Hampi
UNESCO World Heritage Site: Group Of Monuments At Hampi (1986); Capital Of The Vijayanagara Empire · Hampi, Karnataka
The ruins of Vijayanagara, capital of the last great Hindu empire of the south, spread across a landscape of giant granite boulders on the Tungabhadra river. At its height in the sixteenth century it was one of the largest and richest cities in the world, and foreign visitors compared it to Rome. In 1565 it was sacked after a single battle and abandoned, which is why so much survives: more than a thousand monuments over roughly forty square kilometres, including the Vittala Temple with its stone chariot and pillars that ring when struck, the Lotus Mahal, the royal elephant stables and the still-active Virupaksha Temple at the centre of the village. The setting is as much the draw as the ruins: boulder hills, banana plantations and rice fields, with the sunrise from Matanga Hill and sunset from Hemakuta the two fixed points of every day. Hampi is spread out and the heat is serious, so people hire bicycles, scooters or autos. It also draws climbers, because the boulders are among the best in Asia. Hosapete is the nearest railway town.
Hampi Bazaar, Hampi, Hampi, Karnataka, 583239, India
NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED. The typical pattern: the ticketed monuments, the Vittala Temple, Zenana Enclosure and Elephant Stables, open roughly from 8 or 8.30 am to around 5.30 pm, daily, with ticket sales stopping before closing. The free ruins are unfenced and accessible at any time, but not sensible to visit after dark. The Virupaksha Temple opens very early, closes for a few hours in the early afternoon and reopens into the evening. The Kamalapura museum keeps its own hours and has a weekly closing day. Coracles and the river crossing stop in the monsoon and in high water. The traps: arriving at the Vittala Temple at noon, discarding the combined ticket, and planning a river crossing in July. Confirm times locally.