Hampi is the present name of the once, the richest kingdom of the world: Vijaynagar. If we go deep in history the name was Kishkindha, and even before Pampa (Goddess Parvati’s Name).

This city lies on the banks of Tungabhadra River, which is also called Pampa. This boulder city dates back to the Ramayana, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a real joy to explore. These boulders some of them are 20-30 meters high, paint this city pink, vast stretches of these boulders and hills make the backdrop of this city very unique.

I got to know about Hampi searching the tourist places of Karnataka on net and when I came to know this is the present name of the old Vijaynagar empire and also this is the city that dates back to Ramayana, I decided all at once. The only question was when? Some months back I got a chance to visit Bangalore on official tour and after that, took two days leave, caught Hampi Express at night and was there the next morning.

Railway station is Hospet and Hampi is some 14-15 km away, plenty of options are available like auto, bus etc. I booked a home stay in advance and my auto dropped me there in about 40 minutes from station. There are only 2 star hotels and home stays available here; more expensive hotels are there on outskirts and also not very convenient for the folks like us, the backpackers…

The major attractions, temples, palaces, bazaar and hotels all lie to the south of Pampa River; to the north is more exotic and backpackers Hampi. This world heritage site is spread in miles, dotted around the valleys and hills are more than 500 monuments, some of them are as far as 5 miles away and that makes sightseeing, quite an effort.

Well motorcycles and scooters are banned on south side, autos can’t take you everywhere, it’s a boulder town spread over a large area and there are surprises at every turn, you have to traverse them to reach few of them so what to do? Hire a cycle and it will take you around this wonderful and mystic town.

They are available at around 100-150/day and are perfect to explore the town, so I hired a gear one and it really helped on zigzag and rocky up and down roads. The temperatures are soaring even it’s the start of Feb, and are in mid thirties. All shops, restaurants and hotels are in a same area called bazaar, almost equal to two football fields and adjacent to it is the major attraction of the town, Virupksha Temple.

It’s the oldest and principal temple in Hampi and has been an important pilgrimage centre for the worshippers of lord Shiva, equally sort after by the tourists and pilgrims. The temple complex also houses the shrines of Pampa and Bhuvneshwari Devi. After darshan and taking blessings from a big elephant called Laxmi, I explored the nearby Hemkuntha Hill.

It’s basically a big and high plateau, comprising monuments, temples and ruins all over. There are rocks and boulders as big as 15-20 meters, stacked  over each other, perfectly balanced, some of them having Ramayana shlokas and paintings of Shri Ram, Laxman, Sita and Hanuman that dates back thousands of years. This is a photographer’s delight and an ideal place to have the bird’s eye view of the city. Just descend few steps and you will see two huge, almost 15-20 feet high monolithic idols of lord Ganesha, the first one is Sasivekalu and the other is Kadalekalu Ganesha. This hill is among the best places in Hampi to see sunrise and sunset and not as tedious to reach the top as Matang hill, which is by far the best place here to watch it.

I took my cycle and headed to Vithala temple, almost two and a half kilometers or so and after few hundred meters, suddenly the road came to an end. I placed it on stand and began drinking Nariyal Pani and inquired about the way forward, the vendor told me that there is no way ahead and you can only go through boulders, carrying your cycle with you. It’s very dry and hot here, and you must carry a water bottle as it takes long walks to reach from place to place.

I met a guy from Spain near Rama temple, he was also having cycle and we reached there in half an hour, the way is through boulders and along Tungabhadra River. Vithala is the architectural showpiece of Hampi, it’s a spectacle and you just can’t describe its beauty and grandeur.

The highlight of Vithala temple is its famous Stone Chariot, Rang Mantapam and Maha Mantapam. There are only three stone chariots in India; the other two are at Konark (Odisha) and Mahabalipuram (Tamil Nadu). This is infact a shrine of Garuda and you can still see remains of the paintings on the carvings of the chariot, the free rotating wheels are now fixed and two elephants are positioned as if they are pulling the chariot.

The Maha Mantapam is situated on a highly decorated base and is a structure of immense beauty, it’s decorated with the paintings of warriors, horses and other drawings, there used to be an idol of Lord Vishnu inside, that’s not there, the central hall and most of the temple was destroyed long ago during Mughal attacks.

The Rang Mantapam is one of the main attractions of this temple and is renowned for 56 musical pillars, also known as SAREGAMA pillars, indicating the musical notes emitted by them when being tapped. Each main pillar is surrounded by 7 small pillars that emit 7 different musical notes. There secret remains a mystery to this date. They are carved out of resonant stones and the British wanted to discover it so they cut two of the pillars to see if there is anything inside that emits such note, however they found nothing. The two pillars still exist inside the complex.

This temple is the most visited and photographed monument in Hampi and regarded as the most ornate of Vijaynagar temples. Its stone chariot is the symbol of Karnataka Tourism and a jewel not just of Hampi or Karnataka but all of India.

Hampi is really hot and dry, its 12 p.m. when I returned to bazaar to have lunch, Alex went ahead to saw some other places. I inquired about the Anengudi; the side to the north of the river and he told me some of the must visit places on that side.

The river crossing is to the north of Virupksha temple and small ferries ply here, I took my cycle with me and was surprised to see this side. This is new Hampi or Hippie city, flocked with Israelis. It’s their second home in India after Himanchal, there are small but beautiful home stays everywhere. This is a beauty with lush green paddy fields, hills strewn with boulders and coconut trees.

Here you can find scooters on rent but cycle is equally great as the roads are good, the path is windy and beautiful along the river. The Anjana hill temple is a three kilometers ride from here and it takes around 30 minutes to reach there. I placed my cycle near a shop and drank coconut water as much as I could. Its 3p.m., the temperature is 35c and there are more than 800 steps to climb to reach the hill top.

Anjana hill, due to its white and saffron stairs is seen from miles, is the highest hill in Hampi and famous for centuries old Hanuman temple. Chanting Jai Bajrangbali, I started and it took almost 45 minutes to reach the top.

Anjana, the mother of Lord Hanuman made a great penance here and hence got a boon from Lord Shiva and Lord Hanuman was born, this hill is named after her. This is by far the best place in Hampi and only this place will make you love Hampi. There is a flat and open area on top and you can have a 360 view of Hampi. The cold breeze there blew the tiredness away and I felt more relaxed, calm and composed. There are many monkeys and its all natural- this is the place of their lord.

The temple is just adjacent to stairs and there has been a continuous citation of Ramayan and Hanuman Chalisa for many years uninterrupted. I came to know that priests are from Banaras, and two of them carry it on rotational basis, there is a small accommodation for them nearby.

There are idols of Lord Ram, Laxman, Sita, Hanuman and Anjana inside the temple. This is serene environment and you just want to sit and admire the views from here. This is a place to be there on evenings and the view is just spectacular, the rays of setting sun paint this town red and you can see the distant Virupksha and nearby Vithala temple in all their splendor.

This hill is mostly made of boulders and you can cross them to go to the other end and see the views as far as 30-40 miles away. I was there for almost one and a half hour, and tourists started to gather at that time to view Sun Set. Around 6 p.m., I got down as I didn’t want to miss the ferry; there aren’t any after 7p.m.

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                                                               Hemkuntha Hill

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