After a very quick two weeks we said goodbye to everybody at Saraya for a few days and headed for highly-praised, mystical Hampi.
Our sleeper bus arrived just after sunrise and we awoke to the most incredible landscape we’d ever seen.
Hampi feels like a scene from Jurassic Park, Star Wars and Indiana Jones all rolled into one. Huge boulders are impossibly piled on top of one another to create a dramatic, rocky landscape, within which ancient temples slowly crumble and give way to their new monkey tenants.
Arriving in the coolest part of the day we headed straight up the highest hill (with our rucksacks and yoga mats) for the Veerabhadra Temple to catch the early light, even impressing ourselves with our eagerness. The panoramic view at the top was spectacular in every direction.
Our accommodation was a very short ferry ride across the river to the ‘hippie’ side. Here there were less temples, but the landscape was equally, if not more, impressive.
We stayed at Tutti Campsite, a really sweet collection of tents nestled amongst the towering rocks and rice fields.
That afternoon was the highlight of our time in Hampi, and maybe even all of India, spent riding around the area on a scooter, stopping in tiny villages for photos and enjoying the beautiful terrain as the sun slowly came down.
It was a very memorable experience to watch the local people harvesting their rice crops under the golden sun. The beautiful white birds added to the scene, as they flocked around the tractor, picking up flyaway grains of rice.
The following day we replaced the scooter with pushbikes and explored the main archaeological site.
As always we loved exploring the local streets and bazaar.
On our final night we hiked up to the famous 'sunset point'. It was the perfect ending to a perfect three days in Hampi.
Hampi is difficult place to do justice to with words or even photos, but it really is a magical place that should be visited by everyone who comes to India.