Sakleshpur, Karnataka

A trip in Karnataka during monsoon is challenging with incessant rains, minor landslides and damaged roads. Last time we did something like this was a trip to Chikmanglur in 2018. This year we were determined to do it again, despite similar weather predictions. However it turns out completely different this time. Let's jump into the first leg of the trip in this blog - Sakleshpur.

Sakleshpur is a hill town in the Western Ghats, famous for numerous coffee plantations. So the choice of stay is invariably inside a plantation. There are tons of choices with wide variety - from homestay to resorts and wide price ranges - from budget friendly to luxurious. Our destination this time was a lovely resort Rosetta by Ferns. It is located midway between Hassan and Sakleshpur. Ah! there is a back story on why we chose this place. Should I talk about it here? Probably a whole blog dedicated to the journey from Bangalore to Rosetta. Read it here.

So back to the topic - Rosetta by Ferns Sakleshpur. It is a luxury resort located inside a sprawling 100 acre coffee plantation. The resort was very new, opened post-covid and that showed in sterling upkeep of the place. Upon checkin, we got an upgrade to a Pepper room, a 1 BR space with an almost private swimming pool. While the rooms were getting ready, we spent time exploring the activity centre - an indoor games centre with decent choice of games - badminton, foosball, carroms, table tennis, snooker, ice hockey and a kids play room. The person-in-charge there, Mr Ratan, was very friendly and suggested us places to visit around the resort. He also informed us that there would be duck and fish feeding at the lake inside the resort at 4:30PM and guided nature walk through the plantation at 5:30PM. So our rest of the day was dedicated to rejoice at Rosetta.

The lunch buffet spread at Teatro restaurant was a delight with a good mix of Indian, Asian and Italian cuisines. There was also an option of Indian Thali at Amish vegetarian restaurant. Don't miss the buffet if you are a foodie. 

After a relaxing day at Rosetta, the plan for the next day was to explore the nature's beauty in Sakleshpur. By the way, did I tell you about the weather? It was perfect for our trip. Cloudy almost all the time, which means pleasant temperatures. 

The day started with a soothing morning walk listening to the birds, breathing the fresh air and caressing the dew drops on the lawns. The ducks were wading in the lake carelessly. After gorging the breakfast buffet (it is difficult to decide what to omit), our first destination was Abbi falls at Magajahalli. It is an hour drive from Rosetta, passing through Sakleshpur town. The roads are well maintained in this region and you can soak in the beauty of the Western Ghats.

The Abbi falls are a cascade of wterfalls with enough water to enjoy couple of hours trudging through the water, jumping from rock to rock and getting wet in the small puddles or in the flowing water. A newly-wed couple and professional photographers inspired us with interesting poses and click a ton of memorable pictures.

Next stop on the way back from Abbi falls to Rosetta was Manjarabad Fort. It is a star shaped structure that looks magnificent on google photos - someone's drone shot of the fort. When you go there, you can't really get that view, but it was still a satisfying experience. You have to trek up the hill through 250 stairs. The fort is dilapidated and marked as an archeological site. There was no description of who built it.

The view of the green plains below was breathtaking and different seasons will give contrasting views. Ours was a bit of blue sky, lot of white fluffy clouds and varied shades of green stretched as far as your could reach. In summers, make sure that you visit the place early in the morning or late in the evening or be ready to be sun-dried.

It was nearing lunch time, so we headed back to Rosetta to catch our next buffet at Teatro. Eating good food was one of the top agenda items of our vacation this year. Now you know how much we miss vegetarian food in our trips in Malaysia.

The rest of the evening was spent lazying at Rosetta - peaceful afternoon nap, unwinding at the grand pool and taking an evening stroll through the plantation listening to the shrill buzz of cicadas (an insect that makes noise when it comes out for few days and die after remaining underground for 13 years). 

After a satisfying couple of days at Sakleshpur (and of course leaving multitude of tourist places to explore in future), we were ready early the next morning to catch train from Hassan to Talguppa.

Destination Jog falls - that's a topic for next blog.