On a foggy groggy morning - the eve of Christmas we set out to explore Jenukallu, Sakleshpur. Needless to say, nature beckoned us to discover it. After a tough drive through the foggy Bangalore morning, we stop at hotel Mayura for breakfast in Belur Cross. I woke up from a deep slumber to have a nice breakfast, some sunshine and a hot tea. Ahh, naaaice was what my heart kept ringing :D
So we then set out to continue our journey, to an endless stretch of Antakshari, screaming and tired 10 souls rest. We again stop in Sakleshpur town to shop for some shampoos, gifts, chocs et al. It feels good to get some sunshine on our tired, cold faces :) After a short drive we reach the Jenukallu Valley Resort. Yuppie :D
It's almost noon when we reach there. We explore the resort, its rustic swings, nature..wow...serene was the word to describe it. After hanging out and enjoying for a bit, we head out for lunch. Really delicious food, simple ambience and some loving chefs. We split into groups and carry our luggage to our respective cottages. One distinct thing you would notice is the coffee wood furniture everywhere in the resort - from the dining hall to the cottages :) Gives a regal look to the place. The view from the cottages too is excellent. Long stretches of forest, a slush volleyball ground and a cool wind blowing past you. Nothing can beat it. We sit and relax a bit, chatting, some fun and a lazy afternoon. We then decide to head out for a bit of cricket and volleyball. The resort has a host of games to enjoy and have fun - from carrom, cricket, volleyball, badminton a private waterfall. It is a perfect getaway to unwind and refresh yourself. After the games we then head out to the waterfall. We had to get down some 50 steps, made of tree branches amidst dense forest to reach the falls. Its a safe, fun place. We enjoyed to the hilt splashing, falling, gurgling water :) There is a thing about having fun, unless you let down your guard and have fun like kid, there is no fun at all. It's pure in its purest form when played like a kid. It did remind me of my childhood days of play. We then rushed back to our cottages to change.
After a cold dip in the water, we were served hot tea, popcorn, bhajjis next to the bonfire! Voila! It was mindblowing. The pathway from the dining hall to the cottages is a long walk, lit by lights. It resembled a runway from far. The evening was spectacular next to the bonfire. Chatting, some more fun, eating and each of us warming ourselves in front of the fire. We then head to the dining hall for more rounds of carrom. It was fun to cheer, scream and scoff at opponents ;) heheh. Then the guide suggested we take a night trek. I decided to go along half mindedly, but then happened to be one of the best decisions i made. The trek in a pitch dark night, with just 2 solar lights to save our day, we set out. The guide started the journey with some ghostly stories, which i detested the most :(
And then we made up to the top of a small hill. It was one of my most peaceful places. It's said heaven was divided into smaller pieces and spread across the world. Probably this was one of the smaller pieces. The moon looked splendid in the serene atmosphere. We could see a series of smaller and bigger hills all around us. The famous hill in the area, Jenukallu is the 2nd highest peak in Karnataka. It was mindblowing to watch it. We spent sometime there and headed back to the resort, to a sumptuous meal and a good sleep.
We started the new morning with some hot tea, biscuits. I spent a while trying out my hand at badminton, was fun. And then we headed out to our trek. It was almost an 45mins - 1hour long trek. The stretch though not very hard but tested our fitness levels. I was totally dissappointed by my own fitness levels :( The good part being, i have started on a regular exercise regime since then ;)
We reached the peak, had some water, biscuits some scenic view, some pictures. It was a picture perfect trek. We then slowly started heading back. It took us close to 1/2 hr to reach the foot of the hill. We sat down for some rest, some more chit chat and then a quick walk back to the resort. We change quickly and head to TT to take us to one more spectacular waterfall. It lived up to its reputation. The rocks surrounding it, were covered in algae to the hilt. It was a adventurous slide/walk to the falls :) All of us like before played like kids and in about an hour's time we headed back. We changed and then had lunch - a simple tasty meal like always. It was time for us to start our journey back to Blore soon. My heart yearned to stay back, have more fun. Sigh! So we ended our journey bidding goodbye to Sakleshpur, its coffee estates, the mindblowing beauty and heading back to a monotony.
