Hampi

Hampi, a day's car ride to the north from Bangalore, was the most fabulous place we have ever seen in India. It is sheer magic. Its rocks and ruins of old temples from a long past empire, named after its capital city of Vijayanagara (1336 - 1646) are a wonderland. The best-known group of ruins from that empire are found in and around Hampi, a small town that is right in the midst of the old ruins and the amazing rock formations. The temples often look as if they had grown out of the rocks. Amazing scenery and a lot of walking.

1 Hampi morning Morning in front of the temple	2 Hampi morning All dolled up for a morning wedding	3 Morning on Hemakuta Hill Sun rising beyond Matanga Hill	4 Morning on Hemakuta Hill Sun peeking out from behind Matanga Hill, viewed from the Kadalekalu Ganesha shrine
5 Morning on Hemakuta Hill Gopuram and rock in morning sunlight	6 Morning on Hemakuta Hill Monkey or Hanuman relief	7 Morning on Hemakuta Hill Relief (What is the story?)	8 Morning on Hemakuta Hill Carving on base of Ganesha Temple
9 Morning on Hemakuta Hill Ganesha	10 Morning on Hemakuta Hill Ganesha Temple and Virupaksha gopuram	11 Morning on Hemakuta Hill Temples nestled among the rocks	12 Morning on Hemakuta Hill Mandapa of the Kadalekalu Ganesha shrine
13 Morning on Hemakuta Hill Virupaksha Temple	14 Morning on Hemakuta Hill Virupaksha Temple entrance gopuram	15 Morning in Hampi Virupaksha Temple viewed from Hampi Bazaar	16 Morning in Hampi Quiet street being washed
17 Morning in Hampi Gopuram and palms	18 Morning in Hampi Tungabhadra River and rocks in the morning light	19 Morning in Hampi Tungabhadra River	20 Morning in Hampi After a bath among the boulders
21 Morning in Hampi Tungabhadra River ghats	22 Morning in Hampi Washing the elephant	23 Morning in Hampi Out for a dip	24 Morning in Hampi An ancient relief serves another purpose now
25 Morning in Hampi Fun in the water	26 Morning in Hampi Hi!	27 Morning in Hampi Ready, hold your nose...	28 Morning in Hampi ... and under!
29 Morning in Hampi Curious statue	30 Morning in Hampi An ancient temple serves another purpose too	31 Morning in Hampi Morning laundry	32 Morning in Hampi Manmatha Tank and temples
33 Morning in Hampi Virupaksha Temple outer court	34 Morning in Hampi Trumpet and clarinet players inside the temple	35 Morning in Hampi Furry audience	36 Morning in Hampi Virupaksha Temple columns
37 Morning in Hampi Virupaksha Temple	38 Morning in Hampi Young beauty and old ones	39 Morning in Hampi Wedding ceremony in Virupaksha Temple	40 Morning in Hampi Wedding witnesses
41 Morning in Hampi Gods on the temple roof	42 Morning in Hampi Virupaksha Temple seen from breakfast at the Hampi Guest House	43 Hampi Bazaar Virupaksha Temple gopuram	44 Hampi Bazaar Old buildings used as residences
45 Hampi Bazaar People still live in 400-year old buildings	46 Hampi Bazaar Former grandeur	47 Hampi Bazaar Goats	48 Hampi Bazaar Tourist strolling on Hampi Bazaar
49 Hampi Bazaar Eastern end of Hampi Bazaar	50 Hampi Bazaar Nandi	51 Hampi Bazaar Looking westwards from the eastern end, police station on the right	52 Hampi Bazaar Cleaning
53 Hampi Bazaar Omnipresent bovines	54 Hampi Bazaar Typical Indian pie dog	55 Hampi Bazaar The galleries still serve	56 Hemakuta Hill Gateway to temple area
57 Hemakuta Hill Temples	58 Hemakuta Hill Hemakuta Hill is one enormous rock	59 Hemakuta Hill Virupaksha Temple	60 Hemakuta Hill Fourteenth-century temples, the earliest in Hampi
61 Hemakuta Hill Early Vijayanagara temles	62 Hemakuta Hill A shady spot	63 Hemakuta Hill Curious, almost doll-like dancing Shiva	64 Hemakuta Hill The animal gods, Hanuman and Ganesh
65 Hemakuta Hill Looking east	66 Hemakuta Hill Temple columns	67 Hemakuta Hill Temples	68 Hemakuta Hill Old temple
69 Hemakuta Hill Tourist in a 14th-century temple	70 Hemakuta Hill Hindu columns	71 Hemakuta Hill Inside a temple	72 Hemakuta Hill Two elephants, symetric, are often seen in Hampi
73 Hemakuta Hill The rock	74 Hemakuta Hill Rock and shrine	75 Hemakuta Hill Virupaksha Temple gopuram	76 Hemakuta Hill Rhododendrons
77 Around Hampi Bananas in front of Virupaksha Temple	78 Around Hampi Narrow but colorful Hampi street	79 Around Hampi Colorful houses	80 Around Hampi Hampi street
81 Around Hampi View from roof restaurant	82 Around Hampi Roof-top restaurant of the Hampi Guest House	83 Walk along the Tungabhadra River and rocks	84 Walk along the Tungabhadra No swimming!
