Sakleshpur and Nearby Places

 

Sakleshpur is just a 4.5 hour drive from Bangalore at 221 Kms distance. Perfect weekend getaway for a quick trek or to enjoy the refreshing nature. I am sure this blog will be a comprehensive guide for all the places in and around Sakleshpur. I have covered almost all the important 20+ places with beautiful photos of them. Read and share with friends and share your comments below. 

It is better to visit right after the rains i.e. September to February. June/July/August are rainy months. March to May are summer months. Just turn any side to see the green hills covered with clouds.  Don't feel sad if you could not visit Switzerland in lifetime, just visit Sakleshpur or Chikmagalur once and feel the wind, enjoy the fine shower, look around for the green pastures elsewhere, just trek on those grass-hills, listen to the wind, watch the clouds touch you and pass by... Words cannot justify, you need to visit to feel it. 

A word of caution:

Please be aware that, sudden fog or passing clouds will reduce your visibility levels if incase you are trekking on hills. Make sure to go in groups and remember the path you go so that you can come back. Also remember you are in their territory and wild animals might be around. Ask locals first about the place and then start trek. Carry salt for leeches, water, snacks and a stick for your help and support while trekking. Please don't litter and it is our responsibility. 

Most importantly - Some trekking spots need pass, so apply and book online before you visit. Visit https://karnatakaecotourism.com/ (or) https://myecotrip.com/

As usual, let me share some interesting photos of Sakleshpur

Do you see those cattle tracks ? Beautiful isn't it? 

Happy Flock of Birds !

Stay options

Though there are multiple resorts in Sakleshpur, request the reader to choose based on the reviews i.e. Google review or Tripadvisor reviews.  One of the best option and based on reviews, Sinnadorai Bungalow Kadamane Tea Estate seem to be pretty good with scenic views, green pastures and meadows. Click the link to check more and visit their website for booking. 

If you want to see all the places listed in this Blog, you might need 4 nights 5 days stay. Or you can visit over weekend twice / thrice to cover all the places. Lots of trekking spots so be ready. 

20+ Places covered in this blog

Initially due to my ignorance I was under the assumption that, Sakleshpur may not have many places. But over years, learnt with my friends and got to know that, there are wonderful places here for trekking than anywhere else. I have visited just 3 places and shared photos, will update this in future if I get to visit again.  Click the below Google Map link to see all these in the map. 

Note: PLEASE correct if anything is wrong here by adding your comments below, Thank you. 

List of all places in Google Map - https://goo.gl/maps/e3PrNkCCLoSXbzTq7 

View of all the places in Sakleshpur on the Map, as you can see on top it is towards Byrapura and at bottom it is all towards Pushpagiri and Kumarahalli

A. Inside Sakleshpur

1. Manjarabad Fort - 6 Kms from Sakleshpur

2. Shopping at B.M.Road - Bangalore Mangalore Road for Pepper, Cardamom, Coffee and Tea, Honey

B. Towards Byrapura - Places at the Top part of the map

Note: Each place listed below is a link to Google Map location

1. Ombattu Gudda Peak - 40 Kms from Sakleshpur
2. Bettada Byreswara Swamy Temple - 35 Kms from Sakleshpur
3. Mekanagadde betta - 35 Kms from Sakleshpur, Walk from the above temple
4. Pandavara Betta - 33 Kms from Sakleshpur
5. Sinnadorai Bungalow Kadamane Tea Estate - 24 Kms from Sakleshpur
6. Stone Valley View Point - 29 Kms to resort and from there get a Jeep ride
7. Agani Gudda Peak - 26 Kms from Sakleshpur

C. Towards Kumarahalli and Pushpagiri - Places at the Bottom part of the map

1. Hongadahalla Sakleshpur Railway Tunnel (I heard trek is banned here)
2. Dodda Betta - 60 Kms from Sakleshpur
3. Mallalli Waterfalls - 56 Kms from Sakleshpur
4. Bisle Ghat View Point - 51 Kms from Sakleshpur
5. Big rock Pushpagiri - 62 Kms from Sakleshpur
6. Shanta Mallikarjuna Temple - 62 Kms from Sakleshpur
7. Kumara Parvatha View Point - 62 Kms from Sakleshpur
8. Pushpagiri Peak and View point - 62 Kms from Sakleshpur
9. Shesha Parvatha - Close to Shanta Mallikarjuna Temple, 62Kms from Sakleshpur
10. Pushpagiri Trek spot - 61 Kms from Sakleshpur
11. Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuary - 62 Kms from Sakleshpur

