DAY 1 HAMPI:
We had our bus @ 10:30 pm, my brother dropped 4 of us to majestic bus stand. Bus started only @ 11:30 pm. We could mange to get some sleep after that. We reached Hospet around 6:00 am. I had already confirmed a Indica car from Local travels. I called him up and asked to pick us up.. Checked-in a hotel, freshened up, had breakfast and started our journey to Hampi, which was once a prosperous trading centre, during rule of Vijayanagar Kingdom. Below are the places, we visited on first day...
1. Hemakuta hills
2. Hampi bazzar street
3. Kadlekalu ganesha
4. Krishna temple
5. Ugra narasimha & Badavi linga
6. Mango tree
7. Royal enclosure .
DESTINATION 1. HEMAKUTA HILLS
We reached hemakuta hills around 8:30 am. Hemakuta hills includes Sasivekalu ganesha at the foot of hills, further one can trek the hill, where we can find some beautiful shrines and mantapams, beautifully carved rocks, and cluster of pyramid shaped temples..
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| Picturesque view of hampi from hemakuta hills. |
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| Some shrine in Hemakuta hills. |
Sasivekalu Ganesha: Sasivekalu ganesha is first thing we visited in hampi, which is located in the base of Hemakuta hill. This Ganesha is about 2.4 metres tall and ironically named as Sasivekalu or mustard seed. The God is seated in a large open mantapa with plain rough square pillars. The right hands hold the ankusa and broken tusk, while the upper left holds a looped pasa or noose.The lower left hand and the trunk are broken. The belly is tied with a snake. This Ganesha is fashioned out of a single boulder in sitting position. According to inscriptions found nearby this pavilion was built by a trader from Chandragiri in memory of one of the vijayanagar king – Narasimha II (1491-1505 AD).
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| With my parents in front of Sasivekalu Ganesha |
Pyramid shaped temples :We took some snaps near Sasivekalu ganesha, then climbed hemakuta hills. It was nice breeze, and we had great fun taking snaps and enjoying the picturesque views of hampi all along the hills. On the top of Hemakuta hills is a cluster of beautiful temples. According to the inscription , the temple was built in 1309-1310
A.D.
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| One of rocks in Hemakuta hills |
Temples here are stepped pyramidal in shape, resembling the Shikharas of Jain temples. Hence these temples are also mistakenly called as Jain temples, but most of these temples are dedicated to Lord Shiva. It would take around 30mins to visit this Sasivekalu Ganesha & Pyramid shaped temples in Hemakuta.
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| Pyramid shaped temples on top of Hemakuta hills |
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| Pond kinda thing near shrine of hemakuta hill |
DESTINATION 2. HAMPI BAZZAR STREET
We then went to Hampi bazzar street. This street has Virupaksha temple on one end of the street and Matangi hills on other end. (Achutaraya temple on top of hills). Also a small pathway on same end of Matangi hills, leads to the river bank and Kodanda Rama temple).
Virupaksha temple:Virupaksha or Pampa-pati temple is the oldest and the principal temple located @ base of the Hemakuta hill. The story of the temple is an interesting one. It is believed that Parvati was born in this region as Pampa, She wanted to marry Lord Shiva, who was deep in meditation on the Hemakuta hill. She did meditation and won him, and shiva agreed to marry her. There is now a small temple dedicated to the goddess, with the lake named after her, as Pampa Sarovara. Temples main entrance is through the chariot street, now popularly called the Hampi Bazzar. After Darshan in the temple we left to Matangi hills. We had to walk from Virupaksha temple to Matanga hills, Problem is cars are not allowed in this Hampi bazzar street. (One can hire bikes and travel around hampi.)
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| Virupaksha temple |
Virupaksha bazzar: This street is about 2 kms. The east end of the temple ends at the foothill of the Matanga Hill. Both sides of the street are lined with a series of old pavilions, some of them are two storied. These structures were once part of a thriving market and residence of the nobles. I was astonished that Precious-stone, Gems,Gold,Diamonds were once sold on this very same street :A small pathway from Virupaksha bazzar at the east end leads along the river bank to Kodanda Rama temple. When you reach almost end of the street, you find a road on the left leading to Thungabhadra river, and one straight road leading to Matangi hills. Since my parents had already visited this place, and dint want to trek matanga hills, they sat near one of the mantapams of the hampi bazzar. Me n ramesh walked towards matangi hill.