85 Walk along the Tungabhadra An ancient road	86 Walk along the Tungabhadra Ruins and rocks and river	87 Walk along the Tungabhadra A tunnel on the path	88 Walk along the Tungabhadra Inside the tunnel
89 Walk along the Tungabhadra Chakratirtha, the holiest bathing spot on the Tungabhadra	90 Walk along the Tungabhadra Mandapa near Kodandarama Temple	91 Walk along the Tungabhadra Young monkey	92 Walk along the Tungabhadra Even a cat!
93 Walk along the Tungabhadra Closeup of the ruin and a temple on the hill top	94 Walk along the Tungabhadra Ruins among the rocks	95 Walk along the Tungabhadra Coracles	96 Walk along the Tungabhadra Beautiful banyan tree
97 Walk along the Tungabhadra View towards Hampi Bazaar, with the VIrupaksha Temple gopuram just visible over the treetops	98 Walk along the Tungabhadra Getting closer to the ruins	99 Walk along the Tungabhadra Cut rocks from ruins or waiting for building?	100 Walk along the Tungabhadra Rock carvings
101 Walk along the Tungabhadra Boulders �berall	102 Walk along the Tungabhadra The terrain here is practically littered with carved rocks	103 Walk along the Tungabhadra Horses and Matanga Hill	104 Walk along the Tungabhadra Beautiful horses
105 Walk along the Tungabhadra Shepherd dog	106 Walk along the Tungabhadra Cows comin' home	107 Walk along the Tungabhadra Langur monkeys at the Kodandarama Temple	108 Walk along the Tungabhadra Langur
109 Walk along the Tungabhadra Cows passing the temple	110 Walk along the Tungabhadra Entering the tunnel	111 Walk along the Tungabhadra A coracle on the Tungabhadra	112 Walk along the Tungabhadra Cows on the road home
113 Walk along the Tungabhadra Boy and dog -- a universal	114 Evening Galleries along Hampi Bazar, Matanga Hill on the right	115 Evening Sunset on Hemakuta Hill	116 Evening Virupaksha Temple gopuram and rock in setting sun
117 Evening Matanga Hill	118 Evening The softness of sunset	119 Evening Virupaksha Temple in the sunset	120 Evening Sun going down
121 Morning Water for the temple elephant	122 Morning Elephant and kids	123 Morning Small temples on the Manmatha Tank	124 Morning Festooned lion
125 Morning Monkies swarming on the temple roof	126 Morning Manmatha Tank with northern gopuram of Virupaksha Temple and small temples	127 Morning Decorating the temple elephant	128 Morning Curious rocks south of Hampi Bazaar
129 Morning On the way to Vitthala Temple -- washing?	130 Vitthala Temple Complex Small pavilion near tank	131 Vitthala Temple Complex Another tank	132 Vitthala Temple Complex View towards the Vitthala Temple, with lakeside galleries
133 Vitthala Temple Complex Road leading to Vitthala Temple	134 Vitthala Temple Complex Partially destroyed Vithala Temple gopuram	135 Vitthala Temple Complex Inside the huge temple complex	136 Vitthala Temple Complex Free-standing mandapa, main temple and Garuda shrine
137 Vitthala Temple Complex Free-standing mandapa (pillared or hypostyle hall)	138 Vitthala Temple Complex The Garuda Shrine is in the form of a chariot	139 Vitthala Temple Complex Elephants "draw" the chariot	140 Vitthala Temple Complex The main temple
141 Vitthala Temple Complex We met some very friendly Indians	142 Vitthala Temple Complex Western tourists at the main temple	143 Vitthala Temple Complex Dancer on mandapa pillar	144 Vitthala Temple Complex Beautifully sculptured mandapa pillars
145 Vitthala Temple Complex Rearing horses with riders on pillars, typical of Vijayanagar temple sculpture	146 Vitthala Temple Complex Main temple entrance	147 Vitthala Temple Complex Side entrance to main temple	148 Vitthala Temple Complex Main temple viewed from free-standing mandapa
149 Vitthala Temple Complex View of Garuda shrine from free-standing mandapa	150 Vitthala Temple Complex Inside a mandapa	151 Vitthala Temple Complex Pillars on the main temple	152 Vitthala Temple Complex Indian and tourist
