[Pastey93]

Prologue:

Every couple of months at best we all have this urge to take the car out and get going, sometimes even aimlessly.

I got an opportunity to drive to Sakleshpur for my team off-site during last week of August. Since the off-site was ending on a Friday, I had the entire weekend for myself. I quickly planned to visit my cousin who stays in Chikmagalur (50 odd kms from Sakleshpur) and return to Bangalore on Sunday night.

I’ll spare you from the details of the off-site of 40+ corporate lawyers.

Sakleshpur, the sleepy coffee town nestled in the Western Ghats, was barely on the tourism map. But now it comes up frequently in conversations with friends and family, its scenic plantations, nature trails and trekking options a welcome, non-commercial alternative to Coorg and Chikmagalur, the stalwart coffee areas of Karnataka.

When your surroundings are beautiful, you just feel calm. Time slows down and you unwind without any effort. Even if you are doing something adventurous, it does not seem like a strain. And that is a mini holiday that we all crave for every now and then. Just 220 km from Bangalore, Sakleshpur where a weekend or few days is all you need to freshen up and beat down your stress. The place is filled with green fields that are separated by clear water streams while the lovely Western Ghats frame the backdrop.

PS: I have visited Sakleshpur and Chikmagalur multiple times in the past hence, skipped all tourist places and attractions during this trip.

Drive from Bangalore to Sakleshpur

Sakleshpur is about 4 hours or so drive from Bangalore, I left a little after 8 am and with a coffee break at A2B, Udayapura and leisure drive throughout made it to resort around noon.

Route taken:

Bangalore - Nelamangala - Yediyur - Hassan - Sakleshpur

Coffee break at A2B



A quick pitstop enroute Sakleshpur



Stay: Rosetta by Ferns, Sakleshpur

The resort is located much before the Sakleshpur town and is remote with nothing near it for kilometres, just the way we prefer it. There is no cell phone signal (Vodafone) but their Wi-Fi connection was great and was able to handle video call meetings without any hiccups. That’s something which doesn’t help one completely wind down.

It’s strange how life has come a full circle, from the point when the cell phones were cool and wanted, to now when people (most of us) want to get away from them to be able to really take a break. Shows how much it has intruded into our lives and how we need a forced break from them to be able to enjoy other things in life.

My drive on reaching the resort



The room was comfortable and very well maintained with all the bells and whistles





It took my eyes a while to adjust to the all-encompassing greenery. The scenery was a cache of every imaginable colour of green and raindrops fell vigorously on the foliage.



Our resort was tucked amid dense coffee and pepper plantations, overseeing acres of bright green paddy fields.



And the cottages looked very pretty at night too



After spending 2 nights at Sakleshpur, I bid adieu to my colleagues who returned back to Bangalore and I continued to Chikmagalur.

Off to Chikmagalur via Belur

The road from Sakleshpur for Chikmagalur is off the National highway into the western ghats. As you leave the highway and enter into the state highway, the scenery around transforms, trees hugging the roads surround you, distant mountains drawing closer. After a while driving around the curvy roads through the vast paddy fields, the hilly part starts. By the time we were entering Chikmagalur, it was a little late for lunch, and I was famished. I had a tummy filling lunch at my cousin’s home and took a quick nap. Later in evening decided to go for a short drive to Halli Berri Café for some coffee.

Somewhere enroute the scenic route from Chikmagalur to Halli Berri Cafe





Few snaps at Halli Berri Cafe







A beautiful sight while returning from the cafe



Next day visited Hirekolale lake , this used to always get missed during my earlier visits to Chikmagalur and since there was no plan or agenda this time, I was able to visit this lake.





A quick breakfast stop at Town Canteen returning from Hirekolale lake



Later in the evening decided to drive down to Estate Cafe (my favourite cafe near Chikmagalur) for coffee.

Few snaps at Estate Cafe









After a relaxing and refreshing 5 days getaway had to return back to Bangalore.

Route taken:

Chikmagalur - Belur - Hassan - Yediyur - Nelamangala - Bangalore

[TorqueyTechie]

Nice pics. Halli berri cafe is on my wish list from quite a while. Need to plan soon.

Which is the resort at Sakleshpur? Liked what I saw in the pics and was wondering if its a good place to visit with toddlers?

[Pastey93]

Originally Posted by TorqueyTechie

Nice pics. Halli berri cafe is on my wish list from quite a while. Need to plan soon.

Which is the resort at Sakleshpur? Liked what I saw in the pics and was wondering if its a good place to visit with toddlers?

Hi TorqueyTechie,

The resort at Sakleshpur is Rosetta by Ferns

Link: https://www.rosettabyferns.com/

Its a very nice property inside a coffee and pepper plantation, you toddlers are definitely going to enjoy staying there.

[cule1899_bhp]

Thanks for this post. It brought back great memories of the drive from my trip earlier in the year.

I'd recommend anyone taking a trip to Chikamagalur to visit Hirekolale lake. It is one of the more accessible spots and very near the town. The best thing about the lake apart from the peaceful scenery and views is that if you sit at the ghat steps and keep your feet idle in the water for a few seconds you'll get a free fish spa. Shoals of fish tickle the feet and leave you joyous. It was one of the happiest memories from that trip I could think of.