Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(mains ?70-180; 7.30am-10pm)
Food here takes ages to arrive, so thankfully this atmospheric
shady hut is a good place to chill out with cushioned seating on the floor. Does
momos
,
pizzas etc.
Shopping
BOOKS
Akash Art Gallery & Bookstore
( 6am-9pm)
Stocks an excellent selection of books on Hampi and India, plus secondhand
fiction. It has a free Hampi map.
Information
There's no ATM in Hampi; the closest is 3km away in Kamalapuram - a ?100 autorick-
shaw return trip.
Internet (per hour Rs40) is ubiquitous in Hampi Bazaar; some guesthouses have paid
wi-fi. A good tourist resource for Hampi is
www.hampi.in
.
Tourist Office
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
( 241339; 10am-5.30pm Sat-Thu)
Dingy office inside
Virupaskha Temple has brochures and can arrange guides for ?600/1000 for a half-/full
day.
DAROJI SLOTH BEAR SANCTUARY
About 30km south of Hampi, amid a scrubby undulating terrain, lies the
Daroji Sloth Bear Sanctuary
(admis-
sion Indian/foreigner ?50/300; 1.30pm-6pm), which over 83 sq km nurses a population of around 150 free-
ranging sloth bears. You have a very good chance of spotting them, as honey is slathered on the rocks to coincide
with visitors' arrival. However, you can only see them from afar at the viewing platform. Bring binoculars, or ba-
sically there's no point turning up. Generally 4pm to 6pm is the best time to visit.
The sanctuary is also home to leopards, wild boars, hyenas, jackals and others animals, but you're unlikely to
see anything other than peacocks. You'll need to arrange transport to get here, which should cost around ?500 for
an autorickshaw and ?1000 for a car.
Getting There & Away
A semideluxe bus connects Hampi Bazaar to Bengaluru (?434, eight hours) leaving at
8pm. Overnight private sleeper buses ply to/from Goa and Gokarna occasionally depart-
