a quick yummy breakfast, we hired mopeds from the guest house itself.

Anjaneya Temple at Virupapura Gadde:

We drove to the Anjaneya temple on the Anjanadri hills, which involved climbing up 572 stairs to reach the top. This is believed to be the birth place of Lord Hanuman. Many devotees were offering their prayers at the temple with utmost faith. The view from the hilltop was extremely alluring. Patches of paddy fields looked like jigsaw puzzles and the ruins were visible stretching far into the horizon. We encountered quite a few monkeys out here, though they were harmless, that’s one of the reasons why this place is also called as the monkey hill.

Lunch at a charming little cafe:

Being ravenously hungry, we stopped at quaint little café on the way. The interiors were rustic and the place had a strange homely aura surrounding it. An old man puffing on his cigar who happened to be the owner of the place, offered to sing for us. Strumming on his guitar and singing lovely English music, he kept us entertained all throughout as we gulped down fistfuls of rice. Away from the hustle bustle of the city, the rain pattering on the rooftop, the scent of the freshly cooked food and good music, made our minds drift into a reverie of their own.

They offered a very simple homemade thali which was basically an andra style cuisine, fish curry and fish fry also being available.  It was tummy filling and finger licking good!

Sanapur Lake:

After a sumptuous lunch at Benjamin’s music café, we drove to Sanapur lake on our rented mopeds, the roads here were quiet empty and deserted, anyone having moderate driving experience could easily drive out here. This lake had deep blue waters with rocks and boulders surrounding all its sides, and this made quite a sight! Serene, peaceful and calm are a few words I can think of, if I had to describe this lake. We sat on the edges of the stones, overlooking the lake, soaking up the blissful surroundings as the sun warmed us.

The lake offered Coracle boating as well, however the weather had gotten pretty bad by the time we got there and it started pouring heavily. We got a good reason to get drenched and play in the rain.

Being completely wet from head to toe, we hopped onto our mopeds and drove in spite of the heavy rainfall and the teeth chattering winds. There was a small thatched broken down house on the way where we took shelter for a bit, but it was in vain as the rain just got heavier and we decided to head back, no matter what.

Dinner at a colourful little cafe:

We settled down on the beds in the café, with the lovely music playing in the background, the aroma of various flavors floated in the air, chatting and playing as we munched on starters and hot cups of ginger tea. There were kittens and puppies within the café playing around, which kept us constantly on our heels & entertained.

The next morning began with an early breakfast and we checked out of our respective guest houses, gave back the mopeds and headed off to the other side of hampi also known as the old hampi.

We noticed several graffiti art on most of the walls in the little alleys of vipapura gadde. Colourful, creative and beautiful. Most of the cafes here were colourfully painted and decorated with vibrant lights which contributed to making the atmosphere all the more livelier.

Hiring an auto for the whole day was an easy task here, bargaining being all the more easier – owing to the naive and simple people who resided in the city of Hampi. The auto drivers informed us that they would be our guides for the day and would help us go around the city better.

Ganesha temple:

Sasivekalu Ganesha temple, carved out of a single block of rock, was about 8 feet tall. This was our first location, that we stopped at, on our second day. The ingress of this place had several cart sellers selling colourful hats, stone carved articles, jewellery and several food articles. There were a few other structures around this place, which helped us get some really good pictures. A climb further up had another large architectural marvel, which gave an amazing view of the city and the structures below.

On our way to the place we came across something that the locals call Akka Tangi Gudda also known as the Sister stones. It draws a lot of attention from the tourists, who come out here as the two boulders make a huge archway like formation.

It has a very amusing story behind it. As told by the locals- two sisters once visited Hampi when the town was at the peak of its splendour. Seeing the beautiful town and out of jealousy they uttered bad words. The reigning deity of the city was infuriated and in her fit of anger, she cursed the two sisters and turned them into stones.

