Meet Lakshmi: A Hampi Guesthouse Owner on Ruins, Tourists, and Why the Boulders Are Sacred
Lakshmi Devi has operated a small guesthouse on Hampi Bazaar street — the ancient marketplace leading to Virupaksha Temple — for 18 years. Her family has lived in Hampi village for generations. She's survived government demolition drives that cleared "unauthorized" buildings near the monuments, rebuilt her business twice, and hosts an average of 15 guests per night during peak season.
We talked on her rooftop, which has an unobstructed view of Virupaksha Temple's 50-meter gopuram.
How did you start running a guesthouse?
"My father had a small shop selling coconuts and flowers for temple offerings. When foreign tourists started coming in the 1990s — backpackers mostly, Europeans, Israelis — they needed places to sleep. My father cleared two rooms in our house and put up a sign. INR 50 per night. That was expensive then.
Now those same rooms are INR 500-800 per night. Better mattresses, attached bathrooms, WiFi. But the view from the rooftop is the same as when I was ten years old — Virupaksha Temple, the boulders, and the river."
What do tourists consistently misunderstand about Hampi?
"They think it's just ruins. Dead stones. But Virupaksha Temple has been an active worship site for — nobody knows exactly — maybe 1,300 years. It was active BEFORE the Vijayanagara Empire. It was active DURING the empire. It survived the destruction in 1565 when everything else was burned. And it's active NOW.
Every morning at 6:30 AM, the priests perform puja. Lakshmi the elephant — she's named after me, or I'm named after her, nobody remembers — gives blessings to devotees for INR 10. The temple is alive. It's not a museum. Don't treat it like one.
Also, the boulders. Tourists climb them for photos, which is fine. But for us, many of these boulders are connected to mythology. The Kishkindha episode of the Ramayana is set here. Hanuman was born here, according to tradition. These aren't just rocks."
What's the biggest change you've seen?
"The demolition drives. In the 2010s, the government demolished many buildings near the monuments to 'protect' the UNESCO site. Shops, guesthouses, homes — gone. My family lost one building. Many families lost everything.
I understand the intention — protecting heritage. But the heritage includes the living community, not just the stones. Hampi has always been a village. Remove the people and you have a dead museum, not a living place.
The other change is positive — more infrastructure. Better roads from Hospet, better guesthouses on both sides of the river, more information boards at ruins. The bridge to Hippie Island made access easier. But I worry about over-tourism eventually. Hampi is special because it's quiet. If it becomes Goa, it loses its soul."
Where should first-time visitors go?
"Three things you must do:
First, Matanga Hill at sunrise. Wake at 5 AM. Climb in the dark with a torch. When the sun comes up and you see the entire site — temples, river, boulders — spread below you in golden light... that moment is why people remember Hampi.
Second, Vittala Temple. Yes, the entry is INR 600 for foreigners. It's worth every rupee. The stone chariot. The musical pillars — you can't tap them anymore because tourists damaged them, but the guide will explain how each pillar produced a different musical note. The engineering is unbelievable for the 15th century.
Third, a coracle ride on the Tungabhadra at sunset. INR 200-300 for a 30-minute ride. The circular boats spin gently. You see Hampi from the river — the way the ancient traders and pilgrims first saw it. Bring a life jacket."
Best food in Hampi?
"Mango Tree on the river side — everyone goes there, and for good reason. Their thali is fresh and the riverside seating is beautiful. INR 150-250.
But the best food is at the small dhabas near the Hospet bus stand — not in Hampi itself. Drive to Hospet for lunch, eat at the unnamed dhaba opposite SBI bank. Their meals (rice, sambar, rasam, papad) are INR 60 and better than anything in the tourist area.
For breakfast, my guesthouse does idli-vada and filter coffee. INR 80. I won't pretend it's the best in Karnataka, but it's cooked by my mother-in-law, and she's been making the same batter for 40 years."
Is it true that Hampi is the cheapest destination in India?
"For what you get — a UNESCO World Heritage Site — yes. A day in Hampi can cost INR 500. That's INR 150 for food, INR 100 for bicycle rental, INR 100 for a coracle ride, and INR 50 for chai. Most ruins are free.
The only expensive entry is Vittala Temple — INR 600 for foreigners. Everything else — Matanga Hill, Hemakuta Hill, Queen's Bath, Royal Enclosure, Virupaksha Temple (INR 25 for Indians, INR 500 for foreigners) — is cheap or free.
But don't come BECAUSE it's cheap. Come because the ruins will change how you think about time and power and what humans can build and what other humans can destroy. The cost is just a bonus."
What do you wish tourists would stop doing?
"Climbing on fragile ruins for Instagram photos. The musical pillars at Vittala — tourists used to tap them with stones and coins. They've been damaged. Now they're roped off. That's a 500-year-old musical instrument, destroyed by people wanting a video.
Also, leaving trash between the ruins. Plastic bottles, chip packets. There are no dustbins between most monuments — carry your trash back. This is a world heritage site, not a picnic ground.
And please — don't swim in the Tungabhadra. Every year someone drowns. The current is deceptive. The river looks calm. It's not. Use the coracles."
Any secret spots?
Combine Hampi's ruins with Mysore's royal heritage for a Karnataka circuit.
"Walk past the Royal Enclosure toward the Malyavanta Raghunathaswamy Temple — about 3 km east of the main ruins. Almost nobody goes. The temple has a massive boulder on top of it, like the mountain is pressing down. The carvings are exquisite and you'll likely be alone.
Also, the sunrise from Anjaneya Hill (claimed birthplace of Hanuman) on the Hippie Island side. Most people do Matanga Hill. Anjaneya is quieter and has a small temple at the top. The sunrise view is different — you see the river from above with the ruins on the opposite bank.
