Karnataka, the eighth largest state in India has been ranked as the third most popular state in the country for tourism. It boasts of many places with historical significance. One of the most visited historical places in Karnataka is Hampi.
Located inside the Vijaya Nagar city, Hampi has been one of the most significant tourist places of attraction. It is also known as Pampa kshetra, kishkinda kshetra and even Bhaskara kshetra. It was once the capital of the historical Vijaya Nagar dynasty located on the bank if tungabhadra river about 11 Kms away from hospet city. It is believed by Hindus that Hampi was a kingdom of monkeys when the city was known as kishkinda.
The Hampi that remained largely ignored until the mid 19th century, when Alexander Greenlaw visited and photographed the site in 1856. They are the most valuable source of the mid 19th century state of Hampi monuments to scholars.
Some of the important monuments of historical significance in Hampi are virupsksha temple, Krishna temple, achyutharaya temple, Vijaya vitthala temple, hemakuta hill, hazara Rama temple, kodandarama temple, pattabhirama temple, dasara Dibba, elephant stables, zenana enclosure, stone chariot, lotus Mahal, sasivekslu Ganesh temple and many more.
The main celebration here is ‘HAMPI UTSAV OR HAMPI FESTIVAL ‘.Hampi Festival or Vijaya Utsav is one of the most marvellous festivals in Karnataka. It is a cultural extravaganza which is been celebrated since the times of the Vijayanagar reign. The festival is celebrated with full of joy and happiness and the entire ambiance is lively and colourful. The festival is all about dance, music, drama, puppet shows, vibrant processions and fireworks.
Although Hampi was an ancient super metropolis, but today it is in ruins and turned into a rural location. So, it's also called the city of ruins. The Vijayanagara ruins are listed as the group of monuments at Hampi as a UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE.
Though the government and the archeological society are taking care to preserve the monuments of Hampi, as a responsible citizens it's our duty to safeguard the rich heritage of our country.
I'm a proud Indian and I'm proud of my roots. So I request all the Indians to join hands together to preserve our heritage places so that our future generations too can be proud of our country.