We'd been planning to go to Madurai for a long time, and with new year round the corner we suddenly decided to pack our bags. But then tickets weren't available and my husband quickly changed the plan to Karnataka. Since it was new year time it was very difficult to find a resort. So finally we booked this place called The Karle homestay for the Sakleshpur part of our trip. We'd had already had a very bad experience on day 1 of our very short trip and wasted one day. We didn't have high hopes and had less than aday to spend in Sakleshpur. So we begin our journey towards Sakleshpur at about 11, Reach Sakleshpur at 1 pm, visit the Manjarabad fort, which is such a wonderful Historical Monument, all dilapidated and wiping itself away from the History books( Praise the Indian Govt.) and at 2 o' clock we start towards the resort which is 64 Km from the fort. We were hungry and drove very fast but only so fast we could go, coz the resort is located in a village about 7-10kms from sakleshpur and a real village it was. We traveled on dusty roadways through vast streches of agricultural fields to finally reach the place.
The moment we arrived, the staff quickly grabbed our luggage, helped us with welcome drinks and showed us our room. It was quite clean and spacious. As the lunch was being served , quickly grabbed a look around. It was a beautiful location and I said to my Husband " if not anything else, we can atleast get some great photos here".
Well, food was served, it was good and had a lot of variety, 2 kinds of rice, 2 veg curries, 2 non veg curries etc etc and the best part was an amazing "Karle Dessert", which is something made out of coconut, and I'm saying this even though I hate coconut. So we had a lovely, filling lunch "By the river side". And so was the food story in every meal.
After this we were taken for some river activities. Amazing planning has gone into this. When we reached the river, our "Riverman", pulled a chair hanging on a rope across the river. I thought it was just a means to cross the river and took my seat, but to my surprise he let go of the rope and I went crashing into the river. It was wonderful.We spent about 2 hours having a great time swinging on what I call "The Mowgli swing". crossing bridges, ropes and ladders.
In the night a Camp fire was arranged with music and snacks. We also played carroms( and yeah I won). This is such a great way to spend time together and a complete getaway. The next morning we went boating across the river. We didn't even realise how quickly that hour and a half drifted away. The view of the river was breathtaking....something you only watch on screen.
We really wish we had planned this trip. Atleast 3 days need to be taken out to spend time here. Really planning to go back sometime soon, coz there's so much more awaiting......It was a beautiful , beautiful, beautiful trip.
PS:Not advisable to go during the rainy season, coz the river swells....
PS:Not advisable to go during the rainy season, coz the river swells....
