Elephant Stables, Hampi

The Elephant Stables in Hampi form a long building of 11 domed chambers, put up in the 16th century under Krishnadevaraya to shelter the state's elephants along with some of its horses. Elephants were central to the Vijayanagara army and to court ceremony, and the scale of the stables reflects the wealth invested in them.

The domes are not identical, and the one over the central chamber is the most richly decorated. Each chamber has a small hatch-like opening through which the mahouts could climb in, and metal hooks still hang from the roofs. These held the animals' tethers or worked as pulleys for lifting howdahs onto their backs. The building is one of the most photographed in Hampi.