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Dirt cheap climbing destinations

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 Andy S 08 Jan 2013
I'm currently in Hampi, enjoying the fine bouldering and dirt-cheap overheads i.e. I can stay here for a grand total of 300 quid a month if I want!

Question is, if I choose to be a bum for a few months longer, where can I go to carry on bouldering when this place gets too hot (end of feb maybe, or march), that is just as cheap?
 martinph78 09 Jan 2013
In reply to Andy S: Wish I hadn't opened this thread. I am SO envious right now! Hampi is an awesome place.

Sorry I don't know where else to recommend though.
 Blue Straggler 09 Jan 2013
In reply to Andy S:

I always assumed Hampi would cost even less that £300 pcm to stay in!
 ark05 09 Jan 2013
300pcm isnt that cheap... You can stay in north wales for that easy
 dereke12000 10 Jan 2013
In reply to adamki: I think he means £300 pcm all in (food, drinks, accommodation, travel, etc.) but still seems expensive esp. if you rent by the month.

By February/March the hills in the north are warming up nicely (chilly nights though). I saw some nice bits of rock at Triund above Macleod Ganj this Easter - they also have an outside climbing wall at the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute http://www.himalayanmountaineeringinstitute.com/Training_Facilities.htm - which I couldn't use due to recovering from a pulley rupture.

You could contact the HMI about good places for bouldering; the main office is in Darjeeling, also a nice place.

I have heard several reports about bouldering near Manali but wasn't into climbing when I went there 20 years ago.

Take a look on the excellent India Mike forum http://www.indiamike.com

Ladakh is an amazing place too, loads of weird rock outcrops everywhere, but you'd need to fly in (road doesn't open till May)

Have fun!!
OP Andy S 10 Jan 2013
In reply to dereke12000: thanks derek. Useful stuff.
OP Andy S 10 Jan 2013
In reply to adamki:
> 300pcm isnt that cheap... You can stay in north wales for that easy

I'd love to see you break that one down - I'm sure it's a really comfortable lifestyle..
OP Andy S 10 Jan 2013
In reply to Blue Straggler: it IS possible to stay cheaper, but it all depends how you do it. Crucially, if you want to stay in the most popular climbing guesthouses or at least nearby (which, for me, makes for an infinitely better experience), then the average costs are as follows, NB this time of year are peak prices, but I don't it goes down much, if at all, until end of Feb, which is also when it gets really hot:

Cheapest accom = 100 rupees a night (a mattress and mosquito net on the roof of Goan Corner guesthouse), basic hut 300 per night

x 30 = 3000 to 9000 pcm = 35 to 102 pounds a month

3 x meals a day at 300 rupees a day = 100 pounds a month

So maybe I did overestimate things a little, but it's not uncommon to treat yourself to the odd coke, wi-fi sesh or whatever, so giving yourself (quite a generous) extra 100 rupees a day that's an extra 35 pounds a month, grand total around 237 pounds a month. If you're doing 300 quid a month then you're treating yourself quite alot. Most climbers are pretty frugal so, like me, you can probably expect to spend around 200 quid a month here. Very cheap! Hope that was useful for people (and it's helped me to clarify things because it's the first time I've properly worked it out!).
fredericksburg 03 Feb 2013
In reply to Andy S: There is plenty of bouldering and routes to keep you occupied around Manali. Some of it is walkable from Manali or Vashist but most of it is a short bus journey/bike ride. The bus only set us back 10Rs (2 years ago) and that was on the rare occasion that they actually remembered to charge us. There are a few local climbing/mountaineering shops who will be happy to point you in the right direction and you'll probably find some other climbers around Vashist.

I found Manali to be marginally cheaper than Hampi as long as you stay away from the ripoff rickshaw drivers (you really don't need a rickshaw there anyway) and the temperature made for much better climbing than Hampi but then I was in Hampi in May so you only got a couple of hours after dawn before it got too hot and sweaty.

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