In the land of Hanuman

In mid-January this year, I took a solo trip to Hampi, Karnataka. Hampi is a popular destination for all kinds of people. Ranging from solo travellers like myself to families, Hampi is always teeming with travellers and vacationers.

I did a little bit of reading about Hampi before I stepped down from my bus at Hospet. Hampi has been so prominent throughout mythology and history that you will be surprised to know how much one place can be involved in almost everything. Starting from the times of Ramayan to Vijaynagara (The kingdom of Krishnadevaraya), Hampi is loaded with wonder.

The Tungabhadra river divides Hampi into two parts. One side is rich with history and monuments, sprawled with lavish pavilions and temples. The other side of the river is blessed with natural beauty in abundance, lakes, quaint shacks and one of the biggest hippie crowd in India. This side of the river, known as Anegudi, is also famed to be the capital of Kishkinda, the kingdom of the Vanars from Ramayan.

I spent one complete day cycling around Anegudi and exploring the different sites that had connections to Ramayan or anything that was historic. Armed with a book on Hampi and a map (big nerd), I visited more than 10 sites in the sweltering heat and gulped down at least half a dozen litres of coconut water. I also clicked some good photos and Google Photos helped me put a few finishing touches to them.

View of Tungabhadra from Kondanda Rama temple

This is the serene and beautiful Tungabhadra river on the courtyard of the Kodanda Rama temple. This photo was clicked on the day I arrived in Hampi. I was still on the temple side of the river and was covering as many sites as possible before crossing over to the other side to chill for the evening. By the time I reached this spot, I was exhausted and dehydrated. On my way here, I had picked up some spiced cucumber to munch on. Once I saw this shaded spot, I breathed a sigh of relief and sat down to get some much-needed rest. The shade of the tree was so soothing and the view so mesmerising, I spent almost 45 minutes sitting there, gathering my energy to move forward.

This temple is said to be the spot where Lord Ram had defeated Vali and crowned Sugreev as the king. The temple houses massive statues of Ram, Sita and Lakshman carved from a single stone. A differentiating feature of this temple is that Sugreev, instead of usual Hanuman, is seen bowing down to Ram. The river-side is also one of the major points to hitch a coracle ride (bowl-shaped boat made of reed, saplings and hide) on the Tungabhadra. A solitary coracle was sailing on the river while I was enjoying my cucumber. 

What surprised me the most was how peaceful the monkeys of Hampi are. Known to snatch food and water from tourists everywhere else, monkeys in Hampi are well-behaved. The tree was teeming with monkeys and there were a few on the land as well around me but not a single monkey attempted to snatch my cucumber or water bottle. After a while, I got used to their presence and that really helped with my anxiety around hyperactive animals throughout the trip.

After regaining much of my energy, I proceeded to the ferry point to crossover to the other side. I had booked a bed in one of the hostels (Word of advice, book something near the ferry point. My hostel was about 4 kms from the ferry point and cycling that distance to and fro was a pain in the ass, literally).

View of the Tungabhadra form Talarigatta gate

My day in Anegudi started with this site. This is the Talarigatta gate, a lesser-used ferry point used mostly by the locals. Talarigatta means toll gate. The structure of the gate is ancient and largely damaged and houses a tiny Hanuman shrine. As this is not one of the famous sites in Hampi, no one was around, except for a few locals disembarking from the ferry that had arrived. I explored a little bit and climbed up the wall around the gate to this point. I walked on the wall for a bit, clicked a few photographs and proceeded to the next point in my itinerary.

Inside Hachappa Mantapa

One of the pillars at Hachappa Mantapa

Moving on, I pedalled my way to the Hachappa Mantapa. Mantapa or mandap, as we pronounce it in Hindi, means a platform generally used for religious rituals. This platform is carved from stone and is lined with pillars. The platform is surrounded by lush-green banana plantations with an occasional palm tree. The road to the platform itself is lined with beautiful palm trees. This platform is believed to be built before the Vijaynagara kingdom came into existence. The architectural style is that of the Hosalyas, the kingdom that preceded the Vijaynagara kingdom. Apart from the remnants of the beautifully carved pillars, you can also catch a few traces of paintings on the ceiling of the platform. Although, due to natural wear and tear, these paintings are hardly visible anymore. 

After this site, I visited many small shrines dedicated to Hanuman and other deities. But what mesmerised me the most is the natural beauty of Anegudi. The landscape was lined with mountains made of huge boulders and the road was lined with palm trees and annas and akkas selling coconut water. I made it a point to stop at every coconut water vendor and gulped down as many as possible. Although it was January, Hampi was very sunny and I ended up being dehydrated after a few minutes of cycling the sloping roads.

After a tiring day of exploring Anegudi on my own, I rested for most of the afternoon at the hostel. Before sunset, I decided to visit the Hampi waterfall near the hostel. It was almost dusk and I wanted to catch the view before it got dark. I hiked to the waterfalls following the directions of the locals and the view turned out to be the cherry-on-top for my day of exploring the land of Hanuman.

Hampi Waterfalls

The Hampi waterfall is a step-like waterfall with the water gushing through the boulders. This is also one of the points for a coracle ride. I sat on one of the dry rocks for a while and kept my eye on the setting sun (I had to walk back to the hostel on my own), ending my day with this beautiful view.

What's amazing about Hampi is that it's one of the safest places in India for a solo female traveller. I got some moments of solitude, met a bunch of new travellers and visited some amazing sites. More than anything else, the feeling of accomplishment on surviving a trip on my own and the reassurance that travelling solo is totally my thing. 

I still have a bunch of photographs from this trip. I'll reserve them for another post in the future.

I hope you enjoyed this read. You can comment below if you need any information about Hampi. I hope I'll be able to answer your queries to your satisfaction.

Stay indoors, stay healthy.