Heritage City Hampi

After two abroad trips, it was time to unravel the magic back home in India. And what better place to start with than Hampi, a UNESCO world heritage site?! If history excites and intrigues you, then Hampi will inspire you! Even the first expansive view of the stone carved temples and city from atop the hills made me feel so proud of my ancestors!

For the faithful, Hampi is ‘Kishkinda’, the birthplace of the Indian God ‘Hanuman’, the best friend and accomplice of Lord Ram, and the place where Shiva, the God of Gods, married Parvati, his counsel, who took rebirth here. Every space in Hampi is sacred and one can feel the same here.

People call Hampi a backpacker’s paradise and a pilgrim’s delight as it boasts a confluence of the rich palatial ruins of the Vijayanagar empire of 14th Century, water reservoirs and divine temples. Get ready to be overwhelmed by Hampi’s brilliance!

After a 7-hour tiring journey from Bengaluru airport, our suite – Jal Mahal in Hampi’s only resort hotel – was a sheer delight! Night entertainment meant coming face to face with local culture and the Martial Arts show was an eye opener.

The heritage in Hampi unveiled its mystique as we made our way through the ‘Virupaksha’ trail. We saw the amazing, ancient, 7th century Virupaksha temple constructed during the reign of King Krishnadevaraya, the statue of Narasimha (half human-half lion), and a monolithic Shivling. I was just amazed by the fact that such tall temples carved out of stones, all balanced on top of each other, were created in an age which had no machines and cranes. A sheer architectural marvel!

Watching the sunset on the Tungabhadra river from atop a hill point made me lose the track of time as I soaked in nature’s divinity!

Next day, we did another magical trail, the Vitthala temple trail, where I saw the world-famous Stone Chariot – the picture of which, now adorns the Indian 50 rupee note. But the most exhilarating was the experience of playing music on 53 dazzling musical stone pillars! Sheer tapping on a stone pillar produced a musical tune and each pillar was a unique musical instrument in itself… a sheer genius!!

The government has done well to preserve this place with non-polluting battery vehicles to take you to the Raya trail, a trail of sheer splendour. The trail took us through what once were the busy trading bazaars where foreigners came and traded and soaked in the opulence and splendour of one of India’s biggest kingdoms.

Hampi is chronicled in the travelogues of Persian and Portuguese travellers as the richest and grandest city of India in that era. Hampi may be in ruins today, but each of its 1600 ruins tells a unique story…a story so powerful that it will make you realize how much we don’t know about our glorious past and our ancestors!

The historical land of Hampi beckons you to pay a visit and be enthralled and enlightened by the magic that unfurls here! You have to see it to believe it! Just do it!!