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| Hampi bazzar, where gold,diamonds were sold once.. |
Matanga hills:At the foot of the Matanga hills we saw a Nandi statue, took a snap of Nandi and headed further to see a board saying this leads to Achutaraya temple. Ramesh dint show much interest trekking that hill, as both were already tired, and it was really really hot. But i walked further to find a small anjaneya temple, and saw a small cave kinda thing, where i saw some paintings.. I took some snaps of paintings and picturesque view from the hill, and walked further. I saw a group of people walking back and asked them about, how long do i need to trek further and what would i find there. There answers were not motivating, and learnt that i need to trek atleast other 30mins 1 way, to find Achutaraya and veerabhadra temple, Since ramesh dint accompany me further. I decided to walk back, and we both returned to foot of the hill, sat for a while where my parents were taking rest , then we all headed to Thungabhadra river..
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| Nandi statue @ base of Matanga hills/ |
Tungabhadra river & Kodandarama temple:This is on Hampi bazzar street itself. A small pathway on same end of Matangi hills, leads to the river bank and Kodanda Rama temple. After walking in hampi bazzar street n trekking matangi hill, i was very discouraged to know that you need to walk 2kms more to reach Thungabhadra river. I cursed for not allowing car in the Hampi bazzar street . We finally reached the river. We sat for some 30mins, soaking our legs in the river, washed face( After this i felt it was worth walking 4kms(to n fro). and felt all refreshed and energized.) and left to next destination. (We skipped Kodanda rama temple, as its again a walk of km from banks of river). While in Hampi be ready to walk a lottttttt...
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| Kodanda rama temple on banks for river (Image from net) |
DESTINATION 3. KADLEKALU GANESHA
Next place was Kadle kalu ganesha which is 4.5 meters (15 feet) This giant statue of Ganesha was carved out of a huge boulder The belly of this statue resembles a Bengal gram (Kadalekalu, in Kannada) and hence the name. We took some snaps and headed to next place...
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| Kadlekalu ganesha |
DESTINATION 4. KRISHNA TEMPLE
This temple was built by the king (Krishnadevaraya) in 1513 AD to celebrate the conquest of the eastern kingdom of Udayagiri or Utkala (in the present day Orissa state). The main idol installed in the temple was the figure of Balakrishna (Lord Krishna as infant). This divine idol has now been transferred to the state museum in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The temple is really big and easily takes atleast 30mins to watch completely, we can find a dedicated kitchen in the temple, may be used for anna-danam (Charity of food) in those days. You can see the carvings of Lord Vishnu's incarnations in this temple.This is one of the few temples where the epic stories are carved on the walls of the tower. We thoroughly enjoyed watching all the carvings and taking snaps of different wall structures of the temple....
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| Krishna temple |
DESTINATION 5. UGRA NARASIMHA & BADAVI LINGA
Ugra Narasimha and Badavi linga statues is in a barren field on way to Kamalapur...This is the biggest statue in Hampi and is of 6.7 meters in height.
Ugra Narasimha statue, has been constructed out of a single boulder. As per the inscriptions found, it was carved in 1528, during the rule of Krishnadevaraya. This idol of the Narasimha was well designed and has large bulging eyes and broad chest, and it is a architectural beauty. Here the Lord is in cross-legged yoga position with the belt supporting the knees. Originally, during the glory days of Hampi, the Goddess Laksmi was seated on his lap. This is confirmed by the presence of one of her hands on the back of the statue. The carving of hand of the Goddess has the finger nails and rings still intact. But due to the destruction in 1565 A.D the Goddess Laksmi statue was badly damaged and today we can only see the Lord Narsimha alone without the Goddess. The Lord is sitting on the coil of a giant seven-headed snake called AdiSesha.
Badavi Linga is just beside the Ugra narasimha idol. This lingam is of 3 m height and stands in the midst of water. The local legend has it that some poor local women of Hampi offered to install a Shiva Linga if her luck turned excellent. And once her wish was fullfilled, Shivalinga was carved out.
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| Badavi linga |
DESTINATION 6: MANGO TREE:
It was around 3:30 pm by then, we were too hungry, and asked the driver to take us to some good restaurant. He took us to a place called Mango tree. I almost cried, when i learnt that we need to walk almost a km passing through dense banana plantation. But once we reached the place, was really impressed with the view. Under an sprawling mango tree, on a slab of granite, a chatai (straw mat) is laid out for people, which is facing the river of Tungabhadra ... I still cherish the chapati they served, it was neither wheat nor maida. (when i asked him, he said mix of all grains).. It was soo soft, and food was really tasty, and also the ambience was superb...
