Had a nice omelet in the morning and rented a bicycle at one of the many shops in the main bazaar renting out one (this one happened to be owned by a relative of my guesthouse’s owner). They charge 40 rupees for the day. It had been years since I rode one, so even getting to the end of the 500 meter long bazaar with scant traffic turned out to be an exercise. I was ready with sunscreen, water, cap, and dressed in my shorts, as the sun was out bright at 9 in the morning. I did not injure anyone so far as I turned left onto the mud path before the end of the bazaar towards the river. I’d explored it a bit last evening, so I knew where to go.
Had to drag the bike at some points (there were quite a few) where the stony path next to the river became not too easy on the bum or there were steps. After 15 minutes of huffing and puffing I reached the coracle (that’s circular boat) point just before Achyutraya temple. I rode through Courtesan’s St, which now was about 400 meters of cobbled path lined up on both sides by pillars, seemed as if I was in a parade (the cavalryman riding his metal steed) being overseen by the king. The really good point about this temple was the area it covered, not much, probably about 50% of a football field, but built so that it seemed spacious. I locked the bike outside and took a walk between the inner compound and the outer wall. Here I took one of the many opportunities in the day to take off my shirt and get some shade, as I was sweating profusely (by the end of the day I reckon I had downed about 4-5 litres of liquid).
I passed the small puddle of water 300 meters on from Courtesan’s St (the St has Varaha temple at one end, and Achyutraya on the other) to join the 10 minute mud road (5 on bicycle, there’s slopes). The rocky path sloping at some points surrounded by various ruins was a nice setting. After quite a few rest stops, I got to the Vitthala temple, hitting first the King’s balance, a 4-5 meter tall two pillared structure at the start of the Vitthala temple complex. I carried on past Vitthala as I wanted to cover some more round before taking a long rest at Vitthala temple. The road past it ends up about 1.5 km down into one towards Kamalapura and another towards Hyderabad (? Not sure of this). There are 2 Mantapas on this long stretch, but nothing much to see there, except, another pool type structure at Kuduregombe Mantapa. Saw quite a few people in buses and cars pass by this road on to Vitthala temple (for those who don’t want to hike across the opposite route from Hampi town). I took another break and did some mountain climbing onto a deserted temple away from the road and sat in the shade there.
The Vitthala complex ticket costs, if memory serves right, about 10 rupees entry fees. I took in snaps of the famous stone chariot preserved quite well in the temple. The temple had been described as a nice work in architecture and I could see why, minute designs on the walls, to complement the ones on the pillars, and ceilings were a sight to see.
An aside here, there seems to be no purpose of rain, at least for me. True, it does lower the Celsius, but it also makes the sites, most of them out in the open, quite difficult to get to. The stones become slippery, and add to that I can’t use my camera to capture al this beauty, was missing some really good shots now. The rain that came made me stay for almost 3 hours inside the Vitthala complex, and I couldn’t even ride the bike back in this rain. The main concern was the loss of time, I had built in some waste of time into my sketchy schedule, but I hate sitting around when there’s so much to explore.(unless I’m really tired or want to take in the beauty of the place while resting). After waiting till 4 pm, I decided to risk it back in the drizzle now (never have bought an umbrella, dunno why). On the way back I took refuge in few of the ruins I had seen on the way, I could also see the ancient bridge across the river (it was now only a row of pillars in the river), while in the distance was the Hanuman temple atop Anjeyanadari hill, with its white row of steps also visible, quite enticing.
The route back in the rain was quite enjoyable now that I think of it (though at that time, it was some work, going up the slippery rocky slope, or thru the water logged mud paths). Met a chap at the coracle point who used to come here every year for the last 15 years from Bangalore. He had his own firm and found it peaceful here, while leaving his family in the bustling Bangalore. He told me of the various other places to see as well, the history of the place, we talked for almost an hour enjoying the river breeze and the rain, and the constant company of the monkeys (who tried to snatch my bag the minute I opened it and strayed 2 feet off!).
All in all, I managed to see the places I had intended to see for 1 day and was satisfied to get back to my guesthouse, take a hot shower, eat dal makhani and chapattis (J), climb a part of Hemkuta hill in late evening, and get back to bed at around 10, tired and happy.
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