hampi diaries
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Hampi
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Hampi
Our Hampi Diaries
Puru
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Dedicated to the artists of Ancient India who created such beautiful
monuments like Hampi
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Preface
Presenting Hampi, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and awonder of Indian Architecture. This small book consists of a
mini guide too which will help you plan your Hampi trip better.
Puru
2-Feb-2013
Hope you enjoy it.
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Contents
Hampi A Travel Guide 1
Hampi Diaries First Days Explorations 6
Hampi Diaries The Coracle Ride AcrossTungabhadra
Hampi Diaries The Early Morning Trek 15
Hampi Diaries A Guided Tour of the Sacred Center 21
Hampi Diaries The Royal Center 26
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Hampi Diaries Hemakuta Hill 53
Hampi Diaries Vitthala Temple 43
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Hampi A Travel Guide
December 27, 2012
Time to visit
Hampi has hot summers and warm to cool winters. The best time tovisit is from November to February. However, the sun can be harsh
even during winters so come prepared with umbrellas, hats and sun
tan.
Erstwhile capital of the mighty Vijayanagara Empire, Hampi once
home to half a million people lies in ruins today. However, the
beauty of these ruins have enthralled archaeologists and travelers
for centuries now. The old city, around 25 sq km in area, has
hundreds of temples, shrines, palaces,
fortifications, magnificent examples of city planning, bazaars
and even aqueducts. Such is the beauty and importance of the
royal city
of Hampi that it has been included in the list of World Heritage Sitesby UNESCO. If the man made structures were not enough, Hampi
has millions of unique geological formations surrounding it, known
simply as the Hampi boulders.
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Hospet, which is around 15 km away from Hampi, is the nearest
railway station and is connected to different parts of the country by
rail network. The station code is HPT. Overnight trains run to
Hospet from Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Goa etc.
Frequent buses of KSRTC ply to Hospet from different parts of
Karnataka. Other than this, there are private bus services from
Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad etc to Hospet.
Getting Around
As Hampi is spread in a large area, it may not be irascible to cover
all the places on foot. However rental bicycles
and gear-less mopeds are available for hire. Bicycles comes for INR
100/- for a day whereas Mopeds will cost INR 200/- . A point to
notice here is that there is no petrol pump in Hampi, the nearest
being in Kamalapura, and the local shops sell petrol at a premium
often at INR 100/- a litre.
Another way of commuting is through three wheeler auto rickshaws.
An auto-rickshaw can be hired for a day at INR 600-700 /- .
Although it is more comfortable, it takes away a lot of fun from the
trips. Be prepared to bargain.
The nearest airport to Hampi is Hubli and a major international
airport is Bangalore. It is advisable to make the travel bookings atwell inadvance.
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Since most of the resorts and guest houses are located on the other
side of the Tungabhadra river, one has to take boats to cross the
river. The last boat plies at 5:30 PM. The tickets cost INR 10/- per
passenger and INR 15/- with luggage.
You might also want to take a coracle (round boat made of bamboo)
to reach Vitthala temple from Chakratirtha. This will cost you INR
150/- per person.
Stay
The places to stay in Hampi can be categorized in two groups, theguest houses and home-stays in the Hampi village and the resorts
and guest houses on the other side of the river. The ones on the
other side are bigger and more comfortable, more suited to families
and tourists who want all the comforts. However, they have two
drawback a) They are far from the place of action b) You need to
return at 5:30 PM when the last boat leaves. If you miss this boat,
its a 40 km long drive to reach the other side.
The residents of Hampi have converted some houses into
guesthouses and have also started renting their rooms
as home-stays While these places are not very comfortable, they
give you the real taste of the place. Hampi bazaar is just 2 minutes
walk from these accommodations.
To Do in Hampi
A visit to Hampi will include a lot of walking, hiking, climbing over
stone steps and rock boulders, boating, bathing in the river and
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anything else which you can imagine. For convenience, am listing a
few of them here.
3. Take a coracle to Vitthala temple. Have the time of your lifewhile your boat navigates through the Tungabhadra river flowing
between rocky mountains.
4. Go on a bicycle / moped trip to the Royal enclosures.
5. Take a hike to the Hemakuta hill in the evening and stand at the
Sunset point marveling at the scenery.