D. Nearby Sakleshpur

1. Belur, Halebidu, Belavadi, Shravanabelagola, Doddagaddavalli - Visit my blog

2. Visit my exclusive photo feature blog on Belur, Halebidu and Belavadi

3. Visit my exclusive blog on Kukke Subramanya Temple, Dharmasthala, Udupi, Kollur temples

1500 years back, Polished like a mirror, amazing pillar at Belavadi

Moving onto the photos of places

It says take left for Bettada Byraveshwara Temple, also see the note on wild animals

Bettada Byraveshwara Temple

As I told, it gets suddenly foggy and visibility reduces immediately, Please be careful !!! Mekanagadde Betta 

Slow motion capture of fine shower at Mekanagadde Betta

Tiny frog on the grass - Mekanagadde Betta

Beautiful flowers on grass - Mekanagadde Betta

Trek path to Mekanagadde Betta

Trek path - Mekanagadde Betta

Beautiful view from Mekanagadde Betta

Another beautiful view from Mekanagadde Betta

Beautiful flowers on the grass - Mekanagadde Betta

Do you see the temple from where you started your trek? That is your parking space for cars.

So foggy and visibility is very less, be careful to remember your way back

Another view of Temple from Mekanagadde Betta

Stone valley view point

Another view of Stone valley view point

Contact Stone valley resorts for this thrilling Jeep ride

Full of clouds and sun light falling in between them..... wov... mesmerizing !

Do you see the cattle tracks? Stone valley view point

Do you see the cattle crossing ? 

It is amazing view from here, don't miss this place

If you go via Bisle Ghat to Kukke, this is how it looks and road condition was not good, but now? 

Another view of the road to Kukke via Bisle ghat from Sakleshpur

Beautiful view on the way near Bisle Ghat

Coffee flower

Close up view of Coffee flower

Hope you enjoyed this comprehensive blog with photos. You may also want to check the popular blog on Chikmagalur and nearby places as well. Click the link below

http://myjourneysinindia.blogspot.com/2016/09/chikmagalur-and-nearby-places.html

Journey so far August 2020

Though for time being we are stuck with this COVID situation, I am sure we will be back to normal soon. Our prayers are with you, for the well being of everyone. There are numerous places in each state of India to visit. Lifetime may not be enough.  

Here, I am trying to list all the places we visited so far in a tabular form (state wise) with the blog link for readers. This would help as a quick reference. With the links and short details, readers can make quick decision on the destination and also read more from blogs.

Out of 29 states and 7 union territories (UT) in India, we could visit 9 states so far and rest to follow. Even within each states multiple places are pending in our visit. Below are the list of States/UT we visited in the order as in below table. 

1. Tamil Nadu [Rows 1 to 16]
2. Andhra Pradesh [Rows 17 to 20]
3. Telangana [Rows 17 to 20]
4. Kerala [Rows 21 to 23]
5. Rajasthan [Rows 24 to 27]
6. Delhi [Row 28]
7. Uttar Pradesh [Row 29]
8. Uttarakhand [Row 30]
9. Karnataka [Row 31 to 45] 

