There are two main ways to get from Agonda to Hampi; A 1 hour tuk-tuk to Margao to grab the 7.30 AM train arriving in Hospete, followed by a further 30 minute tuk-tuk to Hampi OR a 20 minute tuk-tuk to get to Canacona, followed by a night bus that arrives in Hampi itself. Despite the numerous occasions I have sworn that I'm done with night buses, that's the option we ended up going with. Overall it was cheaper and more convenient, and ultimately another horrible experience. Who would have known?
We arrived in Hampi around 8am, tired and not ready to face the day we headed off to the river to catch a ferry to Hampi Island. The town is split into two main areas: Hampi town - where most of the monuments are alongside a few guesthouses, restaurants and the bus stop and then Hampi Island - sometimes known as Hippy Island, set across the river the area has a chilled out vibe, filled with cafes and cheap guesthouses, it is home to the majority of backpackers that visit. The ferry runs from 8am to 5pm, it is very convenient to use taking only 5 minutes and the prices range from 20 - 60 Rs depending on who is taking the money.
The first ferry trip we made was manic, with all the tourists having just departed from the night buses there was a crowd waiting to take the small 10 seat boat across. None of these people had heard of queuing either, waiting on the steps for the boat to return quickly became hazardous with people from the back pushing forward despite having nowhere to go other than the river. When the boat appeared, the group would surge forward, people squeezing their way through and only the most determined actually making it onto the vessel. We made it across eventually and luckily all the other trips we made across the river were not so eventful.
We hadn't pre-booked accommodation but it was easy to snatch one up, the guesthouse staff wait along the roads in the morning trying to entice passing travellers. We quickly decided on a small place, which along with the bargain price had wonderful views of the [insert temple here] and the river. We found out the next morning that we also had a perfect vantage to see Lashkmi, the temple elephant taking her bath. It also had a small restaurant outside, this turned out to be dangerous; it's very easy to spend money when everything goes onto a tab.
Hampi - UNESCO World Heritage site, is the archaeological ruins of the former Vijayanagara Empire's Capital. With Hinduism being prevalent, the city was comprised of many temples and shrines. In the early 1500's it was the second largest medieval city in the world but after the Empire was defeated in 1565 by Muslim Sultanates, the main city was sacked, destroyed and the buildings were left to crumble. There are 1600 monuments on the Hampi site today and these are spread across 16 square miles.
We quickly decided that it would be impossible to make the most of Hampi in just one or two days, so decided to take our time to explore. Soon after arriving we had received a site map from a tuk-tuk tout and although we declined to go on any tours, the map was invaluable to planning our days. The different areas are helpfully laid out into "routes", we decided to stick closer to the ferry point and explore around route one and two to begin with.
This started with the Virupaksha Temple, which is next to the Manmatha Tank. The temple is one of the more ornate and intact temples in Hampi, despite the sacking of the city in the 16th century Virupaksha continued to be a popular pilgrimage site with Hindus coming to pray. It is a impressive structure with large pyramid gatehouses on either end and an enclosed shrine in the centre of the complex. People line up to have blessings from Lakshmi the elephant who lives inside the site.
From here we wandered up to Hemakuta hill, strewn across the barren rocky hillside are 30 smaller shrines and temples far less ornate than Virpaksha Temple which they overlook. The structures here range from simple shelters, with plain stone columns holding up slabs of stone for roofs to stone shrines with inner sanctums and pyramidal superstructures on their roofs. The temples on this hill are some of the oldest in Hampi, dating from the 9th to 14th century. The view from here is stunning and really shows the scope of the ruins left in this alien landscape.
To name and describe every single temple and shrine we visited would take an age, some of the most notable sites left in the route one boundary are the Krishna temple, the Kadalekalu Ganesh and the Lakshmi Narasmiha Temple. The monolithic stone carving depicting Lord Ganesh is over four and a half meters tall, making it the largest Ganesh statue in India.
The Krishna Temple has large imposing walls surrounding a temple which is split into two sections, one section is the inner sanctum where the shrine is located, the further into the temple is the kitchen and store house. The walls of the temple are decorated with images of Lord Krishna's life, alongside the pillars which show the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu. Opposite the temple is the remains of a large market place, all that is left are the sheltered walkways which market stalls would run alongside. There is also a large step-well, or sacred water tank.
Before we headed back to Hampi Island we decided we had enough energy to see a few sights in route 2. We decided on Hampi Bazaar, The monolithic Bull statue and a small wander over Matunga hill to see what was on the other side.