All in all, i have promised myself another trip to the resort sometime. It's worth every penny you pay.
So we then set out to continue our journey, to an endless stretch of Antakshari, screaming and tired 10 souls rest. We again stop in Sakleshpur town to shop for some shampoos, gifts, chocs et al. It feels good to get some sunshine on our tired, cold faces :) After a short drive we reach the Jenukallu Valley Resort. Yuppie :D
It's almost noon when we reach there. We explore the resort, its rustic swings, nature..wow...serene was the word to describe it. After hanging out and enjoying for a bit, we head out for lunch. Really delicious food, simple ambience and some loving chefs. We split into groups and carry our luggage to our respective cottages. One distinct thing you would notice is the coffee wood furniture everywhere in the resort - from the dining hall to the cottages :) Gives a regal look to the place. The view from the cottages too is excellent. Long stretches of forest, a slush volleyball ground and a cool wind blowing past you. Nothing can beat it. We sit and relax a bit, chatting, some fun and a lazy afternoon. We then decide to head out for a bit of cricket and volleyball. The resort has a host of games to enjoy and have fun - from carrom, cricket, volleyball, badminton a private waterfall. It is a perfect getaway to unwind and refresh yourself. After the games we then head out to the waterfall. We had to get down some 50 steps, made of tree branches amidst dense forest to reach the falls. Its a safe, fun place. We enjoyed to the hilt splashing, falling, gurgling water :) There is a thing about having fun, unless you let down your guard and have fun like kid, there is no fun at all. It's pure in its purest form when played like a kid. It did remind me of my childhood days of play. We then rushed back to our cottages to change.
After a cold dip in the water, we were served hot tea, popcorn, bhajjis next to the bonfire! Voila! It was mindblowing. The pathway from the dining hall to the cottages is a long walk, lit by lights. It resembled a runway from far. The evening was spectacular next to the bonfire. Chatting, some more fun, eating and each of us warming ourselves in front of the fire. We then head to the dining hall for more rounds of carrom. It was fun to cheer, scream and scoff at opponents ;) heheh. Then the guide suggested we take a night trek. I decided to go along half mindedly, but then happened to be one of the best decisions i made. The trek in a pitch dark night, with just 2 solar lights to save our day, we set out. The guide started the journey with some ghostly stories, which i detested the most :(
And then we made up to the top of a small hill. It was one of my most peaceful places. It's said heaven was divided into smaller pieces and spread across the world. Probably this was one of the smaller pieces. The moon looked splendid in the serene atmosphere. We could see a series of smaller and bigger hills all around us. The famous hill in the area, Jenukallu is the 2nd highest peak in Karnataka. It was mindblowing to watch it. We spent sometime there and headed back to the resort, to a sumptuous meal and a good sleep.
We started the new morning with some hot tea, biscuits. I spent a while trying out my hand at badminton, was fun. And then we headed out to our trek. It was almost an 45mins - 1hour long trek. The stretch though not very hard but tested our fitness levels. I was totally dissappointed by my own fitness levels :( The good part being, i have started on a regular exercise regime since then ;)
We reached the peak, had some water, biscuits some scenic view, some pictures. It was a picture perfect trek. We then slowly started heading back. It took us close to 1/2 hr to reach the foot of the hill. We sat down for some rest, some more chit chat and then a quick walk back to the resort. We change quickly and head to TT to take us to one more spectacular waterfall. It lived up to its reputation. The rocks surrounding it, were covered in algae to the hilt. It was a adventurous slide/walk to the falls :) All of us like before played like kids and in about an hour's time we headed back. We changed and then had lunch - a simple tasty meal like always. It was time for us to start our journey back to Blore soon. My heart yearned to stay back, have more fun. Sigh! So we ended our journey bidding goodbye to Sakleshpur, its coffee estates, the mindblowing beauty and heading back to a monotony.
All in all, i have promised myself another trip to the resort sometime. It's worth every penny you pay.
For those of you interested in the resort details : http://www.jenukallu.com/
