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Rang

Ruins among golden boulders

Hampi

The ruined capital of Vijayanagara lies among heaps of ochre granite boulders and bright green paddy.

Granite boulders of Matanga Hill. The boulders were once part of gigantic granite monoliths (massive mountain of rock). Hampi, Karnataka, India.
Photo: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Why Hampi is granite ochre

Hampi, in Karnataka, was the capital of the Vijayanagara empire from the 14th century until it was sacked in 1565. Its temples, bazaars and palaces were built from the granite on which they stand. The landscape is a jumble of rounded boulders, grey at noon and ochre to orange when the sun is low. The builders split the rock with wedges, and rows of wedge marks can still be seen. Between the hills the Tungabhadra river feeds banana groves and rice fields of a sharp green, a strong contrast with the dry stone. The stone chariot of the Vittala temple is the best-known sight. Hampi has been a World Heritage Site since 1986.

Granite ochre#B98A5APaddy green#6FA243Boulder grey#8F8477Sunset orange#E08A3C

Values are fair approximations of what the eye sees there, not measurements.

Colours tied to Hampi

OchreA natural earth pigment ranging from yellow to deep orange or brown
About this page

Written by the Rang desk with AI assistance. Background: "Hampi" on Wikipedia. If you know Hampi and we have it wrong, tell us.

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Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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