Visiting Hampi (Album of photos)
Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in east-central Karnataka, India. It is the site of the once-magnificent imperial capital of the Vijayanagar Empire in the 14th century. Chronicles left by Persian and European travelers, particularly the Portuguese, state Hampi was a prosperous, wealthy and grand city near the Tungabhadra River, with numerous temples, farms and trading markets. By 1500 CE, Hampi-Vijayanagara was the world’s second-largest medieval-era city after Beijing, and probably India’s richest at that time, attracting traders from Persia and Portugal. The Vijayanagara Empire was defeated by a coalition of Muslim sultanates; its capital was conquered, pillaged and destroyed by sultanate armies in 1565, after which Hampi remained in ruins. This place has a connection with Ramayana’s Kishkindha chapter and both Sriman Mahaprabhu and Nityananda prabhu visited this place.