Bellary Hampi Vijayanagara Iron Ore Empire Karnataka

Bellary (Ballari) district on the Karnataka-Andhra border contains Hampi — capital of the Vijayanagara Empire (1336-1565) and a UNESCO World Heritage Site — where the ruined city of 600+ monuments including Vittala Temple (stone chariot, musical pillars), Hazara Rama Temple, and Elephant Stables sprawl across a dramatic landscape of rounded granite boulders on the Tungabhadra river bank. The Bellary iron ore belt — one of India's largest iron ore deposits — was at the centre of a massive illegal mining scandal (2010-2011) that stripped Hospet-Bellary hills of ore worth ₹16,000 crore and led to the Supreme Court-ordered mining ban before regulated resumption. Bellary's Sandur Manganese & Iron Ores (SMIORE) is Karnataka's oldest continuously operated mining company, whose Sandur forests also shelter tribal communities.