First Hampi trip. Drove down from Bangalore, about five hours with stops.
The scale of the ruins is hard to process. The Vijayanagara empire covered most of southern India at its peak and you can feel that ambition in the stonework. The Vittala temple complex especially - the stone chariot, the musical pillars. Hard to believe this was built in the 1500s and harder to believe it was sacked and burned so completely.
Something about this place forces you to slow down. No signal, no agenda, just rocks and the Tungabhadra. Already thinking about coming back next year.