Built in the banks of the
Tungabhadra river the fascinating ruins of the 15th century
city of Vijayanagar, near the village of Hampi, are set in an
extraordinary landscape of giant granite boulders, lush paddies and banana
plantations. The clock seems to have stopped at what is perhaps one of the most magical World Heritage sites
in India
and one can spend a surprisingly large amount of time gazing at the weirdly
balanced rocks wondering how millions of years of erosion could achieve such
formations. The
village of Hampi continues to be an important religious
centre, housing the Virupaksha Temple
and also contains several other monuments belonging to the
old city. It extends into some of the old ceremonial streets
of Vijayanagara. Further south, near the village of
Kamalapuram, the Royal Centre is easily explored by bicycle.
There are some of Hampi's major attractions such as
the Zenana enclosure, the Elephant Stables and the delicate
Lotus Mahal which are best visited late in the afternoon
before sunset.
