Once the world's second-largest city, Hampi remains a testament to a lost Hindu empire.

Countries & Cities · Published 29 September 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Hampi, a sprawling UNESCO World Heritage Site in India, was once the opulent capital of the Vijayanagara Empire. By 1500, it stood as the world's second-largest city, a hub of wealth and culture. After its destruction in 1565, the site lay in ruins, eventually revealing its sophisticated architectural secrets to history.

Hampi, located in Karnataka, predates the Vijayanagara Empire, appearing in ancient Hindu texts as a religious centre. By the 14th century, it became the seat of the Vijayanagara Empire, which ruled for over two centuries. At its peak around 1500, the city was a metropolitan marvel, likely India's wealthiest, attracting traders from as far as Persia and Portugal. Its infrastructure was vast, featuring elaborate waterworks, markets, and temples that blended Dravidian architecture with unique Indo-Islamic elements.

The city's decline was swift and violent. In 1565, following the Battle of Talikota, a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara forces. The capital was systematically pillaged, looted, and burned for six months before being abandoned. For centuries, the site remained largely ignored, though it was later surveyed by Colonel Colin Mackenzie in 1800. It was not until the 19th and 20th centuries that scholars like Robert Sewell and photographers like Alexander Greenlaw brought the site's historical significance to global attention.

Today, the site covers 41.5 square kilometres and contains about 1,600 surviving monuments. These include the Virupaksha temple, which has remained an active place of worship since the 11th century, and the Vitthala temple, famous for its stone chariot and musical pillars. While the sandstone-tinted ruins appear austere today, historical evidence suggests they were once vibrant and colourful. The site continues to be a subject of archaeological excavation, offering a window into a highly evolved, multi-religious society that thrived before its dramatic fall.

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