The (two level high) Bazaar and Bull statue were impressive, but what really took our breath away was the views from the top of Matunga hill, but maybe we were slightly breathless from the steep walk too. From the top we could oversee the Sulee bazaar and parts of the Achuytas Raya's temple, although both equally impressive from the ground the birds eye view really showed how well laid out and extensive these areas are.
The next day we headed to route 3 or the Royal enclosure. As this was slightly further away we decided to get a tuk-tuk to save our legs some of the walk. We first explored the ceremonial area; along with an underground shrine and low level brickwork - showing where building would have stood - the site included the Mahanavami Dibba, Queens bath and public bath. The Mahanvami Dibba is a three-tiered pyramidal structure which the royal family would use to preside over ceremonial events. The raised podium is covered with pillar bases which suggests that the structure once had a pavilion. The sides of the pyramid are highly decorated, with figures and elephants carved out in relief from the rock.
From the top you can see a series of step-wells or baths, each more ornate than the last which culminate in the Queens bath. The Queens bath is practically the size of an Olympic swimming pool, although less ornate than the smaller baths it must have been an impressive site when filled with water and the pavilions surrounding it were intact. There is brickwork surrounding some areas of the bath, some covered in plaster and I'm pretty certain this is where the decoration would have been... but with not having any information to back this up, it's purely a guess!
Separating the Ceremonial and residential areas of the Royal enclosure is the Hazarama Temple, it was a stunning temple surprisingly intact compared to the ruins either side of it.
We next went to the mint and palace sites, although there was a small information board the extent of the damage meant we couldn't really tell what was what. Some of the surrounding boundary walls were more or less standing but the inner walls were all at ground level. There were a few buildings more or less intact but sadly without any explanation boards in sight we had to try and guess what they were used for! It's always fun trying to guess how the site may have looked and would have functioned, but by this point we were craving some actual answers.
The next area we visited was definitely more informative and one of the few areas we had to pay to enter. The main attractions were the Lotus Mahal and the elephant stables, alongside two smaller galleries filled with stone carvings, various temples all surrounded by a boundary wall. In the first gallery both me and Ben managed to get told off and shouted out; me for taking pictures (despite no signs saying not too) and Ben for walking too close to one of the exhibits (despite it not being roped off in any way). A brilliant start to this experience.
Unfortunately when we have to pay, our expectations also get raised along with the hit to our pocket. I know this isn't the best way to view it, but it's true. Feeling a bit surly about the price and getting told off, the only thing we were really impressed with in this section was the elephant Stables. The stables consist of eleven large square rooms, with large arched entry ways, the structure is topped with alternating fluted and domed roofs. It's certainly an imposing building and although the date of the structure is unknown, it's design to impress and awe is certainly evident.
From here we hopped in a tuk-tuk and headed to archaeological museum to get an overview of where we had explored and to pick up some of this history. We were sadly disappointed, after a small written section about the last king of Hampi and the date of this Empires collapse not much historical information could be found. A 3D map showed where the ruins sit today and helped show a scale of the ancient city but, it was mainly examples of carvings, and to be honest once you've seen 5 different carvings of Vishnu or Shiva they all seem to blend together. It wasn't what we was hoping for but a least the entry was included in the royal enclosure tickets. Feeling exhausted, sun-burnt and more than a little dehydrated we headed back to our accommodation.
That was pretty much it for our rambling across Hampi, we kept the rest of our exploration to our side of the river. The cheapest way to explore any sites in route five is to hire bicycles and at 100 Rs a day, what a bargain! We had a lovely day cycling to Anegondi, cycling past the rushing river and seeing the strange boulder formations on the sides of the roads, it looked like giants building cairns or having a particularly risky games of jenga. We had a lovely (strange) spiritual interlude where a elderly man ushered us into a temple cave. Having crawled round the small area to see small stone footprints, we were then led into another area to be shown Hanuman's footprints after which we received a blessing and a Bindi... that we had to haggle over as the donation we gave wasn't enough (apparently). A slightly strange but nice experience which was somewhat brought back into reality when asked us if we wanted to buy some "grass".
It was a fun day however we never seem to learn, just because somethings cheap doesn't mean it's a good idea. My bottom has never been so sore, both me and Ben were walking like cowboys the next day. The wonderful combination of suspension-less bikes and rock hard seats, and gravely pothole covered roads meant we hurt in areas we didn't even know we had!
We had a lovely time in Hampi. Even when we needed a break from exploring, Hampi Island was a brilliant place to chill out; with it's beautiful landscapes, relaxed cafes and friendly people (we managed to find some puppies too). We made sure to have days rest in-between all the sightseeing and take advantage of this pretty place to hang, not only were our legs tired our minds were exhausted too! We came, we saw, we admired and now it was time to leave. Next stop: Kochi.
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