Hampi, India

Hampi, India

Hampi India

Hampi, also known as Hampe in Kannada and officially recognised as the Group of Monuments at Hampi, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in east‑central Karnataka, India. Once the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire in the 14th century, it grew into a major Hindu pilgrimage centre. Accounts from Persian and European visitors, especially the Portuguese, describe Hampi as a wealthy, thriving and imposing city on the banks of the Tungabhadra River, filled with temples, agricultural lands and busy markets. By around 1500 CE, Hampi‑Vijayanagara was the world’s second‑largest medieval city after Beijing, and likely the richest in India at the time, drawing traders from as far as Persia and Portugal. The city’s fortunes collapsed after the Vijayanagara Empire was defeated by a coalition of Muslim sultanates; the capital was captured, looted and destroyed in 1565, leaving Hampi in ruins. Today, Hampi lies near the modern town of Hosapete in Karnataka and its ruins stretch over roughly 4,100 hectares (about 16 square miles). UNESCO describes it as an “austere and grand” landscape, with more than 1,600 surviving remains from the last great Hindu kingdom in South India, including forts, riverside features, royal and sacred complexes, temples and shrines, pillared halls, mandapas, memorials and water structures. Hampi’s history predates the Vijayanagara Empire: Ashokan inscriptions have been found here, and it is mentioned in the Ramayana and the Puranas as Pampaa Devi Tirtha Kshetra. It remains an active religious centre, home to the Virupaksha Temple, a living monastery associated with Adi Shankara, and numerous monuments from the old city.
Recommended airport
Bellary (BEP)
Nearby destinations
  • Anegundi a 3.84 km
  • Hosapete a 10.41 km