“My daughter and I were worried that only spending a couple of days to see the whole of Hampi wouldn’t be enough but we did a customised day tour with our guide ‘Hampi Basava’. It was excellent, we had an early start and visited the ancient ruins and temples via Tuk-Tuks, breakfast at The Mango Tree in the bazaar, crossed the river on a motorboat, rode scooters around the countryside, had a magnificent picnic lunch with a fantastic view, crossed back over the river on a paddle boat. What a day! Incredible! Thank you!”

“As I was traveling solo, the tours were just me and one guide at a time. This allowed for both plenty of questions and conversation, as well as time for quiet contemplation among the temples and royal structures. Highlights of the two days included a visit to the towering Virupaksha Temple complete with elephant, the Hampi archaeological museum, an ox cart ride through the neighboring village of Anagundi, a picnic lunch underneath 5,000-year-old cave paintings, and watching the sunset from the Rama Temple summit. I can’t imagine a better way to explore Hampi than with this tour group. I highly recommend Explore Hampi.”

“I think the best thing about Explore Hampi is the team’s dedication to integrating tourism with the locals. Sometimes tourism can become toxic for areas, and I admire Explore Hampi’s level of inclusion, fairly, amongst all the competing shops, tea houses, drivers, and others in the area. As a team, they were both cordial, attentive and prepared. Our guide was really nice, whether it was buying a coconut from some sellers who hadn’t had a sale in a while or helping ladies get on and off boats with their motorcycles. He spent a lot of time thinking about our experience and paying attention to how we were doing, customizing trip lengths to account for heat and things we’d be interested in. “

We spent 3 days exploring Hampi with Arjun and Basava and it really is the best way to get to really know and understand this beautiful, but expansive, UNESCO World Heritage site. With their insightful guiding the layers of history of Hampi were slowly revealed. I loved the coracle ride on the river, and wish I had a longer journey on the river. A definite highlight was our day exploring the surrounding countryside by scooter – the countryside around Hampi is so beautiful, and traffic-free. We had a cooking experience in a local home which was then our delicious lunch. If time allows don’t miss out on a side trip to see the incredibly Badami Caves – spectacular. Explore Hampi really were a godsend in discovering Hampi.