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I did not expect to wake up today and see a post about my hometown on HN. The capital of the Vijayanagara empire was Hampi, which is an archaeological site in N

I did not expect to wake up today and see a post about my hometown on HN. The capital of the Vijayanagara empire was Hampi, which is an archaeological site in Northern Karnataka, South India. It's a fascinating place to visit. I'd recommend spending at least 5 days, perhaps in July or October. It's the sort of place where you can spend even a month and still see new things every day.

notahacker 5y ago
Your hometown is Hampi? I love that place, and its stone chariot! One of the most striking bits apart from the landscape is how much of the modern village is built out of the colonnades of the original city.
- stonecharioteer 5y ago
  Yep. Hence the handle @stonecharioteer, which I use everywhere. Our village has several bits that have assimilated the empire. I remember we needed the permission of the Archaeological Society of India to change our front door since the door itself was 200 years old. At one point we didn't have a door because we were waiting for permission.
bklaasen 5y ago
> It's the sort of place where you can spend even a month and still see new things every day. Did exactly that in the mid 1990s. Hampi is a magical place. The evocative granite ruins are scattered across a vast swathe in a hilly landscape of huge orange boulders with the broad Tungabadra river flowing through it, fringed by coconut and banana fields. The main street of modern Hampi is located in a Vijayanagar shopping arcade. @stonecharioteer, have they kept cars and motorbikes out of Hampi? I hear the town now stretches across the river. Have the ferrymen in their round coracles disappeared? My travelling partner and I made friends with Niju, the postmaster, and we went wild honey hunting with him. One of the most memorable months of my life, and I've had a few.
- stonecharioteer 5y ago
  The coracles are still around. You can drive card and bikes around, albeit within a reasonable distance. I am from Kamalapura, which is 4km from the Lotus Mahal. A lot has changed in Hampi, but the stalls and hawkers are gone from the ruins. The Tungabhadra still flows strong, and the Archeological Society has done some good work, some things are really improved. There's a good rock climbing community around there. And the government has shifted a "zoo" to the Bear Sanctuary and it's now a wildlife preserve. Apparently the leopards are also returning because of Covid (one of the positive things). I have a cousin who has an instagram channel you'll love: @hampi_stories. He's a photographer who goes to Hampi every weekend. If you ever return, hit me up. I use this handle everywhere. I can introduce you to the Dean of the Hampi university, who is a family friend. No one knows Hampi like he does. I'm writing a book on the Rayas. It's a lot of work because I want to write it in a vein that skips ahead and behind, with scenes that intertwine stories from before it's most famous king, Krishnadevaraya, and scenes of his own time. It's one of my favourite places. I'm glad you loved visiting.

notahacker 5y ago

Your hometown is Hampi? I love that place, and its stone chariot! One of the most striking bits apart from the landscape is how much of the modern village is built out of the colonnades of the original city.

stonecharioteer 5y ago
Yep. Hence the handle @stonecharioteer, which I use everywhere. Our village has several bits that have assimilated the empire. I remember we needed the permission of the Archaeological Society of India to change our front door since the door itself was 200 years old. At one point we didn't have a door because we were waiting for permission.

bklaasen 5y ago

> It's the sort of place where you can spend even a month and still see new things every day. Did exactly that in the mid 1990s. Hampi is a magical place. The evocative granite ruins are scattered across a vast swathe in a hilly landscape of huge orange boulders with the broad Tungabadra river flowing through it, fringed by coconut and banana fields. The main street of modern Hampi is located in a Vijayanagar shopping arcade. @stonecharioteer, have they kept cars and motorbikes out of Hampi? I hear the town now stretches across the river. Have the ferrymen in their round coracles disappeared? My travelling partner and I made friends with Niju, the postmaster, and we went wild honey hunting with him. One of the most memorable months of my life, and I've had a few.

stonecharioteer 5y ago
The coracles are still around. You can drive card and bikes around, albeit within a reasonable distance. I am from Kamalapura, which is 4km from the Lotus Mahal. A lot has changed in Hampi, but the stalls and hawkers are gone from the ruins. The Tungabhadra still flows strong, and the Archeological Society has done some good work, some things are really improved. There's a good rock climbing community around there. And the government has shifted a "zoo" to the Bear Sanctuary and it's now a wildlife preserve. Apparently the leopards are also returning because of Covid (one of the positive things). I have a cousin who has an instagram channel you'll love: @hampi_stories. He's a photographer who goes to Hampi every weekend. If you ever return, hit me up. I use this handle everywhere. I can introduce you to the Dean of the Hampi university, who is a family friend. No one knows Hampi like he does. I'm writing a book on the Rayas. It's a lot of work because I want to write it in a vein that skips ahead and behind, with scenes that intertwine stories from before it's most famous king, Krishnadevaraya, and scenes of his own time. It's one of my favourite places. I'm glad you loved visiting.