Hampi or Hampe, also referred to as the Group of Monuments at Hampi, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Hampi town, Vijayanagara district, east-central Karnataka, India. Hampi predates the Vijayanagara Empire, it is mentioned in the Ramayana and the Puranas of Hinduism as Pampa Devi Tirtha Kshetra. Hampi continues to be an important religious centre, housing the Virupaksha Temple, an active Adi Shankara-linked monastery and various monuments belonging to the old city.
Vijayanagara was the capital city of the historic Vijayanagara Empire. Located on the banks of the Tungabhadra River, it spread over a large area and included the modern era Group of Monuments at Hampi site in Vijayanagara district, Bellary district and others in and around these districts in Karnataka, India. A part of Vijayanagara ruins known as Hampi has been designated as a UNESCO world heritage site. Vijayanagara is in the eastern part of central Karnataka.
Raichur District is an administrative district in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located in the northeast part of the state and is bounded by Yadgir district in the north, Bijapur and Bagalkot district in the northwest, Koppal district in the west, Bellary district in the south, Jogulamba Gadwal district of Telangana and Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh in the east.
The Tungabhadra River is a river in India that starts and flows through the state of Karnataka during most of its course, before flowing along the border between Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and ultimately joining the Krishna River near Gundimalla village in Jogulamba Gadwal district of Telangana.
The Pamba River is the longest river in the Indian state of Kerala after Periyar and Bharathappuzha, and the longest river in the erstwhile former princely state of Travancore. Sabarimala temple dedicated to Lord Ayyappa is located on the banks of the river Pamba.
North Karnataka is a geographical region in Deccan plateau from 300 to 730 metres elevation that constitutes the region of the Karnataka state in India and the region consists of 13 districts. It is drained by the Krishna River and its tributaries the Bhima, Ghataprabha, Malaprabha, and Tungabhadra. North Karnataka lies within the Deccan thorn scrub forests ecoregion, which extends north into eastern Maharashtra.
Virupaksha Temple is located in Hampi in the Vijayanagara district of Karnataka, India. It is part of the Group of Monuments at Hampi, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The temple is dedicated to Sri Virupaksha, a form of Shiva. The temple was built by Lakkan Dandesha, a nayaka (chieftain) under the ruler Deva Raya II also known as Prauda Deva Raya of the Vijayanagara Empire.
Vijayanagara architecture of 1336–1565 CE was a notable building idiom that developed during the rule of the imperial Hindu Vijayanagara Empire. The empire ruled South India, from their regal capital at Vijayanagara, on the banks of the Tungabhadra River in modern Karnataka, India. The empire built temples, monuments, palaces and other structures across South India, with a largest concentration in its capital. The monuments in and around Hampi, in the Vijayanagara principality, are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Kishkindha is a kingdom of the vanaras in Hinduism. It is ruled by King Sugriva, the younger brother of Vali, in the Sanskrit epic Ramayana. According to the Hindu epic, this was the kingdom that Sugriva ruled with the assistance of his counsellor, Hanuman.
Karnataka is the sixth largest state in India and has been ranked as the third most popular state in the country for tourism in 2014. It is home to 507 of the 3600 centrally protected monuments in India, second only to Uttar Pradesh. The State Directorate of Archaeology and Museums protects an additional 752 monuments and another 25,000 monuments are yet to receive protection.
The City of Vijayanagara was the urban core of the imperial city and the surrounding principalities of the capital of the Vijayanagara empire during the 14th century to 16th century CE. Notes by foreign travellers such as Abdur Razzak, the Persian who visited Vijayanagara in 1440, mention seven fortifications before the gates to the royal palace. The large area between the first and third fortifications contained agricultural fields, gardens and residences. The notes of Robert Sewell describe countless shops and bazaars (markets) filled with people from different nationalities between this fortification and the palace.
