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Hampi (town)

Coordinates: 15°20′06″N 76°27′43″E / 15.335°N 76.462°E / 15.335; 76.462
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Hampi
Vijayanagara
Town
Hampi is located in Karnataka
Hampi
Hampi
Coordinates: 15°20′06″N 76°27′43″E / 15.335°N 76.462°E / 15.335; 76.462
Country India
StateKarnataka
DistrictVijayanagara
Elevation
467 m (1,532 ft)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total2,777[1]
Languages
 • OfficialKannada
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN code
583239
Nearest cityHosapete (Hospet)

Hampi or Vijayanagara, known as kishkindha in the Ramayana age is a town in the Vijayanagara district in the Indian state of Karnataka.[2] Located along the Tungabhadra River in the east and center part of the state, Hampi is near the city of Hosapete. It is famous for hosting the Hampi Group of Monuments with the Virupaksha Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[3]

Hampi is mentioned in Ashokan epigraphy and texts such as the Ramayana and the Puranas of Hinduism as Pampaa Devi Tirtha Kshetra.[4][5][6] Hampi was a part of Vijayanagara, the capital of the Hindu Vijayanagara Empire in the 14th-century.[4][7] It became a center of economic and administrative activity of the Deccan region kingdom founded in opposition to Islamic Sultanates in South India. After over two centuries of rule, the Empire was defeated and abandoned. Since the 19th-century, its ruins have been an important site for archaeologists and historians.[7][8]

Geography

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Hampi is situated on the banks of the Tungabhadra River, midst rocky hills. It is 348 kilometres (216 mi) from Bangalore, 385 kilometres (239 mi) from Hyderabad and 266 kilometres (165 mi) from Belgaum. The closest railway station is in the city of Hosapete (Hospet), 13 km away, and the closest airport is 32 kilometres (20 mi) Jindal Vijaynagar Airport in Toranagallu, which has connections to Bengaluru.[citation needed] Overnight buses and trains also connect Hampi with Goa and Bengaluru.[9]

Economic activity

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The principal economic activities in and around the town include agriculture, tourism and industrial activity related to iron ore, manganese and other minerals mining. The average rainfall around Hampi town is about 660 mm but continues to vary due to climate change impact. The major crops grown are paddy, maize, jowar, bajra, groundnut, sunflower, sugarcane and cotton. Some of the Hampi farmlands are irrigated and there is a large dam nearby.[2]

Tourism

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Hampi hosts, in part, a group of monuments that UNESCO has declared a world heritage site.[3] Every year, over 700,000 tourists visit Hampi.[10][11]

In and after the 1960s, the town became an attraction for motorbikers and a site for offbeat tourism when its infrastructure was in poor condition. Groups of tourists would gather on its hills and amidst its ruins to hold parties and spiritual retreats. These have been called "Hampi Hippies" and Hampi has been referred to as the "lost city" in some publications.[12][13]

The annual Hampi Utsava or "Vijaya Festival" has been celebrated since the reign of Vijayanagara. It is organized by the Government of Karnataka as Nada Habba (Festival).[14]

Climate

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Climate data for Gokarna
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 30.9
(87.6)
33.5
(92.3)
36.5
(97.7)
37.9
(100.2)
37.5
(99.5)
33.2
(91.8)
30.8
(87.4)
31.0
(87.8)
31.2
(88.2)
31.4
(88.5)
30.5
(86.9)
29.9
(85.8)
32.9
(91.1)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 18.1
(64.6)
19.9
(67.8)
22.5
(72.5)
23.6
(74.5)
24.9
(76.8)
23.9
(75.0)
23.3
(73.9)
22.9
(73.2)
22.5
(72.5)
21.9
(71.4)
19.9
(67.8)
17.8
(64.0)
21.8
(71.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 0
(0)
0
(0)
2
(0.1)
24
(0.9)
58
(2.3)
61
(2.4)
87
(3.4)
90
(3.5)
129
(5.1)
123
(4.8)
25
(1.0)
16
(0.6)
615
(24.1)
Source: Climate data: Hampi

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Hampi Village Population - Hospet - Bellary, Karnataka". Census2011.co.in. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  2. ^ a b Ballari:Hospet:Hampi Archived 10 January 2019 at the Wayback Machine, Official Website of Ballari District, Government of Karnataka
  3. ^ a b "Group of Monuments at Hampi". World Heritage. Retrieved 20 December 2006.
  4. ^ a b Anila Verghese (2002). Hampi. Oxford University Press. pp. 1–18. ISBN 978-0-19-565433-2.
  5. ^ John M. Fritz; George Michell; Clare Arni (2001). New Light on Hampi: Recent Research at Vijayanagara. Marg Publications. pp. 1–7. ISBN 978-81-85026-53-4.
  6. ^ D. Devakunjari (2007). World Heritage Series: Hampi. Eicher Goodearth Ltd, New Delhi - for Archaeological Survey of India. p. 8. ISBN 978-81-87780-42-7.
  7. ^ a b John M. Fritz; George Michell (2015). Hampi Vijayanagara. Jaico Publishing. pp. 11–23, backpage. ISBN 978-81-8495-602-3.
  8. ^ Joan-Pau Rubiés (2002). Travel and Ethnology in the Renaissance: South India Through European Eyes, 1250-1625. Cambridge University Press. pp. 234–236. ISBN 978-0-521-52613-5.
  9. ^ Fritz & Michell 2016, pp. 154–155.
  10. ^ "Rural Tourism".
  11. ^ "This is the Best 2 Day Hampi Itinerary (2024)". 5 August 2024.
  12. ^ Bill Aitken (1999). Divining the Deccan: A Motorbike to the Heart of India. Oxford University Press. pp. 219–221. ISBN 978-0-19-564711-2.
  13. ^ David Hatcher Childress (1985). Lost Cities of China, Central Asia, and India: A Traveler's Guide. Adventures. pp. 186–187. ISBN 978-0-932813-00-8.
  14. ^ "Hampi Utsav | Hampi Festival | Vurupaksha Temple". Karnataka.com. 9 January 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  • Fritz, John M; Michell, George (2016). Hampi Vijayanagara. Jaico. ISBN 978-81-8495-602-3.
  • S.Srinivasachar, T.S.Satyan, Hampi : The fabled capital of the Vijayanagara Empire, (Directorate of Archaeology and Museums), Govt. of Karnataka, 1995
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