Hampi Hampi the 14th century capital city of the Vijayanagar Empire lies in the Deccan heartland, in the state of Karnataka. The ruins spread over an area of more than 26 sq. kms protected by the tempestuous river Thungabhadra in the North and by rocky granite on the other three sides. A terrain such as this was excellent for a capital city that needed to be vigilant.
It may not have been military shrewdness alone that
made the god-conscious Vijayanagar kings settle for |
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this fierce landscape and build on it one of the great
imperial cities of medieval times.
It was believed to have been the site of the monkey kingdom of Kishkindha associated with the Hindu epic, the Ramayana. The presence of a large number of monkeys seems to testify to that.
Watch three videos of the
trip
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