6. Walk aimlessly. Imagine you are an explorer set out to discover
the mysteries of the past. There are chances that you might
stumble upon something hidden previously.
7. Shop for small souvenirs at the Hampi bazaar. Bargain like there
was no tomorrow.
8. Have a relaxed lunch at the Mango Tree. It is really wonderful.
1. Climb the Matanga Hill in the morning; and morning means early
morning, before sunrise. You will not only see a
360 degree panoramic view of Hampi and surrounding
mountains,but this will also warm you up for the rest of the trip.
2. Visit the Hampi Bazaar, Pan Supari Bazaar, Virupaksha Temple,
Achutaraya Temple, Balakrishna Temple and the surroundings.
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Hampi is a place with religious significance, hence non vegetarianfoods and alcoholic drinks are not allowed in the area. This is a
good time to try different kind of fruit punches, lassis, mango shakes
etc. The restaurants in the area serve great continental food. Make
sure you try some of the Israeli food there.
Some restaurants which we tried and found to be good are Mango
Tree, Garden Paradise and Mowgli.
The post Hampi A Travel Guide appeared first on Shadows
Galore.
Eat and Drink
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Hampi Diaries First Days Explorations
December 28, 2012
Ever since I read the funny tales of Tenaliram and Krishnadevaraya
in the childrens magazine Nandan years back, Vijayanagar has
held its place in my to visit lists. So this Christmas vacation, whenEkta made me an offer, that we visit Hampi the once mighty
capital of the Vijayanagara Empire, I could not refuse.
So on the morning of 22 Dec 2012, after a 10 hour bus journey, we
were in Hospet, the town nearest to Hampi. The journey was rather
uneventful except that I hardly got any sleep and Ekta slept
throughout the journey. We reached Hospet at around 9 AM andtook an auto to reach Hampi which is around 15 km away.
On reaching the Hampi village, the first sight that greets you is of
the Tungabhadra River running parallel to the serpentine road
flanked by a vast sea of mighty boulders in the background. Boats
run across the river to go to the other side. It is a tranquil little place
and we had no problem in finding our guest house and renting a
bike. Interestingly we came to know that Liquor or Non Vegetarian
food is not allowed within the boundaries of Hampi. Ekta was elated
and I, heartbroken.
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Since we were famished, after some rest we immediately set out to
find some food in the direction of the famous Mango Tree
Restaurant. Its a beautiful place on the banks of Tungabhadra, set
under the shade of a giant mango tree. The path to the restaurant
winds through a banana plantation and one needs to remove the
footwear to enter the restaurant. It is a place where you can sit on
mats in the open and enjoy the view of the Hampi boulders and the
riverfront with trees all around while having your meal.I had been
craving for South Indian food ever since coming from Chennai and
settled for a Thali while Ekta tried the Israeli Humus and Falafel
with Chapati. Served on Banana leaves, the food was delicious.
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Ducks swimming in the Tungabhadra waters, as we saw them from the
Mango Tree
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After the lunch, we were ready to do some exploration of our own.
So we set out on the path suggested by locals and soon found
ourselves in the middle of the Hampi Bazaar. On both sides of the
main street were lines of stone structures which once made the
main bazaar of Hampi. Ironically it was a living market till the
beginning of this year but was the shops running in these structures
were demolished by the government to return the place to its
original condition. Seems Tughlaq still lives in the corridors of
power of our republic.
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Israeli Food served on Banana leaves. A delicious fusion of Indiaand the
World at the Mango Tree Restaurant
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A view of the Hampi Bazaar with the Virupaksha Temple in thebackground
and Hemakuta hill on the left.
The Mighty Boulders of Hampi
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At the far end of the bazaar were a big monolithic Nandi and a giant
flight of stone steps going up. As we climbed up those stairs, we
could see a panoramic view of The Hampi Market and the shikhara
of the Virupaksha temple at a distance. This was the view of the
city center of one of the mightiest Hindu empires in Indian history.
