Hampi

Hampi is a village in northern Karnataka state, India. It is located within the ruins of Vijayanagara, the former capital of the Vijayanagara Empire. Predating the city of Vijayanagara, it continues to be an important religious centre, housing the Virupaksha Temple, as well as several other monuments belonging to the old city. The ruins are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed as the Group of Monuments at Hampi.



Today, unfortunately, Hampi is in ruins most of the monuments and buildings are broken. Even then, it is still a strikingly beautiful place. Dotted around the hills and valleys are over 500 monuments. Among them are the remnants of beautiful temples, magnificent palaces, remains of aquatic structures, ancient market streets, royal pavilions, royal platforms, treasury buildings...

The following postage stamp shows a chariot carved from rock found in Hampi( it is located inside the Vittala Temple campus).

In mythology Lord Vittala is an aspect of Lord Vishnu. Garuda (lord of eagles) is the vehicle (mount) of Lord Vishnu. The Stone Chariot once contained the icon on Garuda, though the shrine is empty now. This shrine is in the axis of the massive Vittala Temple and faces the sanctum of Vittala Temple. 
It may appear to you as a monolithic structure. In reality this stone shrine was built with many giant granite blocks. The joints are smartly hidden in the carvings and other decorative features that adorn the Stone Chariot.
The chariot is built on a rectangular platform of a feet or so high. All around this base platform is carved with mythical battle scenes. Though the chariot is not resting on it, the four giant wheels attached mimic the real life ones complete with the axis shafts and even the brakes. A series of concentric floral motifs decorate the wheels. It appears from the marks on the platform, where the wheels rest, the wheels were free to move around the axis.
In front of the chariot two elephants are positioned as if they are pulling the chariot. In fact these stone elephants were brought from elsewhere and positioned here at a later stage. Originally two horses were carved in that position. The tails and the rear legs of the horses can be still seen just behind these elephant sculptures. A broken stone ladder once gave access to the sanctum is kept between the elephants. You can still spot the marks on the floor and the doorsill where once the ladder stood.

On first photo there is an image of  Stone Chariot from my receiving card (many thanks to Amit Rana for this wonderful card).

Text Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hampi
http://www.infobulb.org/2013/01/Hampi-tenali-s-wonderful-town.html
http://hampi.in/stone-chariot

You can read more about Hampi
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/241
http://hampi.in/vijayanagar-architecture
http://wikitravel.org/en/Hampi
http://malayalalokam.com/mlcmsj/travel/hampi/458-the-stone-chariot-.html