The chariot
With its wheels.
Piyal chatterjee — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Rajeshodayanchal — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Arian Zwegers — CC BY 2.0 · Vyacheslav Argenberg — CC BY 4.0 · YashiWong — CC BY-SA 3.0
The Stone Chariot is a small granite shrine shaped like a chariot with carved wheels, standing in the wide courtyard of the Vittala Temple at Hampi. Stone halls with carved pillars surround it, with the boulder-strewn hills Hampi is known for in the distance. It is not a real chariot but a shrine built in its shape, credited to the reign of King Krishnadevaraya of the Vijayanagara Empire in the early 16th century, who enlarged the temple. It has appeared on India's 50-rupee note since 2017. In the Ranga Mantapa hall inside the temple are 56 pillars that give musical notes when tapped, though tapping is now forbidden to protect them. The temple is part of the Group of Monuments at Hampi UNESCO World Heritage Site. You walk round the chariot in the courtyard, step into the halls to see the carved pillars, then follow the old road among the ruins towards the river. It is about 2 km in a straight line east of Hampi village. Go early in the morning, before the heat and the crowds.
With its wheels.
In the hall.
Around Hampi.
Vittala Temple complex, Hampi, Karnataka
No, it is forbidden to protect them.
Early morning.