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Once we were on the top of the steps, we were able to finally
appreciate the beauty of these famed rock formations, known as the
Hampi boulders. Huge rocks shaped by winds over millenniums
flanked us from every direction and I felt so insignificant in front of
them. Maybe this is why ancient sages went to mountains in search
of peace. Ones ego melts away when confronted by these mighty
rocks which have seen empires rising and falling, countless humans
passing by
There was a small Hanuman temple on the top and there was a one
old lady sitting there who after seeing us, went inside the temple
and came out with tilak to put on our foreheads. On the horizon, we
could see more mountains and as I went to the edge, was taken by
surprise. The ruins of a large temple emerged in the valley beneath
like the Flying Dutchman. Even from this height we could tell that
Achutaraya Temple, as we first saw it down in the valley
this was something magnificent. We scurried downwards towards it.
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The temple we accidently found was the Achutaraya temple built in
the 15th century and we had stumbled upon it from the wrongdirection. The outer structures of the temple were in a rundown
condition but the inner sanctum was quite well preserved. There
were intricate carvings on the walls and throughout the base of the
temple were bold reliefs depicting scenes from battle, with
elephants, camels, horses and infantry. I noticed that there were
two distinct campuses and while the bases of the Gopurams were
Carvings on the walls
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made of stone, the superstructure was made of brick and lime. I
was not sure that this was the same architecture I had seen in the
temples of Kanchipuram and Madurai. Later, while I was reading the
ASI guidebook on Hampi, came to know that this was a distinct style
of Vijayanagar. In front of the temple was another line of ancient
shops, which I later learnt was known as the courtesans street. But
in ignorance, we did not pay much attention to it.
After spending some time in the Achutaraya temple, we decided to
go along a trail in the rocks which we believed went to the top
Matanga Hills. This trail was actually another flight of stone steps,
but was in a rundown condition with many of the steps having fallendown. We kept climbing in the hot sun till we were almost under the
peak of the mountain.
A decapitated figurine found in a corner in the Achutaraya Temple
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However, at this point, the path became very dangerous and the
probability of us slipping and falling down became disproportionately
high. Being a married man now, I did not risk the lives of myself and
my brand new wife and forced her to turn back. The descent was
more difficult than the climb but we managed somehow. We would
never know how close we were to success before we quit, but we
will try it from a more proper route tomorrow.
Achutaraya Temple
are going back with one.
This was a short day, and after a dinner again at Mango Tree we
are back at the guest house to rest and plan the rest of the trip.
By this time, the hot sun and physical exercise had taken its toll and
we were very tired. So we came back to our guest house to take
rest for an hour. That an hour became four hours and by the time
we woke up, it was dark. So we visited the local market. The market
is as small as the village but sells quite a few curiosities. Ekta
got enamored with some camel and yak leather bags. Dunno howgenuine they are but they were colorful and rather expensive.
Although she did not buy them today, I have a gut feeling that we
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Hampi Diaries The Early Morning Trek
December 30, 2012
Day 2 started early. Ekta woke me up at 6:30 AM shouting that thesun will be up. Well it turned out that sun was already up by that
time. Anyway, we got ready in a hurry and got out for our morning
photography trip. Our first stop was the bank of Tungabhadra. Since
it was a Sunday morning, the ghats of Hampi were packed with
tourists, school kids etc who had just arrived on an excursion. While
we stood there staring at the people, I looked at Ektas face. She did
not look in a very good mood; I asked why and she replied,Because there is nothing interesting here! So we chucked the idea
of taking photos of the river and set out for our next target, which we
had missed the day before the Matanga hills.
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So we reached the foothills again and then started climbing. The
weather was quite cool and it was definitely better than before. We
got lost at a couple of points but some helpful soul had made arrow
marks leading to the hill. After a point it was another flight of steep
stone steps going up, but this time it was in a better shape and did
not appear life threatening. As we went up, we could see the
panoramic view of the valley below. We could see a temple below
us which I incorrectly identified as the Achutaraya Temple. It turned
out to be the Balakrishna temple. More about it later
The Ascent
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Balakrishna Temple and the market, as we saw it from the MatangaHill
View of the valley from other side, shows Pushkarani, a part ofCourtesan
street, Varaha Temple, Ancient bridge and theTungabhadra river
winding around the boulders
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We climbed and climbed and did not stop till we were completely
out of breath. Either age is catching up with me or IT has made me
completely useless. It took us another 30 minutes for us to scale the
500 odd steps and reach the top. It turned out that the hike was
worth the effort. The 360 degree view of the Hampi town and
various sites around it was fabulous in the rays of the morning sun.
To add to it, we were getting good mobile signal and we were able
to check emails, sms, Facebook updates etc.