DESTINATION 7 . ROYAL ENCLOSURE .
By the time we finished lunch, it was 5:00 pm :). Driver rushed us as things are closed after 6:00 pm.. We immediately left to place called royal enclosure. This place is Spread over an area of 59,000 square metres, it is believed to have once housed over 45 buildings, all used by the royal family. It also includes the Zanana Enclosure , Elephant Stables, Hazarama Temple, Queens bath, underground chamber, mahanavami dibba in same complex..
Zenana enclosure & Lotus mahal:
The Zenana enclosure is a huge complex enclosed by tall walls on four side. It was a secluded area reserved for the royal women. This enclosure includes Watch tower and mahal/Palace. The younger queens mahal is destroyed now, we can only find basement. But we can find beautiful palace of Elder queen called Lotus mahal. This beautiful little two-storey pavilion, situated within the 'Zenana' Enclosure, is one of the finest examples of Indo-Islamic architecture, with its typically Hindu Base and its Islamic super-structure. We took some snaps here and headed to watch tower..
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| Elder queens lotus mahal |
Elephants stable:A building which is dome shaped served as the quarters of the royal elephants, is situated nearby the Zenana Enclosure.There are a total of eleven domed tall chambers, out of which the center one is particularly decorated and big. This was supposed to be for the musicians to perform the talents during celebrations involving royal elephants. The mahouts enter the elephant compartments through manholes located at the rear of each hall. We took several snaps and headed further.
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| Elephants stable |
Hazara rama temple:Hazara Rama Temple is located in the middle of the Royal Centre, and is assumed to be the place of worship for the royal members. This temple was set aside for royal ceremonies only. There are lots of fascinating sculptures showing some of the important events from the epic Ramayana.
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| Beautiful carvings on pillar of Hazara rama temple |
This temple is richly carved, where every inch of the outer wall is filled with carvings depicting scenes from the Ramayana. This temple showcases the architectural beauty and the cultural heritage of the erstwhile Kingdom.
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| Ramayana carvings on walls of Hazara rama temple |
Underground chamber:This underground chamber is adjacent to the Royal palace. The Kings discussed most important issues and held secret parleys with his ministers here. This has two entrances. We went through a entrance and came out of the other one. They have ensured enough sunlight is let in through a passage for this Underground chamber..
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| Inside underground secret chamber. |
Queens bath:Queen's Bath, located in Royal Enclosure, is a rectangular building with the long veranda inside approaching a square tank of 6 feet depth from all sides. This is considered as the Royal bath, where the king and his wives had their baths. It's believed that water in the tank was filled with perfumes and fragrance flowers for the royal family. Outside the Queen’s bath lies the pond encircling the building. Bridge like structures are seen at some points where one can cross the pond. The building is designed such a way that intruders could be prevented from walking into the place where the royal women take their bath.
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| Queens bath. |
Mahanavami dibba:Once we walked into this place, we could only see it as a bigg land with lots of basements.. But was astonished when i read that it once housed royal houses and royal ceremonies were conducted here.. Mahanavami dibba is one such structure, which is pyramidal 3 tiered structure, with height of 8 mts used for royal ceremonies. Once u Stand on the Mahanavami Dibba you get a wonderful view of the surroundings. We can find basements of the buildings which once housed the royalty! Little survives to tell us which was once the king’s treasury/residence. We also found a steepped water tank, and few other structures, which i could not recognize..At the backside of the platform we can find a double sided staircase exist. It was around 6:00 pm, by then and it was already getting dark there with no street lights. We decided to leave, as we had to go back to hospet for night halt...
DESTINATION 9. UDDANA VEERABHADRA TEMPLE
We started back to Hospet, and on the way, driver stopped to visit this last place for the day...This is located near the main road midway between the Sacred Center and the Royal enclosure.The 3.6 meter high monolithic idol of Uddana Veerabhadra is the main deity here. The idol is carved with four arms holding an arrow, sword, bow and shield, depicting the warrior nature. A tiny idol of Daksha too is placed nearby. We took darshan and started to hospet, on the way, stopped by, near this Resort, took some snaps...
We reached hospet and had dinner, i asked driver to be here tommorrow by 7:30am tomorrow. As we had to go a place called Anegundi for first half of day, and vittala complex and kamalapura museum in Hampi , which we could not cover today.. I suggest you allocate min 2 days in Hampi....
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| Uddana veerabhadra swamy temple entrance. |
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| Kish kinda resort on the way to Hospet.. |
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