Another marathon day to get from place to place. Two hours plus of car from Kumarakon to Cochi Airport, then flying in a small prop jet to Hubbeli, followed by just over four hours of car to reach Hosapete, the gateway to the extensive ruins at Hampi. Travelling the road from Hubbeli to Hosapete in the dark is like a nightmarish journey through Dante's inferno, so we are nothing short of relieved to arrive in one piece.
Our hotel rises like a giant mushroom at the edge of smallish Hosapete, which is worth a big miss, other than its being a mere 13 km from the Hampi ruins. Getting information on the ruins and how to see them is trying, but we decide we'll head out with a tuk tuk and then check how things work. We're lucky to run into a generous spirited driver who gives us the lowdown on Hampi and how to see it. He cruises right into the village where he maintains--and we later confirm--is the only place to rent a motorbike/scooter. We did manage to find a useful website www.hampi.in, which gives a pretty good overview of the scope of the ruins and points out some of the highlights. They're quite spread out, cars and tuk tuks cannot access everything, and yes, it's hot.
We pick from the dregs of motorbikes and putter off, barely making it up the first hill. Hampi, a city of the Vijayanagara, appears to have been around in the 14th century, and by 1500 was reputed to be the world's second largest medieval city. It was a major center of trade but was ultimately decimated by a series of Muslim sultanates, and subsequently fell into ruin. There are dozens of sites, some of which are crumbling, but others remain stunning despite the passage of time. The first temple we visit, Virupaksha, is the only site that has been in almost constant use since it was first erected. This morning there are plenty of local people wandering, making offerings and praying. The temple elephant is out, too, taking cash in his trunk to then rest his trunk on your crown to bless you.
We make an effort to hit all the highlights on this side of the river, including a large Royal quarter, which includes Elephant stables, the Queen's bath house, palace military reviewing grounds, and lots of smaller temples. By mid afternoon, we're tooling around the rural areas that now engulf some of the ruins. We end our day with the spectacular ruins of Vitthala, with its sweeping courtyard, market complex and signature stone garuda chariot, which is truly gorgeous.
Back to Hospete for the evening, with plans to return and cross the river to see some of the sites on the other side on our second day. There's a misunderstanding with our tuk tuk driver, who ends up taking the really long, but wonderfully scenic road to the other side of Hampi, but we straighten it out, and find another motorbike to rent, then heading to the Hanuman Temple, climbing the 700 plus steps to reach where the monkey god is alleged to have been born. The remainder of the day, we explore some more small ruins, but mostly meander the small country roads, through the villages, watching the new rice being sown, the old rice fields being cleared, endless flocks of sheep, goats, cows and oxen wandering the fields and roads, while locals finish husking and packing rice. It's tranquil, and a whole other India from what we've seen in the cities. Without the mobile phones and ubiquitous electric wires crisscrossing fields, it could be a whole other century.
We return our bike, wander through the "hippie" side of Hampi, which seems to be an outpost for young backpackers--many of whom are Israeli--and finally make our way across the river, no mean task, since the boat owner is reluctant to cross with only two or even four passengers, but maintains he'll happily do this favor for 3 times the going rate. Luckily for us, some other passengers show, haggling continues, but we win out.
Our final day, it's back to Hampi Bazaar --the Hosapete side--, where we're lucky to cross the river more easily, and spend a delightful handful of hours just wandering. In the afternoon we return to Hosapete, enjoy dinner at the local restaurant down the road--Naivedyam--, walk around and around the small paid entry city park just a tad further down the road, before picking up our bags and catching the night train to Mysore.
Check out the pictures of Hampi, and the small videos of combined scenes we shot while zipping around the surrounding countryside.
The ruins: https://photos.app.goo.gl/sxLn3PsJD5Hgjq1m6
The countryside: https://photos.app.goo.gl/AcDY4HJZ9PXPzbHy9
Our hotel rises like a giant mushroom at the edge of smallish Hosapete, which is worth a big miss, other than its being a mere 13 km from the Hampi ruins. Getting information on the ruins and how to see them is trying, but we decide we'll head out with a tuk tuk and then check how things work. We're lucky to run into a generous spirited driver who gives us the lowdown on Hampi and how to see it. He cruises right into the village where he maintains--and we later confirm--is the only place to rent a motorbike/scooter. We did manage to find a useful website www.hampi.in, which gives a pretty good overview of the scope of the ruins and points out some of the highlights. They're quite spread out, cars and tuk tuks cannot access everything, and yes, it's hot.
We pick from the dregs of motorbikes and putter off, barely making it up the first hill. Hampi, a city of the Vijayanagara, appears to have been around in the 14th century, and by 1500 was reputed to be the world's second largest medieval city. It was a major center of trade but was ultimately decimated by a series of Muslim sultanates, and subsequently fell into ruin. There are dozens of sites, some of which are crumbling, but others remain stunning despite the passage of time. The first temple we visit, Virupaksha, is the only site that has been in almost constant use since it was first erected. This morning there are plenty of local people wandering, making offerings and praying. The temple elephant is out, too, taking cash in his trunk to then rest his trunk on your crown to bless you.
We make an effort to hit all the highlights on this side of the river, including a large Royal quarter, which includes Elephant stables, the Queen's bath house, palace military reviewing grounds, and lots of smaller temples. By mid afternoon, we're tooling around the rural areas that now engulf some of the ruins. We end our day with the spectacular ruins of Vitthala, with its sweeping courtyard, market complex and signature stone garuda chariot, which is truly gorgeous.
Back to Hospete for the evening, with plans to return and cross the river to see some of the sites on the other side on our second day. There's a misunderstanding with our tuk tuk driver, who ends up taking the really long, but wonderfully scenic road to the other side of Hampi, but we straighten it out, and find another motorbike to rent, then heading to the Hanuman Temple, climbing the 700 plus steps to reach where the monkey god is alleged to have been born. The remainder of the day, we explore some more small ruins, but mostly meander the small country roads, through the villages, watching the new rice being sown, the old rice fields being cleared, endless flocks of sheep, goats, cows and oxen wandering the fields and roads, while locals finish husking and packing rice. It's tranquil, and a whole other India from what we've seen in the cities. Without the mobile phones and ubiquitous electric wires crisscrossing fields, it could be a whole other century.
We return our bike, wander through the "hippie" side of Hampi, which seems to be an outpost for young backpackers--many of whom are Israeli--and finally make our way across the river, no mean task, since the boat owner is reluctant to cross with only two or even four passengers, but maintains he'll happily do this favor for 3 times the going rate. Luckily for us, some other passengers show, haggling continues, but we win out.
Our final day, it's back to Hampi Bazaar --the Hosapete side--, where we're lucky to cross the river more easily, and spend a delightful handful of hours just wandering. In the afternoon we return to Hosapete, enjoy dinner at the local restaurant down the road--Naivedyam--, walk around and around the small paid entry city park just a tad further down the road, before picking up our bags and catching the night train to Mysore.
Check out the pictures of Hampi, and the small videos of combined scenes we shot while zipping around the surrounding countryside.
The ruins: https://photos.app.goo.gl/sxLn3PsJD5Hgjq1m6
The countryside: https://photos.app.goo.gl/AcDY4HJZ9PXPzbHy9
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