About 30km south of Hampi, amid a scrubby undulated terrain, lies the Daroji Sloth Bear Sanctuary which nurses a population of around 150 free-ranging sloth bears in an area of 83 sq km. You have a very good chance of spotting them, as honey is slathered on the rocks to coincide with the arrival of visitors. However, you can only see them from afar at the viewing platform. Bring binoculars, or basically there’s no point turning up. Generally 4pm to 6pm is the best time to visit.
The sanctuary is also home to leopards, wild boars, hyenas, jackals and others animals, but you’re unlikely to see anything other than peacocks. You’ll need to arrange transport to get here, which should costs around ₹600 for an autorickshaw and ₹1000 for a car.
