Natural Heritage
The Tungabhadra River traverses the Hampi landscape and is the lifeline of its rich, natural heritage. Flowing in a northeasterly direction, the river has cut its way through weaker, more fractured rocky terrain, creating narrow gorges. For some distance, the granite boulders, one of the oldest formations on this earth, hem the river. It is visually surreal due to the outcrops of these boulders creating small hills across the landscape of various shapes and sizes. This surreal landscape goes on for about 15 to 20 kilometres towards the south, west and north. The river and the hills both together are home to numerous species of birds, mammals, reptiles, insects, and marine life.
In between the rocks the shrubland, are a large variety of medicinal plants. Whereas the lands by the riverbank naturally grows trees such as Sandal, Arjun, Pongamia, Neem, Indian berry trees and a large variety of medicinal trees, profusely. Hampi is not only famous for the monuments but also the scenic beauty and natural heritage.