Not in the Lonely Planet

10th June
Hampi sure is in it and it would be doing it an injustice if it wasn't. We had not heard of Hampi before this trip but it must be one of the highlights I would think.
Covering an area of 45sq kms made up mainly of a surreal landscape of granite boulders the city of Vijayanagar, near Hampi, was one of the major Hindu cities of the time with a population of over 500,000. It was founded in 1336 and reached the summit of its power and influence in the 16th century. Now it is an area of well preserved Hindu temples and excavations showing the city's working life.
The dry air must have treated the place kindly as the reliefs and statuary are so very well preserved. We often baulk at hiring a guide in places like this as I think we get more appreciation of just wondering around with a guide book to help us and do things at or leisure. I am sure I would be given much more info with a guide which I would forget in a day two's time if not earlier.
I doubt we would have gone on the coracle if we had've had a guide. This was quite an experience. Shaped like a cereal bowl and made out of bamboo and sealed canvas it is manoeuvred with a mixture of strokes. I wondered how we were going to get back up the Tungabhadra River against a strong wind but the paddler did it quite quickly
I will upload a few photos, in this instance the best way to show some of the highlights of Hampi.
The day came to a close with a visit to the Dajoli Bear Sanctuary. For a change, this was not in the LP. Everything else seems to be. In fact we wouldn't have known about it if we hadn't read an article in last Sunday's paper. Not far from Hampi I don't think it is visited by many foreigners. It took us a while to get there as there were no signs and not many locals spoke English and the signs that were was not in English. In fact I thought we might be too late to see the action as it was about 5.30 before we reached the viewing platform.
They are Sloth Bears and there's about 110 in the sanctuary as well as hyenas, jackals, wild pig, peacocks and over 90 species of other birds. Binoculars are essential as the bears are usually seen on the other side of a shallow valley, the viewer would be about 400 metres from the action. Their habitat is a continuation of the boulder strewn country near Hampi. A lick is put on a flat rock that attracts the bears as well as other animals. Perhaps not what you would expect in a sanctuary but the argument is that the lick supplies essential minerals for the bears. We saw about 10 of them in the 45 minutes we were there, at the lick but also meandering over the surrounding hillside. Mothers with young ones on their back, two males fighting and just the usual things bears do I guess. We were the only people there apart from 2 rangers and a friend of theirs. The sanctuary staff were so proud of their bears and would quickly point out further animals as they appeared.
It was just one of those days, full on with sightseeing but so rewarding.