Matanga Rishis Ashram
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A Mandapa glows in morning sun at the top of the Matanga Hill
Ancient Watchtower on a distant Hill, stands alone, still guarding itsKingdom
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On the top, there was a big building marked as the ashrama of the
Matanga Rishi. There were three stone mandapas under one of
which we sat down to rest. Then we ventured into the ashrama; it
was a spooky place with lots of pillars and rooms, galleries leading
to the abyss below and a temple of Kali in the middle. The place
looked deserted but there were signs that someone had lived there
till recent. There were view points from where one could get a
panoramic view of what lied beneath a photographers delight! We
spent a lot of time taking photographs and then started our descent.
At the foothills, a path led to the river but we had no time for it as we
were getting late for an appointment. More about that appointment
and rest of our day in the next post..
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Hampi Diaries A Guided Tour of the Sacred Center
January 05, 2013
Our appointment was at 9:30 AM with our tour guide Krishna, who
we had met the evening before. So at 9:30 AM sharp, we reached
Virupaksha Temple where we were supposed to meet him. We
were a total of six, us, a Swedish couple and two guys from
Hyderabad. One of the Hyderabadis turned out to be a friend who I
used to know during my engineering days in Chennai; its a smallworld indeed.
Virupaksha Temple, from where the Guided tours usually start
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Our tour started with the Royal Ganesha, a seven meter high giant
idol of Lord Ganesha carved out of a single rock. The temple was
built around the idol. However, it was not a temple anymore, as the
guide explained, Hindus do not worship broken idols.
Temple of the Royal Ganesha
The Royal Ganesha
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After the Royal Ganesha, we went to see what is interestingly called
the Mustard Ganesha. Since the Royal Ganesha was reserved only
for the royalty, a mustard merchant got this Ganesha made so that
common people could visit it and have darshan. This Ganesha was
unique in a way, if you behind the idol, you can see the figure of a
woman at the back. The son Ganehsa actually sits on the lap of his
mother Parvati in this depiction.
A view of the Spice Market from the Balakrishna Temple
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The Inner sanctum of the Balakrishna Temple
Beautiful Carvings inside the Balakrishna Temple
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From the Mustard Ganesha, we went to the Balakrishna Temple, an
exquisitely carved temple which dedicated to Baby Krishna which
was constructed to commemorate Krishnadevarayas victory over
Odissa in 1513 AD. The temple had beautiful mandapas supported
on intricately carved pillars depicting flowers, mythical animals and
scenes from Krishnas life. The gopura had reliefs of Vijayanagara
armies chasing the vanquished enemy.
Lakshmi Narasimha
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The Lakshmi Narasimha and Badavalinga Shiva were the next twostops we took before starting off to the Royal enclosure. Narasimha
was another giant and impressive idol of Vishnu in his Narasimha
avatar. Sheltered under the giant Sheshanag, Narasimha looked
very fierce. It is said that a figure of Lakshmi was originally sitting on
the lap of Narasimha, but now it was almost completely gone with
just a beautifully sculptured hand around Narasimhas waist leftintact. The Siva was a huge lingam said to be commissioned by a
poor old woman with her lifes savings. The lingam was intact with
its base permanently under water.
Badavalinga
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From here we started towards the Royal Enclosure which lies
around 3-4 km away. But in the way, there was another thing to be
seen Musical pillar. We passed by many ruined temples and
buildings in various states of disrepair and stopped at a roadside
temple. The sanctum was locked up and was almost tumbling down
and only the front porch was open for visitors. Here the guideshowed us stone columns which gave musical sounds of tabla and
ghatakam when tapped. It indeed worked and we were left amazed
at this little piece of master-craftsmanship from ancient India!
Our guide giving a demonstration of the Musical pillars
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The last stop before we entered the Royal Enclosure was the
Underground Temple. Well, it is not an Underground Temple as per
se. Just that, the surrounding ground level has risen, sinking thetemple below and hence the name. The temple was good in the
middle of a lush green lawn. But a bigger part of it was under not so
clean water so we did not venture much inside. There is another
temple in the vicinity called the Hazaar Rama Temple but for some
strange reasons, the guide decided to give it a miss.
Next in our Hampi Diaries The Royal Enclosure
You can find the map of the sacred center here.
