General Info as it was in December '12 to February '13:
The cheapest I've seen is 100 Rupees per night at Goan Corner. This little corner of Heaven (well, quite big actually) is owned and run by Sharmilla and her husband. If you're a climber, THIS is where you stay.
The 100 Rupees a night gets you a mattress with a mosquito net on the roof, shared bathroom facilities and full use of the restaurant etc, just like everyone else. Some cheapskates stay here all the time, while most people do this while they wait for a room to become available.
400 Rupees for a hut with double bed, shared toilet and shower facilities. Many people shared these huts to save some money. There are also huts with their own toilet and shower for a bit more money and I THINK maybe some rooms in the house or something, but not sure about this.
These were the prices over the New Year period, roughly mid or late December through to first half of Feb. Everyone in Hampi raises their prices over this period and they just pick their price. But all the guesthouses kind of match each other. So you can shop around, but you won't find much difference.
If you're planning on staying a few weeks or a couple of months, you can usually negotiate a cheaper rate at most guesthouses, so long as you commit to the whole period. However, you probably won't be able to do this if you rock up in the middle of this peak period. If you arrive mid-December, you could probably negotiate something.
During the first half of mid-Feb, Sharmilla dropped the hut price to 300 per night. Prices get progressively less the hotter it gets and the less people are in Hampi.
Top tip for dirty, cheapskate, smelly climbers: to get a hut at Goan Corner when it's busy, you can either stay on the roof (there are usually spaces on the roof (about 80% of the time during peak season), or do you what I did, which was to stay somewhere else on the 'strip' (the main street on that side of the river) and hang out at Goan Corner in the evenings after climbing, eat in the restaurant etc. Also, make an effort to chat to Sharmilla whenever you see her in the evenings, so she knows your face and gets to know you and knows you're ok (and not an axe-wielding psychopath, or even worse (in her eyes), an Israeli!). That way, when she knows a space in a hut is coming up and she knows you're looking to get into a hut, she'll let you know and you can bag your spot.
Sharmilla told me that she does take advance bookings by email, even during peak season. This is VERY useful to know (if you can locate her email address). I will definitely do this if I go to Hampi again.
Getting in and out of Hampi is straightforward. Nightbuses from Goa are frequent and during peak season, night buses often run between Hospet and Mumbai (both ways). Hospet is the sizeable town a few k's away. It's the main transport hub for the area. The nightbus I took from Goa arrived directly into Hampi though.
Bouldering mats can be hired in Hampi for about 1 pound a day. You can just take it and pay your tab when you return it. I took one for 40 days! You can also buy chalk there (if you want really high-quality chalk though, bring your own. I was bouldering up to F6c+ and found the chalk I bought there perfectly adequate). You can also buy finger-tape, Evolve climbing shoes and chalkbags. Maybe a few other bit and bobs.
During my stay in Hampi (28th Dec to end of Feb), I spent between 200 and 250 quid a month, staying in a hut to myself in Goan Corner for 400 Rupees a night. That's EVERYTHING. Luxuries included shelling out for wi-fi quite alot at Goan Corner (can't remember the cost, I think it was 100 Rupees for the whole day), the occasional bike hire (depends on the bike, between 150 and 500 Rupees a day), and plenty of food. I wasn't a big beer drinker. I'd have the occasional beer. You can't always get beer in Hampi easily, but you always can if you're willing to go on a mission (you'll see). Alot of the time, they'll serve it to you in guesthouses. It all depends if all the guesthouses have paid-off the police that week.
Motorbikes available for hire include really small shitty things (twist and go with a 50cc engine of some sort) which are fine for getting to a few sights on, but they're not fun to ride, all the way up to Royal Enfields, which are an awesome experience. Other bikes are the usual India affair - 'Hondas' (not genuine), Pulsars, etc. That sort of thing. Some of these bikes are pretty good to ride really. It's not like riding a proper Honda or Yamaha or whatever, but they're ok and fun enough. The engine sizes of these decent-enough bikes are around 300cc. Fine for the India roads.
Top tips:
1. If you're a motorcyclist, you MUST hire a bike and go exploring. A great way to do this is to get a route recommendation off a local for a big circular day route. If you're in Goan Corner, Sharmilla's son was great for this - his English is pretty good. He gave me a town-to-town list which brought me in a big circle back to Hampi. In each town or village I would ask the locals for directions to the next one on the list. This was a great way to get some interaction with the locals. That day was a really AWESOME day. Loved it.
2. The 'waterfall' is shit.
3. Swimming in 'the lake' is great. For the ladies, there are some fairly private spots if you look for them.
4. Keep asking the guesthouse owner if there's a religious festival or celebration coming up. The dates for these can change on a daily basis. Make sure you get down to the river in the morning with your camera when there's one on.
5. The bouldering's awesome. If you're a really nails boulderer i.e. F7b and above, you might complain of it being quite sharp. It is. But it's still great. It's not as good as Font, but it's very very good and the trip isn't ONLY about bouldering after all. The overall experience and vibe is top-notch.
6. If you're there for the bouldering, stay at Goan Corner or one of the guesthouses near it.
7. If you arrive on a tourist bus, you'll get swamped by tuk-tuk drivers wanting to take you down the road. You CAN walk yourself - it's literally only about 200 metres, if that. Just head towards the big temple you can see sticking up at the end of the road.
8. Hire a motorbike.
9. Goa's shit.
10. Well ok, it's not SHIT. It's just not the paradise people make it out to be. I was quite disappointed.
11. Hampi is great for meeting people if you're flying solo. I'm not sure there is anywhere else in India that has the 'hostel' vibe and layout, but I'm not well-travelled in India.
12. If you're a climber/boulderer, you can TOTALLY rock up in Hampi solo and you make friends and bouldering buddies overnight IF you stay at Goan Corner, or one of the surrounding guesthouses (Goan Corner's best for this though, I think), AND if it's peak season i.e. December to end of Feb. Dec to Feb is the bouldering window (due to temperatures). End of Feb seems to be the cut-off date when everyone leaves (strangely, it really is quite black and white - as soon as end of Feb comes around, all the climbers f off!). Goan Corner is incredibly sociable and lots of boulderers stay for a few weeks or even 2 or 3 months, so if you're staying a while, you end up with genuine friends to hang out with daily. If you're staying for a short time, no worries either - you can't help but make bouldering buddies. I would have NO hesitation in going solo to Hampi again.
Check out my friend Andy V's video on Hampi (Averageman Films). Conveys a very accurate picture of a climber's stay there and also the general vibe of Goan Corner (it's the video at the top of the page).
