Hampi explores one of the most beautiful and evocative of all historical sites in south India. Austere and grandiose, Hampi was the seat of the Vijayanagara Empire, when art and architecture flourished. Contemporary chroniclers from Arabia, Italy, Portugal and Russia visited the empire leaving behind glowing accounts. Conquered by Muslim invaders in AD 1565, Hampi was pillaged for six months and abandoned. Declared a World Heritage Site in 1986, its dramatic landscape contains examples of secular architecture, market places, royal palaces and the stone chariot. The temples are renowned for their florid ornamentation, intricate carvings, magnificent pavilions, stately pillars and a wealth of iconographic and traditional depictions.