[marty]

Folks,
Done some googling but no match for the recommendations from the UKB massive.

Going to be in India in early march for work. Thinking of getting the overnight train from Pune or Mumbai to hospet and spending 3 days in Hampi before heading back.

Is the sleeper train ok or am I going to get mugged / hassled / ill? is it feasible to get a cabin on my own ? How do you go about booking it?

Thinking goan corner for accomodation / pad rental. Any good / bad stories? How do you book it?

I am not going to have much time, so want to get everything lined up before hand.

... or should I just fly to Goa and lie on the beach for  3 days???

Cheers

[Nick B]

It's going to be very very hot when you're planning on going, so there may not be too many boulderers there at the time

Sleeper trains are fine, but you can get a first class cabin for about £15, usually it's easier to just book on the day or when you're in India - the websites tend to not like foreign transactions etc...

Goan corner is  probably the best option

[Petey]

I just got back from a month in India including a week in Hampi. It was hot in Jan (climbing in early morn and evening mainly) so will be hotter in march but it is a great place and worth a visit. We got to Hampi from Mumbai by flying to Hubli then taking a 3 hr train to Hospet from Hubli. Hospet is 15 km or so from Hampi and around 100-150 rupees by autorickshaw. Get it as close to 100 as possible! Not sure about sleeper bus from Mumbai but Indian trains get booked well in advance by Indians so getting a ticket might be hard but they set aside some tickets for tourists. cleartrip.com allows you to buy tickets i think. We stayed in Hampi Bazaar rather than over the river (my partner isn't a climber) but for climbers it is way more convenient to stay over the river because the ferry stops at 6pm which limits evening bouldering. Goan corner is right in the boulders pretty much - 10 mins walk or so.

Goa is good but mad - like Majorca or somewhere - Brits and Russians on the sun loungers drinking beer! plenty of stray dogs though for somewhat of an authentic Indian feel... we got a sleeper bus from hospet to palolem in south Goa and it arrived at 4 am rather the stated 6am...

[marty]

Thanks for the info .... looking at average temps  http://hampi.in/bouldering-in-hampi.htm it didnt ever seem to get below 30!

Given me something to think about. I have wanted to go for years - not climbing particularly hard at the minute, but liked the sound of the adventure. I would be well hacked off if I got there and couldnt climb cos of the heat.

Anyone experienced March?

[Kim]

Anyone experienced March?

Not quite but end of Feb was HOT. Significantly more so than dec/jan - most people bailed by mid february. It's an awesome place but you'd probably be better heading for the sea at that time. If you're really keen, make sure you take a headtorch and some liquid chalk!

[Muenchener]

I was there in March a few years ago. Was retired from climbing at the time, so only pottered a bit on a few moderate boulders. But it was *hot*. Even locals were complaining.

Still, probably better than not going, it's an amazing place, and you can probably get some bouldering done if you climb early/late/in the shade. If you go, definitely walk up Matunga Hill or up to the Hamuman temple to watch the sunrise one day.

You said you will be in or near Mumbai or Pune? You may not have to travel so far. There are some pretty impressive looking bumps in the Western Ghats between Mumbai and Pune, and definitely some climbing in the area. I read something once about some huge horrendous Doug Scott aid epic; if you're not up for that you might get better beta, or find partners/guides for a weekend, by contacting these guys.

(I'll be in Bangalore next week, tho sadly only Monday to Friday. I had already figured out that a weekend Bangalore-Hampi would be feasible but v.strenuous, involving sleeper trains Friday night & Sunday night)