Hampi

I’ve heard from a number of friends and travellers that Hampi should be on my itinerary, and I managed to squeeze it in towards the end. All it took to get there was one long overnight bus ride in a double bed on a freezing air-conditioned sleeper next to an Australian whom I quickly made friends with before falling into a sleep that was bumpy, cramped, and cold. Despite that I was one of the best rides I’ve had in India, and I won’t complain. :)

Hampi is full of boulder fields, hills, rivers, and amazing ancient temples everywhere. Minus the temples, it reminds me a lot of parts of southern Utah. I started the day off at the Virupaksha temple. Despite being over 600 years old, it’s still plenty busy. Pilgrims file around a circuit at the temple, making their rounds at the deities tucked in every corner and basement of the complex. The tour is completed when pilgrims pay their respects to Lakshmi, the temple elephant.

 Splitting coconuts for rituals

Blessings by elephant

After that, a hike into the hills to see Vittala temple, and then race down to see temple highlights like the Queen’s Bath and the Underground Shiva Temple. The entire thing had as much atmosphere as the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland, except that I had to keep pinching myself to remind that it’s all real (and certainly less crowded).

Underground(/Flooded) Shiva Temple 

Hampi looks like a lot of this, everywhere. 

Inner sanctum, Vittala Temple 

 Lotus Palace

I walked along the river and through a banana plantation to get lunch at the Mango Tree, recommended by a friend I met in Udaipur and again down here in Hampi. He showed up not long after me. It’s interesting to keep seeing the same people you befriended earlier on your tour. I really enjoy seeing a couple friendly faces in an entirely new crowd.

Shoe minders at Mango Tree

Tomorrow: rent a bicycle and pedal around to the sites I missed in my whirlwind tour today. Start the day off right with a couple new friends and a sunrise hike to a nearby hill. Done.