Hampi's Eastern Ruins at Sunrise

• The eastern group of ruins stays almost empty until mid-morning, so sunrise here feels private.
• Fourteenth-century streets, sacred tanks and colonnaded bazaars are still legible in the landscape.
• The Tungabhadra river and granite hills make the site as much a natural place as a monumental one.

• Walk the old bazaar street to the temple gopuram before the day heats up
• Cross the river by coracle to the quieter northern hamlets
• Sit on Matanga Hill for the last light over the valley

The valley is identified with Kishkindha in the Ramayana, and the Virupaksha temple has been in continuous worship for over five centuries.

• Breakfast of idli and filter coffee at a family kitchen in Kamalapur
• Stone-carving demonstration with a local sculptor
• Banana-plantation walk with a farmer from Anegundi