Sakleshpur - Mesmerised in Monsoon

“Is this Europe”? We were confused as we stopped and looked around during this weekend drive - 06/07 Aug - in another part of Malnad. You will find out the answer by looking at the pictures. We were mesmerized again in Malnad! Literally - by the mind-blowing vistas of misty meadows. We were zapped beyond words at the beauty of the landscape which looked like Europe. This was in our own back yard – Sakleshpur!!

Only time we passed Sakleshpur was while going to Mangalore from Bangalore. We had never been to this place par se and had no expectation. Our plan was to spend the weekend in one of the home stays and explore the place around – specially a drive in Bisle ghat.

We left Bangalore at 8.30 AM and were there in Mugilu - the home stay by 12 noon – thanks to good condition of NH 48. It started raining heavily and after an excellent lunch we headed to Bisle Ghat exploring the backwaters of Hemavathi reservoir on the way. Chandan, the amicable host of Mugilu had told us about the beautiful backwaters. As we moved towards Bisle, we were awestruck on seeing some of the best meadows in South India. It was a wow moment for us and we felt as if we were in European countryside!

We would like to share it with you. Take a look.

The first sight of what was in store!

Mindblowing vistas of green meadows - Doesn't it look like Europe?

Mindblowing vistas of green meadows  2 

Mindblowing vistas of green meadows - 3

Mindblowing vistas of green meadows - 4

Mindblowing vistas of green meadows - 5

Mindblowing vistas of green meadows - 6

Mindblowing vistas of green meadows - 7

The picturesque backwaters of Hemavathi - A huge expanse of water

The picturesque backwaters of Hemavathi - 2

The picturesque backwaters of Hemavathi - 3

The picturesque backwaters of Hemavathi - 4

The picturesque backwaters of Hemavathi - 5

Spectacular landscape in the region

The beast in familiar surroundings!!

Mist filled road to Bisle

Spectacular view of Bisle from foothill

It started raining heavily and the road to Bisle turned very foggy. It was also getting

dark and there was no point in driving up the ghat as the valley would have been

covered in mist. We returned back.

What we saw in our short drive looked like a nice trailer, an invitation to go back again.

Yes, Sakleshpur, we will definitely come back!

Travel Tips

a) Sakleshpur is at a distance of 220 KMs from Bangalore and is a three and half hour

of pleasant drive. There are many busses from Bangalore to Sakleshpur.

The Bangalore - Mangalore express train stops at Sakleshpur.

b) Stay options - There are limited home stay options in Sakleshpur as well as two

small resorts. For home stays look at www.travelmalnad.com , www.mugilu.com, 

www.jenukallu.com , http://www.tuskanddawn.com/ , www.thehills.in ,

www.rottikallu.com, http://www.makkithitta.com/

c) What to do - Go for small hikes in forests, drive up Bisle ghat for specatcular

views of Western ghats, Visit historic Manjarabad fort, Visit famous temple of

Kukke Subramanya, mountain biking, angling etc

d)  One can comfortably combine Sakleshpur with Coorg as the road from

Sakleshpur to Coorg has lovely landscapes and road condition is good.

Useful links

Sakleshpur - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakleshpur 

Bisle Ghat - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisle