Hampi

Hampi is the ruined capital of the Vijayanagara Empire, spread across a boulder-strewn landscape beside the Tungabhadra river in Karnataka. Founded in 1336 by the brothers Harihara and Bukka, Vijayanagara grew into the richest city of southern India, and at its height it drew traders and envoys from Persia and Portugal. Hampi was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986.

In 1565 an alliance of Deccan sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara army at the Battle of Talikota, and the city was sacked for months and then abandoned. What survives at Hampi is extraordinary in scale: more than 1,600 surviving structures, from royal enclosures and stepped tanks to bazaar streets and temple complexes. The Virupaksha Temple, older than the empire itself, never stopped working and still holds daily worship, and the village of Hampi has grown up around it.

What to see

• The Virupaksha Temple, with its tall gopuram gateway and a working temple elephant
• The Vittala Temple complex, home to the stone chariot and the carved pillars that ring when tapped
• The Lotus Mahal and the domed Elephant Stables in the royal Zenana enclosure
• The monolithic Lakshmi Narasimha statue and the Badavilinga shrine nearby
• Sunset from Hemakuta Hill or sunrise from Matanga Hill over the boulders
• A coracle ride on the Tungabhadra river near the old ghats

What to wear

The Virupaksha Temple and other working shrines ask you to cover shoulders and knees and remove shoes, so carry socks for hot stone floors. Hampi is very hot from March to May and dry and sunny most of the year: wear a wide hat, loose cotton, sunscreen and sturdy shoes with grip for climbing the granite. North Karnataka's traditional dress includes the Ilkal saree, woven in the region with a distinctive red border, and men in white dhoti and kurta.

Local food to try

Hampi sits in North Karnataka, where the staple is jolada rotti, a flatbread of jowar, eaten with ennegai, stuffed brinjal in a spiced peanut gravy, and fresh curds. Simple vegetarian thali meals are served in Hampi Bazaar and Kamalapur, and cafes across the river cater to backpackers with banana pancakes and lassi. Hampi is a temple town, so meat and alcohol are hard to find near the Virupaksha Temple; the nearby town of Hosapete has more choice.

Good to know

• Best time: October to February, with early mornings and late afternoons for walking
• Monuments open daily, roughly 6am to 6pm; the Vittala complex from about 8:30am to 5:30pm
• One ticket covers the Vittala Temple and the Zenana enclosure; foreign visitors pay a higher rate
• Allow at least two full days; bicycles, e-rickshaws or a hired car help cover the distances
• Hampi is about 13 km from Hosapete railway station and around 340 km from Bengaluru
• Drones are not allowed; tripods and video may need permission at ticketed sites

Nearby places

From Hampi, the route south leads to the royal city of Mysore Palace, a long day's drive away, and on to the coffee hills of Coorg. Heading west, the Portuguese churches of Old Goa, including the Basilica of Bom Jesus, are roughly 330 km by road.