Courtesan's Street

Brimming with life, Courtesan's Street is a temple street in Hampi. It is located in front of the beautiful Achyuta Raya's Temple. It is lined with a spate of exquisitely carved pillars. Grabbing the attention of the tourists, these pillars were once the beauty of the pavilions that lined both the sides of the street. During the heydays of the Chola Empire, this street was famous for its gems, pearls,ivory and many such precious and semi-precious stones. This place had been mentioned in the literature of that era.

During that period this street was a big hit with merchants who used to come here from far and wide for striking lucrative deals. Its dimensions are: half a kilometre length and fifty kilometre width. Once a bustling street, the Courtesan's street is now a forgotten place.

The north west end of the street leads to a huge rectangular tank linked with Achyuta Raya's temple. The tank is surrounded by the ruins of the pillared pavilion. If you watch carefully at the base of these pillars you will hit on a row of carved elephants. The centre of the tank is occupied by a smallish rectangular platform. It once served as a podium to keep the images of the gods and goddesses during the annual boat festival of the temple. Near the main entrance of the temple lies the ruins of two ramp-like structures on both the sides of the street. Once the temple chariot used to be placed here.