Lakshmi Narasimha statue:

The Lakshmi Narasimha statue and the temple housing the statue were built in the year 1528 A.D. It was constructed during the rule of Krishnadevaraya, one of the greatest rulers of the Vijayanagara Empire. The temple is dedicated to Lord Narasimha, one of the ten avatars of Lord Vishnu, and Goddess Lakshmi. This is an example of the finest examples of the Vijayanagara sculptures. The Narasimha is seated on the giant coils of the sacred guardian snake of Vishnu and its seven hoods acting as a canopy arched on the front.

We were here for quite a short while, and the scorching heat made it impossible for us to stand here for more than a few minutes. We headed back after taking a few snaps.This area too, was surrounded by several little cart shops selling sugarcane juice, cut fruits and stone carved articles. To replenish our lost energies due to the heat, we helped ourselves with a few eatables and juices here.

After a quick lunch at a nearby hotel, we headed to our next destination, the famous Vitthala temple.

Vittala temple:

The Vittala Temple in Hampi is an ancient monument that is known for its impeccable craftsmanship. The temple is located in the north eastern part of Hampi, near the banks of the Tungabhadra River. The iconic temple has amazing stone structures, the stone chariot being one, and the fascinating musical pillars. We were taken from the main gate by a electrical buggy till the temple premises.

We spent quite a lot of time at this temple looking at the flawless intricate architecture and making maximum efforts to capture them on our cameras. As we walked within these structures, the atmosphere got cooler as the interiors were made of stones. There were small ice cream carts slightly outside the premises where our electric buggy was waiting. We helped ourselves with ice candies to cool our dehydrated bodies.

Queens bath:

The Queen’s Bath in Hampi is a monumental bath that symbolises the architectural excellence that prevailed during the days of the Vijayanagara Empire. This was the next destination that we were taken to by the Autodriver, and we spent a short while here, just enough to take a few snaps before moving onto our next destination.

We had plans of visiting the Matanga hill to watch the sunset, as we were done seeing the planned places by 5pm. However, since it began pouring again towards the evening, it was quite impossible for us to tick this off our wish list, that we had had for this place.

Virupaksha Temple:

The Virupaksha Temple was dedicated to lord Shiva. The renowned Vijayanagara King, Krishnadevaraya was a contributor of the temple. This temple is a predominant centre of pilgrimage in Hampi.The temple has survived through the years and has never ceased to prosper. It is still pristine amidst the ruins that surround it. There were several inscriptions about Lord Shiva which were engraved including a few ceiling paintings that we noticed.

After we were done with the sightseeing for the day, we decided to grab a quick bite at the Mango tree restaurant at the Hampi Bazaar Street. We had heard many of our friends who had visited Hampi earlier repeatedly asking us not to miss dining at this place, so we wanted to give it a try.

We strolled around the Hampi Bazaar, looking at the tiny colorful shops selling artifacts, souvenirs, clothes, jewellery and a few other collectibles, all for reasonable prices. We picked a few pieces of clothes before heading off to the restaurant.

Set in a street next to the Virupaksha Temple and Hampi Bazaar, this restaurant is definitely a place to have a meal at! A colourfully decorated and a cozy restaurant which served great food at reasonable prices. We had visited this place for a quick snack, so all we had was vegetable soups and some starters. This is a nice place, if one wants to have a quick chat with fellow travellers along side amazing food.

The last bus from Hampi to Hospet left at 8 pm, so we had to rush there before it got too late.

Travel can be one of the most rewarding forms of introspection. – Lawrence Durell

Take aways:

• Though Aihole, Pattdkal and Badami are pretty close from Hampi, covering all of these in 2 days is quite an impossible task. A vacation of 3-4 days is the minimum time required to relax and visit all of these.
• Carry bottles of water and crisps while climbing the stairs of the Anjanadri hills as the climb can get pretty exhausting, owing to the hot and humid temperatures at Hampi. Also, its not ideal for people having back and knee issues.
• Apply insect repellents on your skin else you may have to come back with bug bites.
• Mopeds cost 330-350 per day.
• Auto rickshaw sightseeing costs around 500 for 8 hours. (can be bargained)
• Lots of sunscreen can help you stay away from tanning and sunburns.
• Best time to visit Hampi would be between October- December. Avoid visiting during monsoons as the rains are pretty heavy in this area, and it would be a nuisance visiting places in such a weather.