Hampi Bazaar

Hampi Bazaar, also called Virupaksha Bazaar, is the old market street that runs east from Virupaksha Temple for more than a kilometre to the foot of Matanga Hill. Both sides are lined with stone pavilions with two-tiered roofs, the remains of shops on what was once one of the capital's busiest trading streets.

Visitors come in through a large gate near the bus stand; cars are kept out, although two-wheelers may use the street. A huge Nandi sits at the eastern end. One of the two-storey pavilions holds a gallery of photographs of Hampi taken by Alexander Greenlaw in 1856. Stalls today sell wood carvings, painted ceramics, terracotta and pottery, temple jewellery, old coins and spices.