Holy Hampi

This trip came about since my close childhood friend, also a history buff, wanted to get a taste of ancient India on her express trip from America. We knew little to nothing about Hampi; the prospect of discovery excited us. I began my research through the usual websurfing and found http://hampi.in/, a pretty useful resource to get aquainted with the basics. Special shout out to Ambika Vishwanathan and Karen Rodriguez for their insights as well!

I will keep the length of this post short. The more obvious things about Hampi can be found online quite easily. I will focus my piece on the ‘not so obvious’ things to do/see and general tips for someone traveling from Bombay to Hampi.

How should one get to Hampi? Three prime options in order of preference:

1)   Fly to Bangalore and take the Hampi Express to Hospet.

Bangalore is a large hub airport and has several flights connecting easily to the city. More importantly, the train leaves Bangalore daily at 10 pm and arrives into Hospet around 7 am, allowing you to optimize your travel time (if you have limited days to travel). On the return leg as well, the train departs Hospoet at around 9:30 pm to reach Bangalore at 5:15 am.

An extra tip to bear in mind if using this option – The train station closest to the Bangalore airport is Yelahanka, so if you are connecting directly from/to the airport book your tickets to/from Yelahanka and skip the traffic to the city!

2)   Fly to Banglaore and drive around 6-7 hours to Hospet.

While this is tempting since it allows the convenience of traveling when you wish to and saves you the trouble/cost of hiring transport once you get to Hospet, it’s not ideal given the duration of the drive.

3)   Fly to Goa and take the train to Hospet.

While any excuse to visit Goa is a good one, there are 2 drawbacks to this option. First, the train is not daily, so some flexilibty is removed. Worse still, the train leaves Goa at around 7 am, reaching Hospet around 2:30 pm, getting you to your hotel around mid-day, leaving no room for sight-seeing and hence using up an entire day in travel time. On the return leg too, the train departs Hospet around the same time.

Where to stay: Three options here as well.

1)   Hampi Boulders – probably one of the best hotel expereinces I have ever had in India. Stunning property with 16 rooms only, each with a theme and private sit outs. The hotel has a rock pool with fresh water and lots of walks around its perimeters. The hotel is across the river from the Hampi ruins and offers a free pickup/drop from the river crossing (about 10-15 minutes drive through fields). The hotel is pricey for Hampi standards and is always booked out. So call them well in advance! If staying at the hotel, take the trian to Munirabad station instead of Hospet to save travel time. Also, MUST do the hotel’s island and waterfall walks.

2)   Across the river Budget/small hotel – if you weren’t intending to go luxurious on your Hampi trip, don’t be disappointed. Hampi is a bag-packers heaven with several small hotel/guest house options available.

3)   Hospet – Given the proximity to factories and other industrial areas, several three to four star chain hotels such as Orchid, Hyatt etc. have started small hotels there. This is obviously my least preferred option since there are larger more sterile options and Hampi, my friend, has character.

What to see and how long?

I would suggest 3 full days is sufficient to “cover” most of the important sites in Hampi comfortably. The ruins are extensive and one can spend hours admiring just 1 pillar in a temple, but for an every-day tourist I suggest a 3 day itinerary with a guide for at least the first 2 days.

Call Mr. Hanumanth – 09449 654495 – he was our guide for 1 day and we rergreeted not having him on other days. Official rates are INR1500 for a full day guide, but during season they expect  INR2000.

Other than the main sites that every tourist map will suggest you see, few suggestions:

1)   Take the coracle to vitthala temple – this was probably the BEST decision we took. The 15 minute ride in the coracle (basket boat) allowed us to stop enroute, disembark and visit small temples on the shores of the river. Exotic. At Rs300/person, it’s expensive by Hampi standards, but well worth it.

2)   Visit the Pattabirama temple – this is vaguel marked on the tourist map, but no guide will take you there. It is an exquisite temple, completely unfrequented by tourists.

3)   Hampi by air – for the adventurous, this is a new activity that allows one to paraglide over the ruins.

4)   Boulder climbing or Bouldering – Akin to moutain climbing, but this time it’s a boulder. You can hire a guide and the equipment for this 2-4 hour long activity. Suggested only for seriously fit and slightly expereinced mountain climbers.

Where to eat?

We enjoyed all our breakfasts and dinners at our hotel itself. Mango Tree café was over rated but it is the only decent place close to the ruins for a quick lunch stop. Order the South Indian thaali.
On the other side of the river, the German bakery (nestled within Gouthami restaurant) serves Western and Indian fare. We had a delicious fresh avocado salad and their cold coffee (with an espresso shot) was simply awesome. Food is affordable at about INR300 for a drink and meal.

Overall, it’s a magical place that makes you wonder why you didn’t visit it earlier J