Road trips to the edge of the western ghats

 

Now that I have a sedan at my disposal, road trips seem like an easy way to kill weekends and avoid work. There are multiple options for quick trips around Bangalore and despite having hit most of them, repeats on a drive are certainly fun. The roads outside of Bangalore are great for driving, especially after the traffic of the weekdays. The first of these was to Sakleshpur. A 6 hour drive brought us to the resort (Eka) which was well outside the town. The last hour was spent just finding it as the maps listed the location incorrectly.

 

After relaxing for a bit, the afternoon was spent on another drive through the forests to the nearby Bisle ghat. Although the platform at the ledge was undergoing construction, the view was not obstructed. A series of green hills in the distance on a clear day provide the best view of the valley. Getting back to the resort itself there were plantations within the campus with a number of trails and plenty of birds.

The next day was another long drive up to about 20 km from Kudremukh and back. There are quite a few viewpoints on the way and plenty of places to stop for coffee. The temples though are the most famous stops en route. The winding roads through the ghats took much longer than expected and while we were not too far from Kudremukh, we decided to return to avoid driving in the dark. On our way back to Bangalore, we stopped and climbed Manjarabad fort. The climb up was pleasant but as the day wore on, the climb down was in searing heat.

The next weekend was again spent at Chikmagalur in a different resort. This one was in a valley beyond the hills through a route which could only be navigated with a four wheel drive. This one had a waterfall inside and a bunch of games to keep the patrons busy. On the way to Chikmagalur and back were a couple of stops for the Belur and Halebidu temples. They are grand remnants of the architecture along with Shravan Belagola which is more of a Jain pilgrimage. The climb there looked quite daunting there so we were satisfied with viewing it from the foot of the hill. We spent some more time at the Belur and Halebidu temples instead.