Quick Reference of all my travel blogs

S.No	State / Main place	List of places covered	Specialty / Highlights	Blog Link
1	Tamil Nadu - Chennai	List of 70+ places in the blog	Beaches, Temples, Vandalur Zoo, etc	Chennai and Nearby Places
2	Tamil Nadu - Trichy Or Tiruchirappalli	All the places in and around Trichy are covered in all directions	Asia's largest temple complex - Srirangam, Hill temples nearby,	Trichy or Tiruchirappalli and Nearby places
3	Tamil Nadu - Kodaikanal	Berijam Lake, Mannavanur Grass lands, Poombarai Terrace fields	Hill station, Nature and Scenic view points	Kodaikanal Princess of Hills and Nearby places
4	Tamil Nadu - Redhills and Ooty	Ooty, Redhills	Hill station, Nature and Scenic view points	Redhills Ooty - Wakeup to the chirping of variety of birds
5	Tamil Nadu - Yercaud	Yercaud, Salem, Tharamangalam, Kanjamalai, Skandashramam, Oothumalai, Nainamalai, Thalamalai	Yercaud is a Hill station, and nearby hill temples	Yercaud Salem and nearby places
6	Tamil Nadu - Pollachi, Topslip, Valparai	Topslip Indira Gandhi National park,  Anamalai Reserved forest, Thirumoorthy hills, Kolikamudhi Elephant camp, Aliyar Dam, Parambikulam,	Hill station, Nature and Scenic view points	1.       Topslip Indira Gandhi National Park Anamalai reserved forest 2.       Pollachi and Valparai
7	Tamil Nadu - Kanchipuram	City of Temples and Silk, Vedanthangal Bird sanctuary	Historical Temples, Bird sanctuary	Kanchipuram City of Temples and Silk
8	Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore	Eechaneri, Marudhamalai, Perur, Isha Ashram, Velliangiri Hills, Palamalai	Historical Temples, 112 feet Shiva statue(Guinness book of records), Famous Car Museum	Coimbatore and Nearby Places
9	Tamil Nadu - Chidambaram	Chidambaram, Pichavaram mangrove forest, Vadalur, Virudhachalam, Srimushnam, Seerkazhi, Vaitheeswaran koil, Thirunallaru, Thirvarur,	World's 2nd largest mangrove forest with 11+ Sq.Kms, Historical temples	Chidambaram and Nearby places
10	Tamil Nadu - Mannargudi	Mannargudi, Nachiarkoil, Thirvarur, Oothukadu,	World famous 300 tonne wooden chariot, Unique Kal Garuda, Largest temple tank in India	Mannargudi Thiruvarur Nachiarkoil Oothukadu and Nearby places
11	Tamil Nadu - Kumbakonam	Kumbakonam Temples and Navagraha temples	Historic Temples	Kumbakonam and Navagraha Temples
12	Tamil Nadu - Thanjavur	Brihadeeswarar Temple	World famous for its architecture, close to Kumbakonam	Thanjavur Brihadeeswarar Temple
13	Tamil Nadu - Darasuram	Airavateshwara Temple	Famous for its architecture, close to Kumbakonam	Darasuram Airavateshwara Temple
14	Tamil Nadu - Gangai Konda Cholapuram	Peruvudaiyar Temple	Famous for its architecture, close to Kumbakonam	Gangaikonda Cholapuram Peruvudaiyar Temple
15	Tamil Nadu - Vellore Thiruvannamalai and Ratnagiri	Vellore Fort and Jalakandeswara Temple, Golden Temple, Thiruvannamalai Temple, Ratnagiri Murugan Temple	Historic Temples, Famous Golden Temple	Ratnagiri Vellore and Thiruvannamalai
16	Tamil Nadu - Thirukadaiyur or Thirukkadavur	Amritaghateswarar Abirami Temple	Historic Temple, Read Abhirami Pattar story from Wiki here.	Thirukkadaiyur or Thirukkadavur Temple
17	Andhra Pradesh - Nandyal, Belum caves, Yaganti, Gandikota, Oravakallu, Mahanandi	Grand canyon of India - Gandikota, Caves of Yaganti, Naturally formed rock of various shapes at Oravakallu, Big Nandi at Mahanandi	Million year old natural underground cave, A MUST visit in India. Yaganti caves are also very famous.Growing Nandi at Yaganti	Belum Caves, Gandikota Grand canyon of India, Yaganti, Oravakallu and Mahanandi
18	Andra Pradesh - Vishakapatnam	Arakku Valley, Bora caves,	Beautiful beaches, Million year old huge natural underground cave called Bora, Sankaram, Araku valley hill station	Vishakapatnam and Nearby Places
19	Andhra Pradesh - Lepakshi, Veerapuram and Rangasthala	Historical Temple and Birds village	Famous hanging stone Pillar, sculptures, Murals, Veerapuram Birds village	Lepakshi Veerapuram and Rangasthala
