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Monument

Bhima's Gate

A massive fortified gateway with a right-angled 'bent entrance', named after the Pandava hero Bhima.

Bhima's Gate: Bhima's Gate at Hampi, Rupesh Sarkar, 2
Bhima's Gate: Bhima's Gateway, HampiBhima's Gate: BHIMA'S GATE-Dr.Murali Mohan Gurram (1)Bhima's Gate: BHIMA'S GATE-Dr.Murali Mohan Gurram (3)

Open

6:00 am – 6:00 pm

Entry

Free entry

Best time to go

Morning

Time to spend here

About 35 minutes

Crowds

Usually quiet

On the south-eastern edge of the urban core, off the main circuit and rarely busy. Combine it with the nearby Ganigitti Jain Temple.

Before you go

Car to the gate

No long walk in

No toilets mapped nearby

Go before you set off

No drinking water mapped nearby

Bring enough with you

Listen to the story

About this place

Bhima's Gate is one of the best-preserved fortified gateways of the old city, built to control the eastern approach into the urban core. It is a classic 'bent entrance': the passage turns through sharp right angles so that attackers and war-elephants could never charge straight through, and defenders above could trap them between the walls. Carved panels near the doorway show scenes from the Mahabharata, including the mighty Bhima, which gave the gate its name — one panel depicts the episode of Bhima and the flower Draupadi desired. Massive stone slabs, guardrooms and surviving stretches of rampart make it a vivid lesson in Vijayanagara military engineering.

How to get there

  • By road to the entrance

  1. Go by car, bike or auto to Bhima's Gate

    Google Maps takes you by road to the nearest point to the place.

    Directions in Google Maps
Walk there from where you areBigger map

Walking paths and times are from Google Maps. The way in can change on festival days: follow the signs and ASI staff.

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