Zenana Enclosure, Hampi

The Zenana Enclosure, a short walk from Hazara Rama Temple in Hampi, was the secluded quarter of the women of the Vijayanagara court, where they took up music and the arts away from public view. A high rectangular wall surrounds it, and towers at the corners were used to watch for intruders; three survive, on the east, south-east and north. Gates open on the north and north-east.

The largest building inside was the Queen's Palace, now largely ruined. Along the central path lie a rectangular tank, once in use, and the remains of a water pavilion that stood in a pool, together with ruins of smaller unnamed buildings. The Indo-Islamic look of the structures here, including the Lotus Mahal, contrasts with most Vijayanagara architecture in Hampi.