153 Vitthala Temple Complex Beside the main temple, looking toward the river	154 Vitthala Temple Complex Another Vijayanagar pillar	155 Vitthala Temple Complex The chariot-like Garuda shrine	156 Vitthala Temple Complex Behind the temple, the King's Balance -- with tourist
157 Vitthala Temple Complex Tourist resting and "digging" the view	158 Vitthala Temple Complex Temple ruin on the other side of the Tungabhadra	159 Vitthala Temple Complex Intricate stonework on a wall	160 Vitthala Temple Complex Looks like if you move one piece, it will all come down
161 Boat ride on the Tungabhadra Pylons for an ancient Vijayanagar bridge over the Tungabhadra	162 Boat ride on the Tungabhadra Off for a cruise in a coracle	163 Boat ride on the Tungabhadra Happy cruiser	164 Boat ride on the Tungabhadra Splashing a bit
165 Boat ride on the Tungabhadra Bird, rocks and ruins	166 Boat ride on the Tungabhadra Another cruiser	167 Boat ride on the Tungabhadra Rock!	168 Boat ride on the Tungabhadra Results of wind erosion
169 Boat ride on the Tungabhadra Those are steps carved into the rock on the right	170 Boat ride on the Tungabhadra View toward Kodamdarama Temple mandapa, with small riverside temple on left	171 Boat ride on the Tungabhadra Small riverside temple with relief of a pair of elephants over the entrance	172 Boat ride on the Tungabhadra Sculpture of the Goddess inside the riverside temple
173 Boat ride on the Tungabhadra Half-buried reliefs of gods. This sort of thing was all over in Hampi, at the mercy of weather, vandals and thieves.	174 Boat ride on the Tungabhadra Beautiful, large relief of Ranganatha (Vishnu) asleep on the coils of the serpent Ananta, with Brahma being born from the flower of a lotus growing from Vishnu's navel	175 Boat ride on the Tungabhadra Ranganatha is carved on a large boulder near the river	176 Boat ride on the Tungabhadra Boatmen leading tourist up a rock to look at more
177 Boat ride on the Tungabhadra Mandalas of miniature lingas carved on top of the boulder. This sort of artifact, lost out in the rocks, is part of what makes Hampi so fascinating.	178 Boat ride on the Tungabhadra Tourist waiting patiently among the rocks	179 Boat ride on the Tungabhadra Temple on the other side	180 Boat ride on the Tungabhadra View towards Kodandarama Temple
181 Boat ride on the Tungabhadra Boatman helpling tourist cross the rocks. Mountain boots would have been handy, but the boatmen wore no shoes at all!	182 Boat ride on the Tungabhadra Rejoining the coracle	183 Boat ride on the Tungabhadra Eroded rock	184 Boat ride on the Tungabhadra Another ruined temple and Anjenadri HIll (on right)
185 Boat ride on the Tungabhadra How the coracle is made. The outside is waterproofed with some sort of tar.	186 Boat ride on the Tungabhadra On the wing	187 Boat ride on the Tungabhadra Odd flowers	188 Boat ride on the Tungabhadra The purandara mandapa is almost in the river
189 Royal Center Harvesting green bananas	190 Royal Center Talraighat gate	191 Royal Center Sugar cane and palm trees	192 Royal Center Exterior of the so-called Queen's Bath
193 Royal Center The decorated interior of the Queen's Bath is a surprise after the rather plain exterior. It was probably actually used by male courtiers and their "lady" friends.	194 Royal Center Wall reliefs of practically everything	195 Royal Center Beautiful square stepped tank	196 Royal Center The stepped tank
197 Royal Center Water conduits for the tank	198 Royal Center The tank and water conduits	199 Royal Center Weeding	200 Royal Center Wonderful wall of the Zenana enclosure
201 Royal Center Inside the Zenana enclosure, a beatiful octagonal watch tower	202 Royal Center The Lotus Mahal	203 Royal Center Picnicing by the watch tower	204 Royal Center Intricately-arranged wall stones
205 Royal Center The Elephant stables	206 Near Hemakuta Hill Sasivekalu Ganesha shrine	207 Royal Center Sasivekalu Ganesha	208 Evening An evening rainshower!

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