The History behind Ruins

In school, we learned about Hampi, the capital of the Vijayanagar Empire, also known as Pampa Kshetra. During that time, I had the opportunity to go on an educational trip to Hampi. Later, I visited again with my college friends, and this year, I returned for the third time with my husband.

Many things have changed over the years, but the ruins still stand, each telling a story about Hampi's rich heritage and history.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage site located in Karnataka, India. The Vijayanagar Empire thrived from the 14th to the 16th century. It was established by the brothers Harihara I and Bukka Raya, who created a magnificent stone city. At its peak, Hampi was the largest and wealthiest city of its time. However, it was destroyed by Muslim sultans in 1565, leaving behind these stunning ruins.

Traveling from Belgavi by taxi, it took around 7 hours to reach Hampi. We reach around 3 PM.

As we entered the center of Hampi, we noticed various decorations and inquired about them. The driver informed us that the Annual Cultural Festival would be taking place in two days. He mentioned that the entire area was preparing for this event, which is organized by the Karnataka government. He also noted that it would be very crowded. To avoid the large crowds expected during the festival, we decided to change our plans and explore Hampi over the next two days instead. After checking into our hotel in the main town, we refreshed ourselves and set out to explore the sights which are nearby.

First, we went to the Main Hindu temple, Virupaksha. The temple is the oldest functioning and active spiritual center for Hindus since the 7th century. The east-facing gopuras, towering with carved stones, are in very good shape. Only the monkeys made houses on each corner.
The deity Lord Shiva is worshipped here. Each part of the temple is adorned with detailed stone carvings and surrounded by pilgrims/visitors. Built in the 7th century by the Chalukya Empire and later renewed and extended by the Vijayanagara Empire, it is in the Dravidian style of architecture. The detailed carved stone pillars and ornate ceiling are very beautiful, so we can imagine the rich Vijayanagara-era of craftsmanship.

On the left side of the Shri Virupakshya temple lies the Manmatha Tank. The temple's stone walls and the towering gopuram are beautifully reflected in the calm waters of the tank. This tank is a significant feature of the temple complex and holds sacred water for pilgrims and visitors.

This is the bus station in Hampi. Here, you can hire a taxi, take a bus, or rent a rickshaw/tuk-tuk. However, it's important to be cautious about payments. If you're willing to pay a bit extra after negotiating, don’t accept the first price given by the taxi or tuk-tuk driver. After speaking with several drivers, we found an honest rickshaw driver and made an agreement with him for a tour the following day. We then headed to our next sight.

Kadalekalu Ganesha, a massive monolithic statue carved from a single granite boulder and seated on the slope of Hemakuta Hill. It was almost closing time, around 5 PM, we had very little time to spend there. But we were satisfied with darshan.

As soon as we started walking towards Hemkuta Hill, we saw the sun behind the large boulders and a stone wall silhouetted against the fading light. We wanted to hurry up and get the sunset.

Before reaching the sunset point, we stopped for a while at the Sasivekalu Ganesha Temple, which features a big, detailed monolithic statue of Lord Ganesha set within an open pavilion of carved pillars. The temple is located on the southern foothill of Hemakuta Hill. However, there was some construction underway for the festival performance stage, so we couldn't get very close to the idol as we had hoped. I remember that we were able to touch the idol on a previous visit.

The Ganesh temple is from a long distance.

When we came to the top, we could see the south side of Lord Narsimha and the Shri Krishna temple.

Harihara Mandir Hari Vishnu and Hara Shiva.

Behind the ruins, the Shri Virupaksha temple is shining in the golden sunset light.

We passed by numerous small temples and pavilions, some of in good shape and others were nothing more than piles of stones. The hill has countless(we can't count them, they are piles and piles of stone) temples around from the 9th to the 14th century. Now, just mounds of ruins.

When we reached the hilltop, I saw the sun on top of a stone-pillared pavilion.

A colorful sunset and a misty evening, surrounded by large and small rocks, with several temples nearby, created a memorable atmosphere that evening.

Many people were enjoying the sunset. After the sun set, we made our way back to the hotel, the main gate for Hemkute Hill, closing around 7 PM. All security guards were alerting people to leave the place.