Highlights
- The rare barrel-vaulted (wagon-roof) sanctum.
- The Krishnadevaraya-era royal foundation.
- A quiet, off-circuit stop near Hosapete.
The Ananthasayana Temple at Ananthasayanagudi, about 5 km from Hosapete on the Hampi road, was built by Krishnadevaraya around 1524 for a huge reclining (Ananthasayana) image of Vishnu on the serpent Ananta.
Check entry arrangements. Ask temple staff about visitor entry, dress requirements and access to the inner shrine before you travel, especially if you are visiting as a non-Hindu.
Dress respectfully and follow the institution’s admission and photography rules.
Its most unusual feature is a long barrel-vaulted (wagon-roof) sanctum built to house the reclining figure — a form very rare in South Indian temple architecture. The image itself is long gone, but the great vaulted shell survives.
Road km to Vijayanagara; ghat roads and traffic vary — allow extra.
October to February.
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Sun and moon are calculated for this location and shown in IST. Photography windows are the hour around sunrise and sunset; the sunset bearing is degrees clockwise from true north. Moon phase is accurate to about half a day.
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List your place3 more places around Hosapete. Open a guide to plan the visit and onward journey.
5.2 km · ~13 min by auto
A large masonry-and-earth dam across the Tungabhadra near Hosapete, about 15 km from Hampi, with a landscaped garden, a musical fountain and reservoir views; the spillway is spectacular when the crest gates open after the monsoon.
4.9 km · ~12 min by auto
A hilltop Shiva (Jambunatheshwara) temple on a granite outcrop near Hosapete, reached by a stepped climb, giving quiet views over the town and the Tungabhadra plains.
6.2 km · ~15 min by auto
The medieval royal suburb of Malapanagudi on the old Hampi–Hosapete road, with a large stepped tank, an octagonal domed bath and remains of the stone aqueduct that once carried water to the imperial capital.
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At Ananthasayanagudi, ~5 km from Hosapete on the Hampi road
If you are travelling by bus or ferry, check the return service with the operator before setting out. Leave time to reach the stop or jetty after your visit.
Ask at the bus stand for the time of the last service back, not the next one. If you miss it, an auto or app cab is the fallback — agree the fare before you get in.
If you need step-free access, contact the site before travelling. Ask about a level entrance, steps along the route, the nearest drop-off point, seating and accessible toilets.
Emergency numbers are verified against official government and state tourism sources. 112 works anywhere in India.
A hilltop Shiva (Jambunatheshwara) temple on a granite outcrop near Hosapete, reached by a stepped climb, giving quiet views over the town and the Tungabhadra plains.
4.9 km · ~12 min by auto · straight lineA large masonry-and-earth dam across the Tungabhadra near Hosapete, about 15 km from Hampi, with a landscaped garden, a musical fountain and reservoir views; the spillway is spectacular when the crest gates open after the monsoon.
5.2 km · ~13 min by auto · straight lineThe medieval royal suburb of Malapanagudi on the old Hampi–Hosapete road, with a large stepped tank, an octagonal domed bath and remains of the stone aqueduct that once carried water to the imperial capital.
6.2 km · ~15 min by auto · straight lineThe "Underground" Shiva temple — one of Hampi’s oldest shrines, built below the surrounding ground level so its pillared halls and sanctum, reached down a flight of steps, flood and stay cool; it sits on the road toward the royal centre.
10.2 km · ~17 min by cab · straight lineThe largest monolith in Hampi — a 6.7 m image of Narasimha, the man-lion avatar of Vishnu, carved in 1528 and seated under a seven-hooded serpent; the adjacent Badavilinga is a large monolithic Shiva linga.
10.4 km · ~17 min by cab · straight lineA ruined Balakrishna (Vishnu) temple built by Krishnadevaraya in 1513 to mark his conquest of Udayagiri, just south of Hemakuta Hill — a walled complex with a large gopuram, pillared halls and a colonnaded bazaar street; the deity it once held is now in a Chennai museum.
10.6 km · ~18 min by cab · straight lineThe great three-tiered granite ceremonial platform at the heart of the Royal Enclosure, from which the Vijayanagara kings watched the Mahanavami (Dasara) festivities; its sides carry carved friezes of elephants, horses, hunts and dancers, with the stepped Pushkarani tank close by.
10.6 km · ~18 min by cab · straight lineThe compact royal chapel of the Vijayanagara kings, its outer walls and inner pillars covered in bands of relief carving telling the Ramayana — "a thousand Ramas".
10.6 km · ~18 min by cab · straight lineA 2.4 m monolithic Ganesha carved from a single boulder within an open pillared pavilion on the Hemakuta slope, named for its "mustard-seed" belly; the larger Kadalekalu Ganesha stands nearby.
10.7 km · ~18 min by cab · straight lineA low granite hill just south of the Virupaksha temple studded with pre-Vijayanagara temples, gateways and monolithic shrines — Hampi’s favourite sunset spot with views over the ruins.
10.7 km · ~18 min by cab · straight lineA plain square exterior hiding an ornate arcaded bathing pavilion with a large sunken tank, projecting balconies and lotus-shaped fountains, once fed by aqueducts for the royal household.
10.8 km · ~18 min by cab · straight lineThe living heart of Hampi — a Shiva temple in continuous worship since the 7th century, with a towering ~50 m gopuram on the bank of the Tungabhadra at the head of Hampi Bazaar.
10.8 km · ~18 min by cab · straight lineOctober to February.
Entry: Free. Timings: Daylight hours.
At Ananthasayanagudi, ~5 km from Hosapete on the Hampi road; auto or moped. Free; a ruin rather than a working temple.
20 to 30 minutes.
Nearby you can pair Jambunatha Temple (4.9 km), Tungabhadra Dam (5.2 km), Malapanagudi Aqueduct (6.2 km), Prasanna Virupaksha Temple (10.2 km).
We have not published a story about Ananthasayana Temple itself yet. These cover Hosapete and the wider district, with separate journeys between stops.
Route-level itineraries and practical guides for the rest of Karnataka.
Photographs: Dineshkannambadi, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0). Wikimedia Commons.