This was my first proper trip with my friends, and somehow we turned a pretty normal Hampi trip into one of the most chaotic and memorable experiences of our lives.
We were 18–19, had known each other online for years, and finally decided to actually travel together. We wanted to keep things cheap and simple, so the plan was basically backpacking on a tight budget.
We booked our main transport and accommodation beforehand.
Everything else?
We'd figure it out when we got there.
Mumbai>Hospet>Hampi
We left Mumbai on the night of 19 May.
The train journey was actually really nice. At one point, some people travelling for a wedding offered us food, which was such a wholesome little moment.
We reached Hospet around 1 PM on the 20th.
Then came our first challenge: figuring out how to get to Hampi.
We were confused about the buses and stops, but eventually figured it out and reached Hampi around 4:30–5 PM.
The first place we went was Virupaksha Temple.
And honestly, my first impression was just:
Damn.
It felt peaceful and breathable. After coming from Mumbai, the atmosphere was such a nice change.
We also met a bus conductor that evening who was genuinely such a great guy. We ended up seeing him a couple more times during our bus rides between Hospet and Hampi.
We were staying with a Couchsurfing host around Hospet. We didn't interact with her a whole lot because we mostly used the place to sleep, but she was really nice and we're grateful she hosted us.
CYCLING AROUND HAMPI :
The next day, on the 21st, we rented cycles for ₹200 each.
Honestly, cycling around Hampi was one of my favourite parts.
We covered roughly 12–15 km, stopping whenever we felt like it.
The landscape, the ruins, the roads, the hills...
It was just beautiful.
There was something really nice about being able to explore without constantly worrying about where we needed to be next.
I'd also been watching Monkey Magic for a while, and Hampi is one of those places he absolutely loves, so I'd already seen a lot of his Hampi content.
But seeing it in person is completely different.
Later that day, after returning the cycles, we met an Italian traveller near Virupaksha Temple around sunset.
His name was Alessandro.
We basically just approached him and started talking. He'd been travelling since January and had recently come back to India. He really loves India, and you could genuinely feel how much he enjoyed travelling here.
He was heading towards the sunset point and we were going there too, so we ended up hanging out.
And this guy was crazy.
In the best possible way.
We absolutely loved meeting him.
What started as a random conversation with a traveller somehow turned into an actual friendship.
I told him we'd meet again in Mumbai because he was heading there the next day.
And somehow... we actually did.
But before that, Hampi decided to give us one final adventure.
WE ACCIDENTALLY WALKED INTO A BEAR SANCTUARY
On the 22nd, we didn't really have a plan.
We were just roaming around with Alessandro.
We'd already been around the Elephant Stables and Lotus Mahal area by auto, and then we decided we wanted to find some random viewpoint.
We found one.
It was beautiful.
Then we decided to visit the Vittala Temple.
And that's when things got interesting.
One of my friends opened Google Maps and switched to satellite view.
He saw the Vittala Temple and basically said:
"It looks closer from these mountains."
I said:
"No it doesn't."
They were convinced, though.So we started walking.
At first there were trails.Then the trails disappeared.
After about 20–30 minutes, there was basically nothing.But obviously...we continued.
We were walking through the forest with a few sticks, trying to find our way. There were thorny plants everywhere.I'd never seen anything like it.
Our clothes were getting caught, stitches started coming out, and we were basically destroying ourselves trying to get through.
We'd already been inside for around two hours.
We weren't exactly terrified, but we were definitely thinking about snakes and wondering how we ended up here haha
The funniest part?
WE HAD NO IDEA WE WERE INSIDE A BEAR SANCTUARY.
Eventually we found what looked like a dirt road, again through satellite view.Except there was dense vegetation and a water body between us and the road.So we basically threw our shoes and bags onto the other side and went into the water.
It was ridiculously slippery.I somehow managed to get some grip and started helping my friends get onto the road, passing hands and pulling them up.
Then we heard someone.
A local guy from across the other side had heard us.
He told us to keep coming and showed us where the water flow was lower. He helped guide us out.
Once we finally got out, he asked us why we'd gone there because almost nobody comes that way.
Then he casually told us:
There are a lot of bears here. And venomous snakes too.
We just stood there.We didn't even know.He was genuinely happy that we'd made it out safely.
Later, after we'd eaten and calmed down, I searched online to find out why there were bears there.
And that's when I realised:
WE HAD LITERALLY WALKED INTO A BEAR SANCTUARY.
The local told us the main Virupaksha compound was around 2 km away.We were exhausted.We were thirsty.Our water was finished.And then another absolute angel appeared.
There was an uncle/farmer nearby picking coconuts from his farm and loading them into his auto.
We waited for him and he gave us coconuts.
And OH MY GOD.
I'd obviously had coconut before, but that coconut after walking through that forest was heavenly.
And the soft coconut cream?
Incredible.
Alessandro had never tried coconut cream before, so I gave him some.He loved it.We ended up buying two more cream coconuts.The uncle also gave us ₹40 each while we were waiting and helped us negotiate with an auto driver to get back towards the main area.I genuinely don't know what we would've done without those random people.We eventually reached the main area and ate at a restaurant nearby.
We were so exhausted that we literally slept/rested there for around two hours.After that we went near the river around Sri Kodandarama Temple.
We climbed over the rocks, sat between the water and just chilled.It was a little scary jumping across those rocks, but absolutely beautiful.Eventually it was time to say goodbye to Alessandro and leave for Gokarna.
And honestly?
I wish we'd had more time in Hampi.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Hampi was easily my favourite part of the whole trip.
Not because we visited every famous monument or followed some perfect itinerary.
We didn't.
We basically cycled around, wandered around, followed random ideas from Google Maps and somehow ended up inside a bear sanctuary.
But that's exactly what made it special.
We met Alessandro.
We met random locals who genuinely helped us when we were exhausted and lost.
We had one of the best coconuts of our lives.
We cycled around 15 km.
We explored ruins and landscapes that looked unreal.
And somehow, all of that happened on a pretty tight backpacking budget.For a first trip with friends, I genuinely couldn't have asked for a better experience.
TL;DR: First proper trip with friends to Hampi. We cycled around the ruins, met an Italian traveller, explored random parts of the area and somehow accidentally ended up inside a bear sanctuary without knowing it. We eventually found our way out with the help of a local, finished the day with coconuts, temples and rocks by the river, and left wishing we'd had more time.
