Hippie colours
Th e real charm of Hampi for a traveller lies in exploring the ‘hippie’ side of town. The ‘hippie’ side, as it is known locally, is cut off from the temple side — the main hub of tourism — by a lake, which can’t be crossed after 5.30 pm. Stay at a guesthouse there and rent a motorbike or cycle for the day. This place provides the perfect milieu to meet people from all walks of life.
On either side of the dirt road, you will see paddy fields interspersed with coconut trees. (Watch out! Too many desserts in cafés here have coconut in them.) Everywhere you go, there is a wonderful juxtaposition of green fields against the blue sky and reddish-brown hills. It’s almost as if you are walking around with a colour-popping filter in your eyes. You will often want to make stops to climb up one of the hills for a spectacular view of the town (rock-climbing classes are available here) or to cross the paddy fields buzzing with dragonflies.
Top of the world
It doesn’t matter how religious you are; if you are here, you must go to the Hanuman temple to watch the sunset. It is nestled atop the Anjaneya hill, proclaimed to be the birth-spot of Hanuman. The daunting task of climbing over 600 steps to reach the temple, is worth the view you will have at the end of it, but make sure you are armed with a bottle of water, as there are no kiosks atop. Remove your shoes only when you reach the temple and not at the base of the hill, for they may be stolen — as we found out unfortunately. A troop of monkeys that always hangs around the temple is mostly friendly — a few of them might even come and sit with the people, scaring some and amusing others. After crossing a few boulders on the west of the temple, you will reach the edge of the hill. The breezy hilltop overlooks the paddy fields and the Tungabhadra river. Plop yourself down here to forget about your cares for a while until the sun goes down.
Take the plunge
Opposite the Anjaneya hill lies the Sanapur lake, a reservoir built on the Tungabhadra river. The catchment is surrounded by rocky hills on either side that occasionally snake into a peninsula. At one end of the dam, boatmen with coracles offer to take you on rides across the lake. You can either go for one trip across the lake, or better yet, ask your boatman to drop you at the peninsula and come back to pick you up in an hour.
You can beat the heat by going for a swim in the blue waters, but it is unadvisable to go to the deep end unless you’re a good swimmer. The adventurous ones can even try cliff-diving with the help of local fishermen. Fair warning: signboards there claim there are crocodiles in the water, but locals say they have never seen one. The island is generally sparse, with no more than 10 people together at once. Fun tip: Ask your boatman to spin the coracle around for your very own teacup ride on water.
