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Hampi, Located on the banks of Tungabhadra River about 350 kilometers north of Bangalore and 13 km from Hospet, the village of Hampi in North Karnataka alludes to tremendous historical importance. Sprawled over more than 25 square kilometers, Hampi, the erstwhile major trading center is home to giant temples, market streets, palaces, and aquatic structures, forts and a plethora of other ancient monuments.

Hampi has numerous temples, monolithic structures, figures and monuments – all exhibiting rich Hindu architectural culture. The Vittal temple, Virupaksha temple, and Kodandarama temple are examples of the same. Owing to the later influence of the Muslims in the mid 16th century, have come up the Lotus Mahal and Queen’s Bath which show signs of Muslim culture during that era.  The 15th-century Virupaksha Temple rises majestically to the western end of the famous 35 yards wide and nearly 800 yards long Hampi Bazaar area. The temple has a 120 feet tall tower at its eastern entrance. The temple houses the shrines of Shiva, Pampa and Bhuvaneswari. 

The 6.7 m tall monolith of Ugra Narasimha is worth seeing. The huge image is situated in the south of the Hemkuta group of temples that contains the Virupaksha Temple. The Narasimha is a seated four-armed figure under a canopy of a seven-hooded snake. 

Vittala temple is about 2 kms away to the east of Hampi bazaar. Relatively well preserved, the ruins of the temple are now a World Heritage. The temples beautiful sculptures exhibits the richness of Vijayanagar Art. The outer pillars are known as the 'Musical Pillars' as they echoes when tapped, although this practice is now discouraged to avoid further damage. The temple also displays an beautifully carved stone chariot in the temple courtyard containing an image of Garuda.