Bellary, city in southern India, in Karnataka state. Bellary is the commercial and processing center for an agricultural area that produces sugar and cotton. It has rail links to Chennai (formerly Madras) and Mumbai (formerly Bombay). Colleges of medicine, law, and education affiliated with Karnatak University (founded in 1949) are in Bellary. A 16th-century fortress overlooks the town from a granite hill. Although Bellary is of medieval origin, the area has been settled and farmed since about 3000 BC. Population (1991) 245,391.

Hampi. 353 kms from Bangalore and 74 kms from Bellary is Hampi. A World Heritage Centre, Hampi is the most beautiful and evocative of all the ruins in Karnataka. The erstwhile capital of the Vijayanagar kingdom, Hampi is full of delightful surprises. Like the King's Balance where kings were weighed against grain, gold or money which was then distributed to the poor, the Queen's Bath with its arched corridors, projecting balconies and lotus-shaped fountains that once sprouted perfumed water, the two-storied Lotus Mahal with recessed archways, the huge Elephant Stables, the splendid Vithala Temple with its musical pillars and the Stone Chariot, the Virupaksha Temple, still used for worship, Ugra Narasimha, the 6.7 m tall monolith, the Pushkarini Tank, the Mahanavami Dibba and so much more.