{"id":1169,"date":"2016-02-22T18:57:33","date_gmt":"2016-02-22T17:57:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tracesontherock.com\/?p=1169"},"modified":"2019-04-14T13:17:16","modified_gmt":"2019-04-14T11:17:16","slug":"boulder-mekka-in-the-realm-of-monkey-gods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tracesontherock.com\/en\/boulder-mekka-in-the-realm-of-monkey-gods\/","title":{"rendered":"Boulder mekka in the realm of monkey gods"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

Hampis cultural heritage<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\nIn the Hindu epic Ramayana Hampi is referred to as the realm of monkey gods (Kishkindha). This seems to me still quite obvious once you become aware of the monkey bands in the area running over rooftops daytime and nighttime and watching the people from a safe distance from the tops of the palm trees.\n\n\n\n\n\nAround 1336 Hampi was the capital of one of the largest Hindu\u00a0empires – under the name of Vijayanagara. The City hat already in the 16th century\u00a0 not only about 500,000 inhabitants, but also huge temples. In the 16th century Sultanate’s conquered the capital and plundered them. The city never recovered. Among the most important temples belongs Virupaksha Temple, which is up to 50m high. Also there is a house elephant named Lakshmi, who bathed each morning in the river. I was however discouraged from visiting the temple, as it was said to be not worth it from the inside.\n\n\n\n\n\nInstead, we visited the temple ruins in the area, which ar situated everywhere in the area around or on tip of massive granite blocks. The palm groves and rice fields are also worth visiting, which offer a cool breeze on hot days. In short Hampi is a living cultural city.\n\n\n\n\n\nOur highlights have been:\n\n\n\n\n