Day 5 - Marching into Hampi
23rd September 2009
Hampi is about 200 kilometres from Badami and covered in about 4-4.5 hours (1600 rupees for a drop) and is about 12 kms from the nearest town of Hospet Pampa , the old name for the Tungabhadra river which flows through the town is the world’s second biggest heritage site after Rome
Representing the height of the Vijaynagara empires in the 16th century, the temples and the sculptures here have a lot in common with the ones found in Aihole and Pattadakalu. November to March is the peak season with the Hampi festival taking place in January. Inside Hampi town or the bazaar as it is popularly known is a tiny lane with some shops selling curios, cold drinks and trinkets and has some rooftop cafes and guest houses. No vehicles are allowed inside the bazaar, except for dropping and picking up tourists and Hampi is quite well connected with Hospet by bus services which leave every half hour or by local rickshaw (150-500 rupees depending upon your wits). Much of the visiting population in Hampi are foreigners as it is also the bouldering capital of the country with huge boulders strewn around the place and a cursory glance on the menu cards of the main cafes can give you an eerie feeling of reading the same stuff across establishments.
Please book well in advance if you are traveling in the main season or you will have to shack up with some kind soul inside the bazaar for 100-300 rupees a night depending upon the demand (just bedding) or hoof it up from Hospet which has some decent establishments as well as the high end. The Shanthi Guest house (Paul: 9448678729) has some very clean rooms with 200 rupees for the ones without a loo and 350 for the ones with clean bathrooms. Mosquitoes are very liberal from Om Beach to Hampi and please carry generous doses of Odomos along with medicine supplies as Hampi does not have chemist shops.
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