For more and better resolution photographs, please go to Hampi
Diaries A Guided Tour of the Sacred Area, a set on Flickr.
Underground Shiva Temple
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Hampi Diaries The Royal Center
January 12, 2013
Our visit to the Royal Center started after we left the Underground
Shiva Temple. We passed through a narrow and dusty path and a
building with a lone window which looked so out of places, for
a accessorized with a Palm Tree, it looked more a part of an
Arabian Sultanate than a kingdom in Southern India.
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We reached a huge parking lot at one end of which was a ticket
counter, INR 10 tickets for Royal Center and Vitthala Temple (INR
250 for foreigners!). There was a hole in a huge wall from which we
were supposed to enter and so did we. It was a different world on
the other side
This was the building straight out of Arabian Nights
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There were no cars, buses, bikes, toilets, litter .. instead there was aquiet, sprawling manicured lawn which seemed to spread across.
The wall we just breached was actually a part of a fairly large
fortification, square in size surrounding what our guard described as
the Zenaana Enclosure or the Ladies Enclosure. There were just
two buildings in this area; the first was actually a richly carved base
of what has been left of a Royal Palace, but it was the second
building which took our breath away!
Zenana Enclosure and the Palace
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Lotus Mahal
The Beautiful arches of Lotus Mahal
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Lotus Mahal is a beautiful little specimen of the Indo-Islamic
Architecture. Named the Lotus Mahal because of the Lotus relief on
its arches, this two storied building is built in brick and mortar as
opposed to the stone structure of most of Hampi and stand almost
unblemished except for the vandalism done on its walls by stupid
lovebirds. Our Guide told that this palace used to be a summer
retreat for the royal ladies when their men would leave for war
campaigns. He also pointed that this was an Air conditioned
building; there were actually terracotta tiles running through the
walls which carried cold water to cool off the building !
From another hole in the wall we came out and stood in front of a
huge building. Was it a palace, was it a castle, it was a stable !
What we were looking at was the stable of the Royal elephants of
the Vijayanagara empire. Adorned with 11 domes for 11 elephants,
the magnificent building was another unique mixture of the South
The Elephant Stable
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Indian and Islamic schools of architecture and was quite well
preserved. Adjacent to it was another building which served as the
quarters of the guards of the elephants. Well, this guard quarter of
the past was big enough to be a museum in present
The seat of power of Vijayanagara was a grand monument.
Although, only the bases of almost all the buildings were left, yet
there was a clear indication of how it would have been in the 15thcentury. The Kings audience hall was a 100 pillared one, each pillar
said to be carved from Sandalwood. We even went down to the
underground chamber where the King used to have secret meetings
with his nobles and foreign diplomats.
The Seat of Power of Vijayanagar
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Adjacent to the Audience hall is a beautiful stepped pond, made insimple yet ascetic geometrical patterns. It used to be the ceremonial
pond of the Royalty for their annual Dussera and Diwali festival. A
The Stepped Pond, simple yet beautiful
The Aqueducts of Hampi
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nice serene place ideal to sit by and get photographed. The pond
was flanked by a seemingly unimportant but in reality, an
architectural feat of Hampi the aqueducts. Carved in stoned, these
aqueducts used to carry water to different parts of the Royal Center.
A 500 year old water supply pipeline ! Romans would have been
proud to see this.
Mahanavami Dibba
The carving on the walls
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The tallest structure of the Royal Center which is visible from a
great distance is the Mahanavami Dibba. From the distance it looks
just like an elevated platform, you are aware of its richness onlywhen you go near it. This platform, which was used during the
festival for the King to make public appearances is built in three
layers, perhaps during different periods. Carved extraordinarily, the
sides of the Dibba are a living photo gallery about the life and times
of Vijayanagara, showing scenes from daily lives of the people,
dances, sports, festivals, massive armies marching to battle, wars
an archaeologists delight! There are rich flowered motifs, scenes
from Ramayana and other Hindu epics. I have never seen anything
like this before ..
Dancers just look at how their dresses have been carved.
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While narrating the stories our guide never made an attempt to hide
his hatred towards the Islamic invaders who destroyed Hampi. He
said This used to be one of the most beautiful palaces in the
world, would make foreign travelers stands in awe when they wouldfirst see it. This city 500 years ago was inhabited by half million
people, now there are just 5000. From a bustling city, Hampi is just
an open air museum now. So, this is what they did to Hampi, looted
and burnt it for six months and laid it waste. I cannot say that at that
moment, I did not share his feelings. Just looking at the ruins, one
could imagine how beautiful this city would have been in its gloriousdays. How can someone have the heart to destroy something which
has taken centuries to be built?
