Judy and Valerie On the Road

We stayed at a wonderful resort called Evolve Back where every day a naturalist led a bird-watching walk around the grounds. There were so many birds everywhere and our guide was extremely knowledgeable.

Every day at 6pm oil lamps surrounded by petals were lit in the entrance accompanied by a flute.

Hampi Background

Everyone we met who had visited Hampi rhapsodised about it, but we really didn’t know what to expect. Hampi is a UNESCO world heritage site, famous for the huge number of remains of the ancient city of Vijayanagara which have been uncovered there.

Vijayanagara flourished for two centuries until its destruction in the middle of the sixteenth century following a major military defeat by the combined armies of the Muslim Deccan sultanates. Vijayanagara was the capital of the Hindu Vijayanagara Empire which for a long period enjoyed good relations with its Persian Muslim trading partners and with its neighbouring Moslem states. By the sixteenth century the whole of South India, including what is now Sri Lanka, was part of the Vijayanagara Empire.  Having never heard of Hampi in any school history lesson, we were surprised to learn that in the sixteenth century it was one of the world’s wealthiest cities and a very important trade hub.

Following the military defeat, It was largely forgotten until major excavations were undertaken in 1975.  Whilst all the wooden structures had been destroyed in fires which reportedly raged for some six months, the  stone structures survived and were only partially damaged. The ruins cover a vast area of some 26 square kilometres.  Very many intricate stone carvings on the exterior and interior of temples and palaces have remained remarkably intact and are absolutely stunning. According to Hindu custom, temples which have been damaged can no longer be used for worship, but there are still undamaged temples on the site and these are still in active use. The largest of these is Virupaksha.

The Portuguese traveler Domingo Pães, who was living in Goa, visited the Vijayanagara empire in 1520 (Vasco da Gama had discovered the route to India in 1498) and wrote a set of chronicles. These are fascinating as they describe the city in its heyday before its destruction.

The Hemakuta Hillwas the first place we walked to and it gives a good view of the more distant temples. Most of the small temple remains on the hillside date from the 10th century.

Virupaksha temple

The Virupaksha temple was the first temple complex to be constructed. The original small shrine dates from the 7th century and was significantly expanded in the 14th and 15th centuries.

Virupaksha is still an active temple so you have to remove your shoes in order to enter. Once inside the grounds it is a huge area with several temples.

There is a temple elephant called Lakshmi. People give money to her which she takes in her trunk, then she then touches the person’s head as if giving a blessing and gives the money to her mahout.

Chai and Roti

After this we needed some sustenance and so stopped at a roadside stall for tea. The women there were making roti and after taking photos we just had to taste one which was served to us with a little curry – absolutely delicious. Food cooked over a fire just does taste different.

Vitthala temple complex

The next temple we saw was the Vitthala temple which consists of several buildings – a congregation hall, a marriage hall, a hall for music and dancing with amazing musical columns (if you put your ear to the column and tap it you get musical notes).

Central to the temple complex is the famous stone chariot. Replicas of this chariot in are constructed using wood in towns across southern India and used in processions in temple festivals.

The carvings in the temples on the columns and walls are stunning and tell stories of the various Hindu gods.

In order to visit the temple complex we had to get on an electric bus in order to prevent pollution addicting the buildings.

Sri Krishna Temple

The Krishna temple has beautiful carvings with many stories of Krishna, some depicting him as a naughty boy stealing the butter!

Lotus Mahal

The Lotus Mahal is a beautiful palace within the royal enclosure built in what is described as an Indo Islamic style. The royal women relaxed here during the summer months. It had a very clever “air conditioning” system. There was a water tank at the top with water pipes running through the beams and columns so that cold water flowed through the structure. This kept the space cool even in hot summers. The servants had to keep the water tank replenished by carrying water from the nearby  well and carrying it up three flights of stairs.

Elephant Stables

Near the Lotus Mahal are stables for 11 elephants – and they’re huge!!

Hazara Ramachandra Temple

Water

Within the royal enclosure there are several water ‘reservoirs’. One was very deep with steps going down to the bottom.

At the end of the day we went to the top of a hill to watch the sunset where the views were beautiful.