When it comes to the important world heritage sites in India, the ruins of Hampi hold the top position in the prestigious list. Hampi is basically a village located in the Northern part of Karnataka, which forms an integral part of the ruins of Vijaynagara (the once capital of the Vijaynagara Empire).

Hampi is considered to be the largest open monument and lost city of Asia. At the same time, it is easy to understand the past grandeur of this city and realise what it used to look like some 6-7 centuries back. The first historical record of settlement in Hampi dates back to 1 C.E. Dating from 1336-1565 Hampi was considered to be one of the core areas of the capital of the Vijaynagara Empire with palaces, temples, fort walls, civil buildings, tanks, irrigation channels, etc. spread over an area of 25 sq km.

This place reflects the power and prosperity of the Vijaynagara Empire, not forgetting the fact that only an empire so big and powerful could have created it. Religion, which played an important role in the construction of this place, also had a crucial role to play in its destruction, thereby justifying the fact that one man’s fundamentalist is another man’s infidel.