The sun was getting brutal by this time and we were tired, hungry
and dehydrated. So we decided to call it a day and come back later
for what was left The Hazara Rama Temple and Queens Bath.
You can find the map of the Royal Center here
Hampi Diaries The Royal Enclosure, a set on Flickr for more
photographs in better resolution.
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Hampi Diaries The Coracle Ride Across Tungabhadra
January 16, 2013
Day 3 started early again. By 7:30 AM we were ready to start our
day. Targets of today: Vitthala Temple and Queens bath, both of
which wont be covered in this post. Lets just talk aboutour coracle ride.
Chakratirtha as seen from the river Tungabhadra
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There are two ways of reaching Vitthala Temple without a vehicle;
you can either walk along the river Tungabhadra or you can take a
coracle which will ferry you to there. Naturally, we chucked the idea
of walking and decided to go the water way.
We started walking along the Hampi Bazaar and took a left turn
where the signboard said Kampa Bupas path. This path was a trail
along rocky boulders which goes parallel to the river and needed to
A priest going for his bath at Chakratirtha
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be covered on foot. At the end of it, we found ourselves at the
Chakratirtha. Flanked by an old stone temple with large pavilions,
this place is the valley point of two mountains, the Matanga Hill and
the Rishyamukha Hill. The river Tungabhadra takes a turn to the left
from this point and so this place gives a spectacular view of the
turning river as well as the boulder hills in the front and ancient ruins
on the rocks in a distance. The ghat is a flat sheet of rock which
gradually descends into the water. This spot is considered as the
holiest bathing spot in Hampi, and even at early morning, was
abuzz with priests taking a dip in the river.
From Chakratirtha, we took a coracle with a boy-boatman and
started. Coracle is a unique boat, shaped like an inverted bowl and
made of bamboo. It goes pretty fast in a spinning motion. The small
trip to the other side was beautiful. We passed through mighty
boulders and our boat-boy showed us various old ruins and stone
idols of Nandi on the rocks. The currents were high and at one
The sight of the Rishyamukha hill (where Hanuman first met Ramand Lakshman) and the boulders in the front, the swiftly flowing river
and the ghat with people and coracles is any photographers delight.
On the rocks are carved many Shiva Lingas which are
still worshiped after centuries. Just sitting at Chakratirtha is
a spiritual experience, especially at a clam early morning.
The pavilion at the back was apparently built fortheuse of Pilgrims who used to come for taking bath in theriver. There were not many people around, only a few artists
preparing paintings and sketches of the place. I went there andinteracted with a few,some of the paintings were really amazing.
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place, we even saw a whirlpool at a distance. It was only when we
got down; we saw a signboard cautioning people about crocodiles in
the river!
It was time to go and meet Lord Vitthala
Hampi Diaries The Coracle Ride Across Tungabhadra, a set
on Flickr.
From a Coracle
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appeared first on Shadows Galore.
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Hampi Diaries Vitthala Temple
January 20, 2013
I am bored of writing and by this time, you might have been bored
reading all my monologues on Hampi. So this post will be lesswords and more photographs.
Vitthala Temple is the most splendid among the temples of Hampi
and is famous for its rich and ornate design and beautiful carvings.
Dedicate to Lord Vishnu, this temple was built in the 15th Century
AD.
The Mahamandapa
The Mahamandapa of Vitthala is majestic. It occurred to me that its
design resembled a Sri Yantra. Richly carved with ornate motifs,
beautiful pillars and richly carved monolithic pillars. It had a lot of
Musical pillars which are said to produce the sounds of manymusical instruments when tapped. The roof of the Mahamandapa
had collapsed centuries back and is being restored.
