About the Tungabhadra
The Tungabhadra is formed by the confluence of the Tunga and Bhadra rivers at Kudali in Shimoga district, Karnataka. The river flows through one of India's most culturally extraordinary landscapes — the ruined capital of the Vijayanagara Empire at Hampi, where the river curves around massive granite boulders in a setting of hallucinatory beauty. The Vijayanagara kings (14th–16th century) built the largest Hindu empire in Indian history on the banks of this river, and the ruins at Hampi are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary, part of the Tiger Reserve on the Bhadra River (which becomes the Tungabhadra after the Kudali confluence), is one of Karnataka's finest tiger reserves, sheltering leopards, dholes, and gaur in magnificent moist deciduous and semi-evergreen forest. The Hebbe Falls in the Chikmagalur hills are on a Tungabhadra tributary. The river's ecology is under pressure from the Tungabhadra Dam near Hospet, which has significantly altered the river's natural flow regime.
Varada · Vedavathi · Hagari