[Lukeskywalker]

Amazing pictures Lukey.
Your daughter with Shunti made me very nostalgic, took me down a few years in the memory lane when we had our pet lab Dashy and my younger one petting her.

Thanks Lalu, yes even my daughter is extremely fond of dogs, she wakes up every morning asking about the dogs in our house.

Hari, beautiful trip. Makes me feel, I did miss a lot. I always loved the trips to such places in groups, like the one we did to Thirthahalli. We should make it some day soon.

Need to catch up with you and others. Deepak too is very silent now I guess. Busy with the Markets?

I have stayed in Chandans cottage, yes its right in the middle of the green. And in rain, its a heaven.

Thanks Mahesh, you really are missing all the trips/meets owing to your frequent visits to your "native" place , deepak is silent only on the forum, we meet quite regularly.

Thanks for the amazing travelogue LukeSkywalker . These pictures took me down memory lane to the time when I went to Mugilu with my parents and our pet pet Golden retriever last year. Any pictures of the rottweiler Keechu?

P.S - wonderful photographs, especially of the Safari amidst the greens, and the macros at the end. Simply wonderful!

Thanks Karthikk, Here you go, Keechu and Shervo for you

Keechu


Shervo

Fantastic pictures Hari. Made for a nice read and yes I thought you were heading to Wayanad when you messaged me one of those days and only when I saw the pictures on FB did I realize that you had changed plans.

How is this place for a 2 day getaway,only Sakleshpur I meant.

Thank you Riju, as Karthikk mentioned Mugilu is ideal for a 2 night stay, plenty of scenic drives around or one can just chill there itself, kids too will not find it too uncomfortable due to the greenery around, warm clothing in this season is a must though.

Wonderful Photography Hari, you have captured the monsoon mood very well. I too was in Sakleshpur this weekend, for the MGE and it was sunny most of the day. Did run into Chandan and Sapna during breakfast.

Thanks Sharath, yes, Chandan was telling me it was quite sunny after we left, guess we brought some of that rain back to Bangalore.

Lovely pictures Hari!!! It was great to hear that you had a very good trip. Sakleshpur, as a tourist destination has always been understated. Yes, it lacks tourism infrastructure, but it is slowly catching up with plenty of homestays opening up in and around. The title is apt in the current scenario. I always say that monsoon is the best time to visit these places.

Thanks to you Aditya, for you made our holiday complete with your inputs, I personally feel too much commercialisation ruins the beauty of such lovely places, and the rains just made it all the more memorable.

[pramod]

Fantastic Trip LukeskyWalker !

The less travelled stretches from Sakleshpur towards Kodagu, through Kodlupet, Somwarpet are amazing to say the least. And When Addy says, there are more home stays coming up in that area, i am a bit disappointed.
Natural, the better. Isnt it

Fantastic snaps, as usual. Crisp narration. Again, As usual.

Cheers
Pramod

[akroy]

Aah hari, your travelogue and pics just took me back to our trip 4 years back. It was like nostalgic journey down memory lane. Your kid is very adorable too.

Wonderful pics and looks like you enjoyed driving on some roads which the Optra couldnt.
You mentioned 4 lanes till belur? Does that mean my famous NH48 is 4-laned till mangalore now?

Abhi

[Lukeskywalker]

You mentioned 4 lanes till belur? Does that mean my famous NH48 is 4-laned till mangalore now?

Hey Abhi, long time we've not heard from you, it's not Belur, but Bellur Cross near the Adichunchungiri Medical college, the work is in progress till Hassan.

[ravibhat]

Thats great travelogue Hari, I liked reading it.

Ravi.

[sapna gurukar]

Amazing pictures Hari and a very crisp narration too! Sakleshpur is definitely underrated as a destination but it is better that way. Like you mentioned, the more people know about it, the more commercialization will happen!

[naut]

Hari,

Awesome narration there and great pics! I started off hoping to visit this place with my family and then I saw the pic of the "creepy visitor". Oh Man! I'd be a little uncomfortable, my wife would be even more uncomfortable esp. if the snakes can manage to get indoors.

But otherwise a great place with the small off-roading bit. Thanks for sharing!

Regards,
Abhi

[vasanthn21]

Amazing pictures and a nice write up.

The snake in the picture seems to be a rat snake (non-venomous). Usually found in tiled roof tops typically looking for rats. These are a common sight in my tiled house in Mangalore.

Look for Ptyas Mucosus in the link below: Indian Snakes | IASzoology.com

Ptyas mucosus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

One quick question: Do you think a drive to Sakleshpur and staying in the places you mentioned would be possible in a non-SUV (say in a hatch!)?

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by Lukeskywalker

... I remembered our friend and fellow tbhpian Chandan had a place in Sakleshpur

Excellent narration and pics Hari, thanks for sharing. I had been to Chandan's place in June and have numerous pics of my little one with Shunti, who is a hit with kids I reckon I am sure you can take a guess on where my TBHP avatar picture was clicked

BTW, I was at Balur (inspired by your t-log of the place) on the very same day that you were at Chandan's...

[Lukeskywalker]

Thats great travelogue Hari, I liked reading it.

Thanks Ravi, next time I will visit your hometown

Amazing pictures Hari and a very crisp narration too! Sakleshpur is definitely underrated as a destination but it is better that way. Like you mentioned, the more people know about it, the more commercialization will happen!

