Hampi in Pictures

How would you feel going around an ancient Indian village that takes you back to the 7th century? A village in the midst of a river that requires you to cross it to move from one side to another?

If you live or have been in India and enjoy historical places & the ruins, you must have for sure heard about this ancient village – Hampi. And if you have been planning to go visit yourself, don’t wait.

Hampi (Hampe) is a village and temple town recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed as the Group of Monuments at Hampi .in northern Karnataka, India. It is located within the ruins of the city of Vijayanagara, the former capital of the Vijayanagara Empire. Predating the city of Vijayanagara, Hampi continues to be an important religious center, housing the Virupaksha Temple and several other monuments belonging to the old city.

There are numerous blogs that will apprise you about the whereabouts of Hampi; Best things to do in Hampi, or how to reach Hampi. So I would rather prefer to concentrate on sharing my experience instead.  I reached here solo from Chennai taking a train to Hospet and then took a local bus that dropped me to Hampi.

I had connected with one of the traveller-cum-blogger friend who passed me a contact for a budget stay option which costed me around 400/- Rs per night just near to the Virupaksha Temple. The first thing I did was left my bag to the room and went straight to check the temple out. I liked how the traditional local songs were played inside the temple which added some charm to the place. Anywhere near to the temple has a appealing vibe and compels us to visit the temple. It was more of a classic aura that would fill you with some kind of tranquility. Even though I was alone, I never actually missed the need to a companion of someone to talk to. I chose a small nearby restaurant for my lunch/dinner and most of the times I asked for a local thali.

There are several temples, monuments spread across both the sides of the Tungabhadra river that one may check out on bikes. I would suggest to rent out bikes to explore around. Hampi is a small place and moving around with the help of a map would be quite exciting.

Although the tiny ancient village attracts a lot of tourist, hippies, students and various kind of travelers; One can always find his soul here. If you are looking for a perfect solitary time, Hampi is the place. You can walk to the Virupaksha Temple multiple times and never have enough of it. The hemkuta and Matunga hills are great choices for Sunrise and Sunset. Watch the life by sitting at the banks of Tungabhadra river. The slow pace of the lives of the people, the enchanting music of the temple would fill you with some vibrating energy.

I would add the lines I wrote in my diary on “Silence”:

         I often wondered how silence sounds like!

         When there are no giggles,

         When there are no cries of despair,

         When every noise falls apart?

         So I walked and walked, went up the hill,

         Till I was aloof, and no one to intrude me.

         I could feel the breeze on my skin,

         And the little fairies sang jingles to me.

 

        Everything around appeared more striking,

        More vigor in my body, more vision in my sense.

        My solitude just embraced that silence,

        And suddenly there was a new “me”.