Hampi

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, comprising the ruins of Vijayanagara, capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565, on the banks of the Tungabhadra River about 13 kilometers from the modern town of Hosapete. The site's sacred associations predate the empire, appearing in Hindu texts such as the Ramayana and the Puranas, and by 1500 the city had grown into the world's second-largest medieval city after Beijing and probably the richest in India, as recorded by Persian and Portuguese travelers. Its architecture blends Hindu Dravidian tradition with Indo-Islamic elements across temples, marketplaces, royal enclosures, and water infrastructure, among them the Virupaksha Temple, the Vitthala Temple with its celebrated stone chariot, the Krishna Temple, the Achyutaraya Temple, the temples of Hemakuta Hill, and the royal Mahanavami platform. The city was sacked after the Vijayanagara Empire's defeat at the Battle of Talikota in 1565 and lay in ruins until its scholarly rediscovery in the 19th century.