Places to See in India – Hampi (World Heritage Site)

Hampi is a small village in the southern state of India, Karnataka. It was once the capital of Vijayanagar Empire.  The empire ruled southern India from 14th to 16th century. Then the village was a magnificent site with great monuments and temples. Today all you can see are the remains of the great structures. It is believed that there were above 500 such massive structures. It is a great historic site and is now listed in UNESCO’s World Heritage sites.
This heritage site is huge and is spread over 25 square km of area. The site includes temples, monuments, remains of palaces, ancient streets which were once full fledged markets, platforms made for public gatherings, galleries and the list is endless. Today Hampi is not only a heritage site but a pilgrim site as well. Each year thousands of visitors come here to see the remains of the great Hindu Empire “Vijanagara” which literally means “the city of Victory”. It was rich and famous in 14th century and is believed that diamonds were sold on streets of Hampi.
Today Humpi is an open museum, which has various stories associated with each of its magnificent structures. It has been a site of interest for various historians from all over the world. With every monument seen you hear a”wow” and an “awe” sound…. the structures are that interesting. There is a beautiful monument at every turn or the corner of the site that keep surprising you with its glory and you will be in awe of this great historic site.
Today Hampi is a rural area but once it was the main capital of a great empire. It is a place who has seen the charm and glory of being a rich royal city which was destroyed by wars and now its only the ruins of the great historic past. The temples of the city still have mythological values and are still frequented by local devotees and from all over India. It is an awesome place to spend some days and discover the rich, magnificent, great and vibrant historic past.

How to reach?
Hampi is located in Karnataka and is 350 KM away from Bangalore, which is the capital city of the state.

• By Air : The nearest Airport is at Bellary, which is 60km away from Hampi. Other Airport at Belgaum 190 km away, You can take flight from Bangalore to Bellary and then can take the road to reach Hampi. There is a daily flight from Bangalore to Bellary.
• By Train: The nearest railhead is at Hospet, which is 13 km away from Hampi. There are frequent trains from Bangalore, Bijapur, Hyderabad, Guntakal, Hubli and Goa.
• By Road: There are daily buses operating from Bangalore, Mysore and Gokarna to Hospet. From Hospet you can catch a local bus to Hampi. Also there are few private carriers operating from Goa and Gokarna.

Places to See in and around Hampi:

• Achyutaraya Temple/Tiruvengalanatha Temple
• Akka Tangi Gudda
• Anegondi
• Anjeyanadri Hill
• Aqueducts and Canals
• Archaeological Museum at Kamalapura
• Badava Linga
• Chandramauleshwar Temple
• The Kings’ balance
• The Underground Temple
• Tungabhadra River
• Uddana Veerabhadra temple
• Ugra Narasimha
• Virupaksha Temple
• Vittala temple
• Yeduru Basavanna
• Yentrodharaka Anjaneya temple
• Zenana enclosure
• Virupapura
• Madhavan Palace with more than 1,000,000 pillars
• Sasivekalu Ganesha
• Elephant stables
• Lotus temple