Introduction to Hampi:
Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a cultural and architectural heritage site built over 200 years ago. Hampi is known for its sprawling landscape of massive formations of rocks and boulders. Though the city is mostly in ruins, it is still beautiful. How Hampi has evolved is astonishing to watch, and we have a chance to visit it.
Departure:
At 9:30 PM, 26th December, Monday, 2022, All the students participating in this trip were reported at Ekya School BTM Campus. All the students from all five campuses were divided into two buses. After sorting, We left for Hampi from Bengaluru around 10:00 PM after saying goodbye to our parents. We were excited and didn’t get that much sleep initially, so we decided to listen and sing songs! It lasted only a few minutes because it was past all our bedtimes, so we started dozing off.
The Trip (Day 1):
We reached Hampi at around 4:30 AM, but the hotel was in a famous village-like city in Hampi known as Hospet. By the time we got to the hotel, it was already 5:AM. We were all set up in contemporary rooms to freshen up for the day and put in permanent rooms the following night. We had about 3 hours to freshen up before exploring this historical city! The hotel we stayed at was known as “Krishna Palace”. It was quite a popular 3.5-star hotel in Hampi, but it was beautiful, especially the glass elevators!
After freshening up, we went down to the lobby for breakfast! We had the classic Idli Sambar and Vada (SOOOO GOOOOD).
After our sumptuous breakfast, we set off to tour Hampi!
Once we got on the bus, A local guide from Hampi explained the day’s itinerary and the speciality of the monument of the great heritage and historical site, Hampi. We learned that over 1,600 monuments had been discovered in Hampi, but there are still billions of things that we have yet to find out about this Ancient Place that once belonged to one of the most significant kingdoms in history.
Once we reached our destination, we got off the bus to see the most beautiful and enormous sculptures we had ever seen! Well, for me, at least. It was a sculpture of Lord Narsimha, and it was made out of just one single stone!
This is known as “Badavalinga”. It is famous for being the second biggest Linga in Southern India!
Our tour guide also explained how strong most of the architecture was….
Theorangy type of bricks you see on the top have lasted from the reign of the great king “Krishna Deva Raya” way back to the Vijayanagara Kingdom!
After that, we went up this hill, and even though it looked small, it showed us great views! Here we took many photos, and the guide explained more about Hampi.
From then on, we went to a vast and famous temple known as the “Virupaksha Temple.” Here we saw and prayed to many gods, and most importantly, we saw “The Pinhole Camera”
Somewhere towards the back of the temple is a tiny hole in the wall which serves as a pinhole and reflects an inverted image of the gopuram on the inside wall. There is not much light inside this tiny room-like space, so it is visible quite clearly as the only bright light coming in is from that little hole.
After all those views, we were tired, but there was more to see! So, after a short break, we stopped at a local condiments shop when all of the students thought the fantastic view of Hampi was over; there was more!
Next, we went to a famous temple known as “Vittala Temple”, which we all thought was just another average temple, but we were wrong!
This temple was famous for the great “Stone Chariot “. One of Hampi’s major attractions!
Here we learned about the “Music Pillars” when you tap them; it makes a distinct sound. When mixed sounds like beats and music!
We stayed here and rested briefly to see the views; it was time to return to the hotel for lunch!
But we had to walk from Vittala Temple to the bus stop, which felt like hours in the hot sun but was just 10 minutes. But it was worth it seeing and meeting the local people!
After a scrumptious lunch, we rested because next up was…. A SCAVENGER HUNT. We went to this Place known as “Queens Bath “which soo big and spacious! Our guide told us that this was where King Krishnadeva Raya held big ceremonies and festival celebrations. And the site had many secrets we didn’t know, but the guide did, so we were put into groups and scavenger hunts to find them!
This is the Queens Bath
Here we discovered so many astonishing secrets like the underground shelter and elephant entrance, and there were soo many exceptional carvings of different images all around the Place, which we had to find, with hidden gates too! How cool is that?
These are the carvings! The beautiful view.
Elephant entrance
The area of the queen’s bath was a wonderful and wide open space! We were all exhausted after taking all those photos and discovering secrets, so when we returned to the hotel on the bus, we were treated to sweet snacks! When we returned to the hotel, we had a fantastic dinner and an early night’s sleep, so we had loads of energy for the next day!
Day 2:
On the second day, we all woke up around 5:30 or 6:00 AM, got ready, and ate breakfast. The mornings in Hampi were so peaceful.
After breakfast, we got our daily essentials and set out on our buses. The first thing on the agenda was to visit the birthplace of “Lord Hanuman”, Anjanadri Hills; once we reached the site place, the guide told us it would be boiling, and we would get tired along the way as we had to climb up a tremendous amount of stairs. So, we got our water bottles filled, and we were off towards the hike!
We had to climb 420 steps to get to the viewpoint! Sounds easy, but it was not; since the stairs were naturally made by weathering out of stones, each stone was a different size, which made it more challenging. But after a lot of hard work and many small stops in the middle, we finally made it to the viewpoint! And, oh, it was worth it. After that, we climbed the stairs, which was much more manageable! Once we returned to the shelter, It was time for the tractor ride! This was so exciting! There were five tractors which took each of the schools for lunch! But not any lunch…..
Hampi Traditional Food!!! The tractor was terrific! It was a wide-open car that allowed us to feel the fresh breeze and relax while enjoying the sight of Hampi. During the tractor ride, we saw the famous “Tungabhadra River”!
The rays of the sun hitting the crystal clear fresh water, plus the reflection of the sky? At this point, everyone was in awe; who wouldn’t be? On the bank of the Tungabhadra river was where half of King Krishnadeva Raya’s palace was located! Once we reached the campsite, we all ate the scrumptious traditional food of Hampi!
After lunch, we went to this beautiful Place where the local women made handicraftsoutof raw banana leaves! It was a calm environment, and we learnt how to make many different types of crafts. After an hour, we were surprised with a Ramayana Play and a Magic show! Many local actors put on costumes; there was music and action! There was also a man who had bought many props and did a magic show which put us in awe~It was fantastic, and we all enjoyed it!
And the guide had told us that the area where the play was going on was where RamaPlaceed Valiover a billion centuries ago!
Arrival: It was time to return after our wonderful trip to Hampi. We returned to the hotel, freshened up, packed our bags and set off to Bangalore at 8:00 PM. We reached Bangalore at 4:30 AM. Our parents arrived to pick us up, and we all returned home!
My Thoughts:
The trip was AMAZING AND WONDERFUL! I have no words! Hampi is a beautiful place with loads of history that we are still yet to discover! It shows us the magnificenceofolden times, leaving my classmates and friends in complete awe as it did to me! Seriously, You should visit Hampi. I am grateful to Ekya School JP Nagar for allowing me to see it with my close friends, classmates and teachers! Thank You!
– Siri Sharma 7B EJPN
