Matanga Hill, Hampi

Matanga Hill, the sheer 400-metre granite outcrop that rises in the centre of the Hampi archaeological zone, is identified in the Vijayanagara tradition with the Matanga Parvata of the Ramayana's Kishkindha Kanda — the hill where the vanara monkey king Bali hid from his enemies and where Sugriva and Rama first met the sage Matanga. The summit carries the small Veerabhadra Temple; the climb up the eastern path takes a tourist past the Achyutaraya Temple, the Nandi monolith and the Kodandarama Temple. The view from the top covers the entire Vijayanagara urban grid.