Ramlila is a folk re-enactment of the life of Rama, staged in thousands of towns and villages during the autumn Navaratri festival. Based largely on the Ramcharitmanas, the 16th-century Awadhi version by Tulsidas, it is performed in open-air theatres by amateur local troupes, with singing, improvised dialogue and audience reactions. The climax comes on Vijayadashami, when giant effigies of the demon Ravana are burned, typically with fireworks. Ramlila is organised by local committees and funded by the community, and UNESCO declared it Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2008.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.