Thanks a bunch Sapna, once again, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay there, in fact Jyo and Priya were lamenting that we should have stayed the extra night instead of going to Chikmagalur, we will surely be back.

Awesome narration there and great pics! I started off hoping to visit this place with my family and then I saw the pic of the "creepy visitor". Oh Man! I'd be a little uncomfortable, my wife would be even more uncomfortable esp. if the snakes can manage to get indoors.

Thanks Abhi, please don't be put off by the snake pictures, Chandan and Sapna will ensure the safety of guests always, and the appearance of the snake in the dining area was a very rare occurrence according to Chandan and I very much doubt if a snake can enter living quarters unless one is very careless.

Amazing pictures and a nice write up.
One quick question: Do you think a drive to Sakleshpur and staying in the places you mentioned would be possible in a non-SUV (say in a hatch!)?

Thanks Vasanth for the compliments, as for a hatch being able to reach Mugilu, there is absolutely no problem, in the worst of the monsoon period, Chandan can pick guests from the asphalted road about a kilometre and a half away and he has an arrangement with the neighbours for safe parking. There was a Fabia which had made it there when we went.

Excellent narration and pics Hari, thanks for sharing. I had been to Chandan's place in June and have numerous pics of my little one with Shunti, who is a hit with kids I reckon I am sure you can take a guess on where my TBHP avatar picture was clicked

BTW, I was at Balur (inspired by your t-log of the place) on the very same day that you were at Chandan's...

Thank you Rahul, and yes, we did speak about your visit and Chandan did tell me that you were in Balur, I'm sure you'd have enjoyed Rathnamma's hospitality there as well.

[siddheshb]

Hari, mesmerizing pics - which camera did you use? Wow - can't stop drooling over these pictures. And the drive through the river - wow, must have been fun! Good thing you didn't attempt it with the Safari, would have taken a lot of water in the exhaust. Even the photo op you took, wouldn't that dip your exhaust in the water?

Did you manage to identify the snake?

Amazing place, a little too far from Pune for a trip, I guess - but who knows!

[floyd.bell]

Originally Posted by Lukeskywalker

lesson : Good taxi driver's offers to help should not be turned down .

But how do we judge if the taxi driver is Good

Excellent TL, Hari with damn Awesome pics!!! Your Safari is one of the best maintained examples I have seen till now. Aah, now I know why you were enquiring about the Chiks-Kadur road condition the other day we had met at Nikhil's wedding.
I had been wanting to go to Sakleshpur since a very long time and your TL has really excited me to take it up as soon as possible. And I will make it a point to stay at Mugilu's. I would like to meet the folks who covered Leh/Ladakh in a Hyundai Getz which had already clocked 1,00,000 kms

BTW Hari, how far are the open grasslands from the homestay where you have your family pic clicked and a few others such as of the Shervo walking, etc. The place looks just heavenly and out of the world.

[Lukeskywalker]

Hari, mesmerizing pics - which camera did you use? Wow - can't stop drooling over these pictures. And the drive through the river - wow, must have been fun! Good thing you didn't attempt it with the Safari, would have taken a lot of water in the exhaust. Even the photo op you took, wouldn't that dip your exhaust in the water?

Thanks Siddeshb, trying to cross the river with the Safari would have been foolhardy, but the little dip was not difficult, even though the exhaust went underwater, the throttle was held and it was just a "dip".
I use a Canon 550D with kit lens.

But how do we judge if the taxi driver is Good

Guess experiences in life give you a vibe about a person.

Excellent TL, Hari with damn Awesome pics!!! Your Safari is one of the best maintained examples I have seen till now. Aah, now I know why you were enquiring about the Chiks-Kadur road condition the other day we had met at Nikhil's wedding.
I had been wanting to go to Sakleshpur since a very long time and your TL has really excited me to take it up as soon as possible. And I will make it a point to stay at Mugilu's. I would like to meet the folks who covered Leh/Ladakh in a Hyundai Getz which had already clocked 1,00,000 kms

BTW Hari, how far are the open grasslands from the homestay where you have your family pic clicked and a few others such as of the Shervo walking, etc. The place looks just heavenly and out of the world.

Thanks floyd.bell, yes, this trip was the reason I was asking about the Kadur route.
The grasslands are just a 2 minute walk from Mugilu, Shunti will how you the best places in and around Mugilu.

[Rajeevraj]

Great Travelogue. We had been thinking about going to Sakleshpur for our next trip and this report just makes us want to go immediately. Although a 2 day weekend trip seems good from distance perspective, do you think it is enough to do justice to the place?

[chandan]

Originally Posted by vasanthn21

Amazing pictures and a nice write up.

The snake in the picture seems to be a rat snake (non-venomous). Usually found in tiled roof tops typically looking for rats. These are a common sight in my tiled house in Mangalore.

Look for Ptyas Mucosus in the link below: Indian Snakes | IASzoology.com

Ptyas mucosus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

One quick question: Do you think a drive to Sakleshpur and staying in the places you mentioned would be possible in a non-SUV (say in a hatch!)?

In most probability, this is a variety of a " Checkered keelback ", going by the checkered marks on the back, although I could not dig out an exact match on the net or in the book. I doubt it is a rat snake as they have distinct vertical stripes running near their eyes.

Yes, it is possible in a non-SUV. The only cars that had problems till date were the Baleno & Civic.