Hampi: Come for the Temples, Stay for the Sunsets
“Where to next?”, I thought while spending three weeks in Mysore. My first thought was Hampi — a place that had been recommended to me by many fellow travelers. I heard of the ancient ruins of Hindu temples along with giant boulders that made for a stunning landscape. I hesitated because it was May and it would be very hot in Hampi — between 100–110°F. Given that this place is all stone, it didn’t seem appealing to go there if I would be miserable in the heat. Perhaps I could visit later…
But I’m so close (only a 12-hour train ride away)! So I decided what I could do is explore the ancient ruins in the early morning (7–10am) and then in the evenings (4–8pm). If the heat ended up being unbearable, I could cut my stay short. Done!
The first decision was figuring out which side to stay on. There’s the traditional Hampi side, Hampi Bazaar, and then Virapapur Gaddi, across the river. The latter is known for being more relaxed and popular with backpackers. I decided I would just do both, stay on one side for a few days, and then move to the other side.
I arrived at Hampi Bazaar on Tuesday morning at 7am, and I checked into Manju’s guest house. Shortly after checking in, I met two fellow travelers, Kai and MacKenzie, who also had just arrived. We would end up exploring the ruins together the next few days.
The first day was spent staying out of the sun and adjusting to the heat. We had breakfast at Mango Tree, the busiest restaurant in Hampi Bazaar at the moment, it being low season. Afterwards we left to explore Virapapur Gaddi. To do so required crossing the river using a ferry. It wasn’t a long distance, perhaps 100 feet. As we were about to board the ferry, the boat-operator asked us for 50 each. Given the tiny distance, I didn’t think he meant 50 Rs. each, but 50 paise (so half a rupee). Since there were three of us, I proudly handed him a 2 Rs. coin, and I told him to keep the change. He balked. He said “not paise! Rupees!” I was surprised, thinking he was trying to extort money out of us, and I said “50 Rs. each? Too much!” The boat-operator didn’t speak English, so he waived me towards someone seated in the shade to explain.
So I walked to the shade, and spoke to the receptionist of our guest house. He explained that the past 6 months the river had been dry, and so people weren’t using the ferry as they were able to walk across. Only in the past few days had the water level risen enough to use the ferry. The boat operator usually charged 10 Rs. to cross the river, but now he was trying to recoup lost income by charging 50 Rs. This is really expensive for Indian standards, but what to do, so we paid. The locals still paid 10 Rs.
The other side was quiet, it being low season. We strolled into Buddha Lounge for lunch. We lazed in the heat with a river view, waiting for the roasting sun to ease up.
Later before sunset, Kai and I made off to climb a hill on our side of the river. Even though the sun was receding, the hill was filled with giant boulders now releasing heat along the 20-minute ascent to the top. I was rewarded with my first spectacular sunset in Hampi.
Our 2nd day, we rented mopeds for 300 Rs./day. These underpowered machines were our only option on the Hampi Bazaar side, as they had black-and-yellow license plates, which were the only official vehicles allowed (Virapapur Gaddi had nicer scooters which were more powerful and cheaper, but we were told these weren’t sanctioned).
As we began exploring the ruins, it turned out that I was traveling with celebrities. Numerous locals asked for photos with Kai and MacKenzie. It was hilarious that they became more of an attraction than the temples themselves! And so this became part of the routine as we visited various temples over two days.
Hampi’s History
Hampi used to be a Hindu empire, reaching it’s peak around the 16th century, with a population of 500,000. This ended in 1565 when Deccan sultanates ran the empire to the ground. Here are the remains of various temples around the 36 sq. km. area.
Sunsets
The sunsets in Hampi are epic. Here are sunsets from each day.
Day 1: On top of Matanga Hill, Take 1
A little cloudy, so no sunset, but a nice view of the entire landscape.
Day 2: On top of Mattanga Hill, Take 2
Perfect.
Day 3: On top of Hanuman Hill
This place is where the Hindu god Hanuman was born. So naturally you will find his descendants here as well (monkeys). We climbed about 600 steps to the top. As we approached the temple entrance, MacKenzie became the attraction to a crowd of 20 people or so. She also attracted…monkeys.
Later we venture to a sunset point, and it was one of the most tranquil sunsets in my life. It seemed fitting to play the Hanuman Chalisa here.
Day 4: Sunset on boulders
On this day, we kept it simple and climbed some boulders by our guest house. Kai brought a guitar along, and we savored another sunset.
Day 5: Sunset at another temple
I found a temple while biking outside of Virapapur Gaddi, and I ended up on a small hike to another sweet sunset, with a view of a giant pool below.
Places to Stay
On the Hampi Bazaar side, we stayed at Manju’s Guest House. No A/C, basic rooms for about 350 Rs. (this is low season pricing).
BTW, don’t expect to have cell signal while in Hampi. You’ll have to rely on intermittent WiFi at the guest houses and restaurants.
On Virapapur Gaddi, we initially checked out Goan Corner, and though it has a nice atmosphere, I felt we got a better value at Hema’s Guest House. We paid 300 Rs. a night for a room here. This place was even busy in low season, and many locals from Bangalore or Hyderabad stayed here on the weekend (one was even a bachelor party).
Hustles to Watch Out For
I thought I’d share this for any fellow travelers going to Hampi after reading this.
- Hampi Maps: I bought a book & map of the ancient ruins from a kid who approached me during breakfast at Mango Tree, who I bargained with for a price of 250 Rs. ($3.87). A few days later I learned I could have gotten the book for 30 Rs. (50 cents).
- Ayurvedic Massage from Ravi: MacKenzie and I booked Ayurvedic massages with Ravi at 1985 Restaurant. We reserved two massages the next day for 500 R.s, and MacKenzie paid this deposit. We agreed to pay 750 Rs. for a 1-hour massage. I went first the next day at Noon, and I paid 800 Rs. for my massage (Ravi claimed not to have change, and I was too relaxed from the massage to argue about 50 Rs.). Later in the day MacKenzie went, and he lied and told her I only paid 500 Rs. So she also paid 800 Rs., which means he effectively charged her 1000 Rs. We later found this out, and I was a little hurt that we had been hustled by someone in the holistic profession (Ravi has training in yoga, Reiki, Ayurveda). TL;DR: Simply, we were suppose to pay 1500 Rs. combined, but we paid 1800 Rs.. He hustled us to get an extra 300 Rs.
