Dec 6, 20213 min read

Journal #24: Submerged in the sea of Coffee Estates, Sakleshpur!

Updated: Dec 8, 2021

Travel Log #18

Sakleshpur Trek! Oops, Sakleshpur Trip!

Location: Sakleshpur, Hasan district

Having longed for an organized trip with strangers for more than a month now, I chose to enrol into Muddie Trails Sakleshpur Trek with much exuberance. We started the journey late into the night after 10 p.m. and reached Sakleshpur in the early morning next day. A comely home stay, named Chiguru Homestay, which had a beautiful stretch of coffee plantation, welcomed us and the morning foreshadowed an enthusiastic trip ahead.

The itinerary for Sakleshpur trek was peculiar and unique because there were two locations planned - a transient trek on a small hill in the vicinity of Mekanagadde in the first half and a visit to a relaxing waterfalls named Abbi in the second half. So, with much excitement, we started the day by treating ourselves to a palatable breakfast meal. We headed for the trek in the vehicle all the way up to Bettada Bhairaveshwara Temple, which is the starting point of the trek. In fact, we could have hiked from the base and trekked our way up to this temple to begin with but this was not the case. Alas, we began our ascend up the hill and even before we could sense our initial exhaustions, we had reached the peak already. A Transient trek! Stayed true to its adjective. However, the view at the peak was amazing and there were several rock points on top of which, the views were even more amazing.

We rested awhile and made our way back to the heavenly home stay. Upon returning to the home stay, we remembered the orange trees that we had noticed in the morning and we started picking a few oranges. The oranges were absolutely delightful! The lunch course was served and it was even better than the breakfast meal. Having filled our tummies we were compelled for a quick slumber and most of us took the nap. We then set out to visit the Abbi Falls nearby. The Abbi Falls was spread across mostly like a river with a falls emerging under a bridge. Interestingly, even though the place was mildly crowded, the falls point was not occupied by anyone and we didn’t waste our time to make our presence there. I am not sure how much time I spent at the falls, which provided a medicinal massage to my back and neck, but only remember the moment when others had to force me out of the water.

We ended our adventurous day with a delectable and sumptuous meal. The food at Chiguru home stay was outstanding and incredibly delicious which was a surprise to me. The second day's itinerary involved visiting sunrise point nearby and boy oh boy! We were just in time to enjoy the Sun rising shyly from the clouds.

After the breakfast, we started our return journey to Bengaluru. On our way back, we visited Manjarabad Fort, a star shaped fort and Shettihalli Rosary Church, a ruined floating church in the Gorur Hemavathi Reservoir. There was nothing noteworthy to denote these places as they are not properly maintained but definitely these monuments are enriched with scenery. We made our way back to Bengaluru sooner than I had anticipated and ended the trip with memorable memories aplenty.