Friday, October 18, 2013

A short holiday at Sakaleshpur

We took a little vacation this week in Sakaleshpur, about 200 km from Bangalore. On the way to the homestay, we stopped at Manjarabad fort, a star-shaped fort built by Tipu Sultan in the late eighteenth century.  [Click for google image]  He built it as a defensive location.  And it must have really worked well as a lookout place, because the views from the top are quite spectacular.


We stayed at Mugilu, a lovely little plantation homestay.  Clean and comfortable cottages, superb location, wonderful hosts, tasty and home-like food,  the most stupendous grasslands next to it, and loads of inviting walking trails.   

These are  a few pictures of the grasslands.  We walked, ran, played frisbee, and just sat on the grass.  


We, in places like Bangalore are so unused to places where there is not a single soul in your line of sight.  When we were walking on these grasslands, S and Puttachi went ahead, and for a while, they weren't in my line of vision.  I looked around then, and nobody, not one person was in sight, though I could see so far into the horizon!  What a wonderful feeling it is - the feeling of being totally alone with nature!

There are a number of trails that take you up and down the gently sloping hills, next to bright green paddy fields, towards streams, and little huts and villages, and lots and lots of cows. 

We walked a lot, and could have walked a whole lot more.  When we wanted a break, we just sat down on the grass, and were silent.  We could see the sights like the one below.  We could hear the lowing of cows, and the strikingly loud noise of their eating grass.  An odd bee or two buzzed around, and the wind whooshed through the trees.    We could smell the fragrant grass, and the pleasant smell of fresh cowdung.  And we could feel the heat of the sun on our backs.  Ah, bliss.


The picture below is that of paddy fields early in the morning - and Shunti, our guide, companion, and Puttachi's obsession for the duration of our stay.  She is one of the three dogs that live in Mugilu, with the couple who runs it.


And when we wanted to get back to the room, we put our feet up, book in hand, and watched this sight from our balcony.  Early in the morning and during rains, this is a specially beautiful sight due to the clouds coming in.


And there are a number of spots around the place, in case that is what you want to do, this ancient, quaint, Sindhu Brahma temple being one of them.  And yes, cows were grazing here too.


 You can tell we had a good time, huh?



11 comments:

Deepthi said...

Nice :)..It looks very serene and good..Puttachi must have enjoyed playing in such big grounds.

Hasmita said...

Just heaven, Shruthi. Thanks to your writeup, I got to know there are such places so close to namma Bengaluru! I like the things you like, so it was refreshing to 'experience' through you. The being alone with nature and taking a break just sitting down in the grass and being quiet...

Unknown said...

Looks like you guys had a good time. Lets trade Petra to Sakaleshpur :)

Clenia Gigi said...

This looks really serene! I can tell you guys had a good time:)
Clenia Gigi

vinu said...

Awesome pictures - the clouds and colors are so stark. I've been here and taken pictures.. but these are superb!

Sandeep Ahire said...

Nice Pics...

Vehicle Tracking said...

Vehicle Tracking
Amazingly Beautiful Place.
i Am sure you guys Enjoyed a Lot
Some Pics Give The LOok Of Mini Switzerland.

Poornachandra Tejaswi said...

Can you tel where exactly this place thr in sakaleahpura. I want to visit here. Gmaps link needed. TIA

Shruthi said...

The links are in the article itself, both for the fort and Mugilu. Did you want some other information?

Shaaz said...

Hi Shruthi!

Can you help me out with something? I called up Mugilu after seeing this pictures and they're full for this Sunday. I'd like to ride up there, and visit the temple as well as the grasslands by myself without staying, during the day. Is this possible? If yes, how do I find the temple, any landmark you remember nearby that I could find on google maps?

I read somewhere that the grasslands are a walk away from Mugilu gates, so I thought of finding Mugilu and then walking away from it to find these spots :)

Shruthi said...

I am so sorry I can't remember where the temple was! Do try to google. Not very far from Mugilu at all.

And yes, I'm sure you can go to the grasslands without staying in Mugilu. Enjoy!

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