full of ruins set in a fantastical landscape of lush green and wild boulder formations. We were a little ruin-ed out by this point in the trip, though, so we spent our first day just soaking it all in, and the second day exploring the area by motorbike. To get to our hostel, we would take a little ferry boat across the river, to and from the main town.
Here was the view from the porch swing outside our door:
We explored the main temple in town, dedicated to Shiva, which was full of mischievous monkeys. We learned a lot from our guide about the architecture and culture of the empires who had based themselves in and around Hampi over the centuries.
The temple complex is ancient, more than 1300 years old, predating many of the other ruins in the area which are remnants of the Vijayanagara empire. In the temple was an elephant, named Laksmi (after the goddess of wealth), who would give you a blessing, a "kiss", in exchange for a coin.
When we rented a motor bike for the day, we were able to make a big loop through the area, checking out ruins both royal and religious. Here's just a sampling of all the things we saw that day.The royal elephant stables:
An underground temple to Shiva:
Many adorable school children:
Locals going about their daily lives, dwarfed by the landscape.
Many statues with barbie proportions:
Hampi was a visual feast, and we ate and slept well besides. It held a different vibe than anything we'd run into in the North, and we soaked that up along with the sunny skies.
No comments:
Post a Comment