Hampi is another mind-boggling place in India, and it quickly became one of our favourites. The original site of Vijayanagar, supposedly one of the greatest cities in the world in the 15th and16th Century before it was destroyed by rivals and abandoned, all that remains is a widespread assortment of ruins in an almost surreal landscape of huge granite boulders scattered about the dry hills. These ruins are impressive: temples and public buildings made entirely from huge slabs of smoothly hewn granite supported by intricately carved columns and massive religious icons carved from solid rock.
The state of Karnataka is trying to get Hampi declared a “World Heritage Site” and the Archaeological Society of India has cleaned up many of the ruins that were buried or overgrown, as well as fencing in and charging a steep admission for the premiere attractions, otherwise Hampi is a quiet collection of dusty villages in a very remote part of India.
The ruins are spread over the large area of what was once the city, too far to walk in a day and many are not accessible by car. We rented sturdy bicycles, and by starting early in the morning, saw all the major temples and ruins and still had time for a nap at mid-day. The carvings and ruins are fabulous, but the best part of the day was to be out in the countryside riding our bikes along dirt tracks through the timeless landscape. We rode past oases with banana fields, people washing in the rivers, farmers herding goats or driving bullock carts from one dry field to another and always in the background the boulder-strewn hills dotted with ruins. A few of the ruins house active temples, which attract Hindu pilgrims on day trips and some of the new middle class Indian tourists. As well, Hampi’s natural beauty, historical interest and a kind of a 
spiritual feeling about the place combine to make it popular with plenty of Western travellers. Still, with so many ruins, there are only a few other people, if any at the any one place. A small town of lodges and restaurants has opened up in the past few years as Hampi has become a “cool” destination in India. The food was very good at The Gopi Guest House, ad watching the moon rise over the temples from the roof top restaurant, we kept saying what a perfect day we had in Hampi.
The state of Karnataka is trying to get Hampi declared a “World Heritage Site” and the Archaeological Society of India has cleaned up many of the ruins that were buried or overgrown, as well as fencing in and charging a steep admission for the premiere attractions, otherwise Hampi is a quiet collection of dusty villages in a very remote part of India.
The ruins are spread over the large area of what was once the city, too far to walk in a day and many are not accessible by car. We rented sturdy bicycles, and by starting early in the morning, saw all the major temples and ruins and still had time for a nap at mid-day. The carvings and ruins are fabulous, but the best part of the day was to be out in the countryside riding our bikes along dirt tracks through the timeless landscape. We rode past oases with banana fields, people washing in the rivers, farmers herding goats or driving bullock carts from one dry field to another and always in the background the boulder-strewn hills dotted with ruins. A few of the ruins house active temples, which attract Hindu pilgrims on day trips and some of the new middle class Indian tourists. As well, Hampi’s natural beauty, historical interest and a kind of a 
spiritual feeling about the place combine to make it popular with plenty of Western travellers. Still, with so many ruins, there are only a few other people, if any at the any one place. A small town of lodges and restaurants has opened up in the past few years as Hampi has become a “cool” destination in India. The food was very good at The Gopi Guest House, ad watching the moon rise over the temples from the roof top restaurant, we kept saying what a perfect day we had in Hampi.
1 comment:
Magic! Days like this are the reason for travelling
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