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The Mahamandapam Main Sanctum
Beautifully carved motifs
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Beautiful carved pillars in the Southern hall with figures ofNarasimha
and Yali
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Musical Pillars
Vishnu
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Carved Base adorned with horses, elephants and horses
The Stone Chariot
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The Stone Chariot is the most famous structure inside the Vitthala
Temple and happens to be the symbol of Hampi. This happens to
be a temple chariot drawn by elephants and dedicated to Garuda-
the vehicle of Lord Vishnu. It is placed on a rectangular platformwith battle scenes engraved at the base and four richly carved and
giant wheels attached to it. The wheels were actually free to move
on the axis ! The Stone happens to be a great draw for people who
wished to be photographed infront of it. It took me a lot of time to
finally find the chariot empty so that I could capture it in peace.
One point, some people out of their ignorance or apathy, wereclimbing over the elephants for getting photographs. While the
elephants are made of stone, they should keep it in mind that for
one photograph, they can inadvertently damage this monument.
The Indian tourist needs to be a little more sensitive about
protecting our heritage. These monuments will never be built again.
The Stone Chariot
The Chariot
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Another view of the Chariot
A view of the chariot from the front
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The Inner Sanctum
The inner sanctum of the temple lies underground. You have to go
down a flight of stairs to a dark Pradakshina hall. It was kindda
spooky but I did manage to get a few good photographs withouteven using a tripod. Am getting more comfortable with my
photographic skills these days..
Under the Garbhagriha
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The Final Take- Chinese Dragon
While I understand that Black and White photography has been
converted into Kitsche these days, but could not resist the
temptation of taking the one below sans color. It was my gut feeling
that no color would suit its theme. The animal on the sides of the
steps in this photograph was explained as a mixture of six animalsto us, lions mane, horses legs, rabbits ears , elephants trunk etc.
Just a few minutes later, another guide while explaining it to some
foreign tourists said that it was a Chinese Dragon and they were left
The Pradakshina path around the Garbhagriha
wondering what the Chinese were doing in Vijayanagara ..
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Details
Vitthala temple can either be reached through the Tungabhadra
river by a coracle ferry, or one can walk along the river. The
monument opens at 8:30 in the morning and stays open till 5:30
PM. The entry ticket is INR 10.00 for Indians and INR 250.00 and is
can be used for the Royal Center also. Camera fee is INR 25 for
Video camera. Still camera is free. Use of tripods is not allowed.
Hampi Diaries Vitthala Temple, a set on Flickr.
An attempt at black and white
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Hampi Diaries Hemakuta Hill
January 26, 2013
Hemakuta Hill happened by chance. On our last afternoon in
Hampi, we had packed our bags and stopped by at a restaurant to
grabs some refreshments. While sitting there waiting for mylemonade, we were leafing through a Coffe book table about Hampi.
It was then that we noticed some remarkable monuments atop a
hill. We asked the restaurant owner where these buildings were
and he said it was the Hemakuta hill, just besides the Virupaksha
Temple. So we were going to miss what was nearest to us, have
been to that area at least 10 times during the past 4 days but never
bothered to check !
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According to Hindu Mythology, Lord Shiva did penance on
Hemakuta before marrying Pampa. To help Pampa in winning over
Shiva, the god of love, Kama distracted him and was in turn burnt
by his Third eye. Later Rati pleaded with Shiva to bring Kama back
to life so he agreed to bring him but only in character and not aphysical form. The day Shiva consented to marry Pampa, it rained
gold on this hill and thus it was named Hema (gold) Kuta (hill).
One of the many shrines scattered on the hill
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So, it was natural that most of the temples and shrines on the
Hemakuta are dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is more of a huge sheet of
rocks than an actual hill and is pretty easy to climb, as opposed to
the Matanga hill. The way to this hill goes upwards from the left of
the main gateway of the Virupaksha Hill.
This shrine looked a bit spooky ..
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The best time to visit Hemakuta is during the morning or evening
hours when the sun rays are slanting. It was just a coincidence that
we managed to go there in the evening and were pretty happy with
the effect. It is a great view from of the Hampi bazaar and
Virupaksha temple from the top and the shrines on the hill make itmore interesting.
The gate at the top of the hill
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On the top of the hill, there is a two storied gateway which look
towards the landscape below. This spot is known as the sunset
point and seems to glow in the rays of the setting sun.
Hampi Diaries Hemakuta Hill, a set on Flickr.
The gate glowing in evening sun
Hemakuta Hill was a beautiful finish to our Hampi trip. Although we
stayed there for hardly half an hours yet managed to get some
glorious photographs. Hope you will enjoy them too..
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Galore.
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