Virupaksha
Temple:
One
of
the
earliest
buildings
to
the
western
end
of
the
city,
Virupaksha
Temple
is
dedicated
to
Virupaksha,
a
form
of
Lord
Vishnu.
The
temple
houses
shrines
of
Lord
Shiva
and
Goddesses
Pampa
and
Bhuvaneswari.
Parts
of
the
temple
is
said
to
belong
to
11th
or
12th
century.
It
is
amazing
to
see
that
how
when
a
ray
of
light
passes
from
the
east
through
a
hole
near
the
sanctum
sanctorum,
the
shadow
formed
on
the
wall
looks
like
a
miniature
shadow
of
the
temple
tower.
Ugra
Narasimha:
To
the
south
of
Virupaksha
Temple,
atop
Hemkuta
Hills,
is
the
early
ruins
of
Jain
temples
and
the
6.7m
tall
monolith
of
'Ugra
Narasimha',
a
form
of
Lord
Vishnu
with
head
of
a
lion
and
body
of
a
man.
He
is
shown
seated
under
the
canopy
of
a
seven-hooded
snake.
It
was
erected
in
1528
during
the
reign
of
Krishnadevaraya
and
was
carved
out
from
a
single
boulder.
Vithala
Temple:
The
Vithala
temple
is
a
World
Heritage
monument
with
fantastic
sculptural
work
from
the
time
of
Vijayanagar
Empire.
It
features
56
'Musical
Pillars',
which
reverberate
when
tapped
and
an
ornate
stone
chariot
in
the
temple
courtyard
with
an
image
of
Garuda,
the
Bird-God
and
the
9m
tall
statue
of
Lord
Ganesha
along
with
recently
excavated
'Nobleman's
Palace'.
Shivalinga:
Next
to
the
statue
of
Narasimha
is
the
3
m
high
Shivalinga
that
stands
permanently
in
water
coming
through
an
ancient
channel.
Lotus
Mahal:
A
delightful
blend
of
Hindu
and
Muslim
style
of
architecture,
this
palace
features
two-storeyed
elegant
pavilion
situated
in
the
'ladies'
section'
of
the
palace.
Queen's
Bath:
A
15m
square
structure,
Queen's
Bath
is
1.8m
deep,
has
stark
exteriors
and
highly
ornate
interiors
and
by
delicate
and
elegantly
ornamented
arched
corridors
and
projecting
balconies.
Singaradu
Hebbagilu:
Just
behind
the
legendary
elephant
stables,
is
one
of
the
oldest
gateways
of
the
erstwhile
capital
known
as
'Singara
Hebbagilu'
(the
beautiful
door),
which
was
once
the
main
entrance
to
the
city.
Hazara
Rama
Temple:
The
15th
century
temple
has
finely
carved
basalt
pillars
in
its
hall
depicting
incarnations
of
Lord
Vishnu
while
the
sculptures
on
the
exteriors
of
the
hall
depict
main
events
from
Ramayana.
Achuta
Raya
Temple:
Also
known
as
the
Tirvengalanatha
temple,
it
was
built
during
reign
of
Achuta
Deva
Raya.
Though
the
temple
is
in
ruins
now,
the
erotic
sculptures
of
the
columns
inside
the
open
halls
near
the
main
gateway
are
worth
seeing.