The period of the Vijayanagara Empire is considered an age of prosperity in South India in the 14th century CE. Many travelogues written by visitors, ambassadors and authors of that time provide ample proof of a vibrant era. Agriculture was the main sustenance and the Tungabhadra was the life blood of the capital city.
Pampa Sarovara is a lake in Koppal district near Hampi in Karnataka. To the south of the Tungabhadra River, it is considered sacred by Hindus and is one of the five sacred sarovars, or lakes in India. According to Hindu theology, there are five sacred lakes; collectively called Panch Sarovar; Mansarovar, Bindu Sarovar, Narayan Sarovar, Pampa Sarovar and Pushkar Sarovar. They are also mentioned in Shrimad Bhagavata Purana. In Hindu scriptures Pampa Sarovar is regarded as the place where Pampa, a form of Shiva's consort Parvati, performed penance to show her devotion to Shiva. It is also one of the Sarovar's that finds a mention in the Hindu epic, Ramayana as the place where Shabari, a devotee of Rama waited for the arrival of Ram.
Maski is a town and an archaeological site in the Raichur district of the state of Karnataka, India. It lies on the bank of the Maski river which is a tributary of the Tungabhadra. Maski derives its name from Mahasangha or Masangi. The site came into prominence with the discovery of a minor rock edict of Emperor Ashoka by C. Beadon in 1915. It was the first edict of Emperor Ashoka that contained the name Ashoka in it instead of the earlier edicts that referred him as Devanampiye piyadasi. This edict was important to conclude that many edicts found earlier in the Indian sub-continent in the name of Devanampiye piyadasi, all belonged to Emperor Ashoka. The edict is etched on a rock-face of Durgada-gudda, one of the gneissic outcrops that are present in the site.
Temples of North Karnataka
The Bellary Fort was built on top of a hill called the "Ballari Gudda" or the Fort Hill. It is situated in the historic city of Bellary, in the Bellary district, in Karnataka state, India. It was built in two parts namely, the Upper Fort and the Lower Fort. The Upper Fort was built by Hanumappa Nayaka, a feudatory of Vijayanagara Empire, but the Lower Fort was built by Hyder Ali in later part of the 18th century.
Nava Brindavana ;, is located on an island in the Tungabhadra River at Anegundi, near Hampi, Karnataka, India. The Brindavanas of nine Hindu Madhva saints present in Nava Brindavana belongs to Uttaradi Math, Vyasaraja Math and Raghavendra Math. All these saints are descended from Padmanabha Tirtha, direct disciple of Jagadguru Madhvacharya.
Hirebenakal or Hirébeṇakal or Hirébeṇakallu is a megalithic site in the state of Karnataka, India. It is among the few megalithic sites in India that can be dated to the 800 BCE to 200 BCE period. The site is located in the Koppal district, some 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) west of the town of Gangavati and some 35 kilometres (22 mi) from Hospet city. It contains roughly 400 megalithic funerary monuments, that have been dated to the transition period between Neolithic period and the Iron Age. Known locally as eḷu guḍḍagaḷu, their specific name is moryar guḍḍa. Hirebenakal is reported to be the largest necropolis among the 2000 odd megalithic sites found in South India, most of them in the state of Karnataka. Since 1955, it has been under the management of the Dharwad circle of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). On May 19, 2021, it was proposed that Hirebenakal be made a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Daroji Sloth Bear Sanctuary is located in Ballari district in Karnataka. This is Asia's first sloth bear Sanctuary. It is spread over 82.72 km2 (31.94 sq mi). The sanctuary was created exclusively for the conservation of the sloth bear. It is about 50 km from Ballari and about 15 km from the World Heritage Site Hampi. The area between Daroji in Sandur taluka and Ramasagar of Hospet Taluk is host to numerous sloth bears.
Hampi is a town in the Vijayanagara district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Located along the Tungabhadra River in the east and center part of the state, Hampi is near the city of Hosapete. It is famous for hosting the Hampi Group of Monuments, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
India 
