Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, located about 350 km northwest of Bangalore. Hampi is located within the ruins of the old Vijayanagara empire. The old empire was destroyed by a muslim invasion in the 16th century. The old temples, palaces and bazaars were all constructed in the 15th and 16th century. There are about 80 different sites spread out over a large area. To see it all would take days. Sunsets and sunrises from hilltops are suppose to be amazing. Unfortunately, it rained both days that we were there but the upside was that it wasn't as hot as it normally is (normal high is about 95 degrees F). You will notice that this entry has many photos. We took about 140 and selected about 25 for the blog.

This is a good view of a group of monuments in Hampi. I got this photo from Wikipedia site. It looks like the Virupaksha Temple area in Hampi Bazaar on the south bank of the river.







Below: photos from Vittala Temple










































































Below: Photos from the Royal Center




Lotus Mahal






Details of Lotus Mahal















Elephant enclosure. The big stone palace-like structure is basically the elephant stable. There are 11 separate "stalls".
































The Queen's Bath. It's more like a swimming pool.








































Gnesh (elephant god) Temple




















600 steps leading up to the Hanemon (monkey god) Temple.










Colorful cloth drying on rocks











a bunch of young bananas and a banana flower












Celebration of Holy Festival in Hampi












A photo op with some colorful characters.