20	Andhra Pradesh - Kotilingeshwara Temple and Antharaganga Caves	Kotilingeswara Temple and the rock cave	1 crore Shivling installed in a single site, Natural rock caves	Koti Lingeshwara Temple and Antharagange caves
21	Kerala - Sabarimalai	Lord Ayyappa Temple	Sacred temple on a hill amidst the forest, every year close to 5 crore devotees visit this temple, Very famous in the South India	Sabarimalai Lord Ayyappa Temple
22	Kerala - Trivandrum, Ponmudi	Trivandrum, Ponmudi, Peppara wildlife sanctuary, Neyyar Dam	World famous Historical Temple, Small hill station - Ponmudi	Ponmudi,Trivandrum or Thiruvananthapuram and Nearby Places
23	Kerala - Thattekad Dr Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary	Bird sanctuary	World famous for Bird photography and bird watching, Srilankan Frogmouth is seen here in huge numbers	Thattekad Dr Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary
24	Rajasthan - Jaipur Hot Air Balooning	Hot Air Baloon at Jaipur	Famous for Hot Air Baloon near the Fort	Hot Air Ballooning at Jaipur Rajasthan
25	Rajasthan - Jaipur In and Around	Jaipur - In and Around	All the places in and around Jaipur are covered in this Blog	Jaipur Forts, Palaces, Shopping, Food and Places Around Jaipur
26	Rajasthan - Around Jaipur	Abhaneri Step well, Choki Dhani cultural village, Ajmer Dargah, Pushkar Bramha Temple and desert safari, Sambhar Salt lake	Famous step well, Brahma Temple in Pushkar,	Around Jaipur
27	Rajasthan - Special Photo feature blog	Various photos taken in Jaipur and around in Rajasthan	Rajasthan culture and festivals	Rajasthan Photo Feature
27	Delhi	Delhi and around	World's largest book that weighs 800 Kgs, Corrosion resistant iron pillar since 402 CE, All the places in and around Delhi	Delhi Mathura Vrindavan Agra and Nearby Places
28	Uttar Pradesh - Vrindavan, Mathura, Govardhan, Gokul, Nandagoan and Agra	Temples, Fort and Taj Mahal	Historic temples - 5000+ temples of Lord Krishna, The world famous Taj Mahal and Agra Fort	Vrindavan, Mathura, Govardhan, Gokul, Nandagaon and Agra
29	Uttarakhand - Haridwar, Rishikesh and Neelkanth	Historic Temples, River Ganga and Famous Aarthi	World famous 1 crore devotee gathering at Kumbh Mela,  Hill Temple Neelkanth Mahadev, River Ganga and Aarthi	Haridwar and Rishikesh
30	Karnataka - Bangalore In and Around	All the places in Bangalore and nearby	Close to 60+ important places in Bangalore listed with map locations	Places in Bangalore - Important Places to visit in Bangalore
31	Karnataka - Weekend breaks from Bangalore	All the places - Hill stations, Palaces, World famous Historical monuments, Rivers and waterfalls, Nature wild life bird watching and photography, Trekking, Hill temples, Landscapes, Caves and relaxation….	Categorical list of places listed around Bangalore that can be covered in a day's time or over a weekend	Weekend breaks or Day trips from Bangalore
32	Karnataka - Chikmagalur and Nearby places	Mullayanagiri, Baba budangiri, Manikayadhara falls, Kemmengundi hill station, Hebbe falls, Kalhatti falls, Bhadra wildlife sanctuary and safari, Kudremukha view point, Sringeri, Horanadu Annapoorneshwari Temple, Kalasa,  Hiremagalur Rama Temple	Very beautiful landscapes, hills, scenic and great view points, Historic temples	Chikmagalur and Nearby Places
33	Karnataka - Hampi, Badami, Sandur, Kudalasangama, Pattadakal, Aihole, Mahakuta, Banashankari	All the places with the photos of temples, historical monuments	Historical monuments, Sandur Palace and temple, World famous Badami Cave temples	1.       Hampi and Nearby places 2.       Sandur Kumaraswamy Temple and Shiva  Vilas Palace 3.       Banashankari Mahakuta Kudalasangama 4.       Pattadakal Historical Temples 5.       Aihole Historical Temples
34	Karnataka - Kukke, Bisle, Dharmasthala, Udupi, Murudeshwar, Kollur, Gokarna	Kukke Subramanya Temple, Dharmasthala Manjunatha swamy temple, Bisle Ghat, Udupi, Murudeshwar, Kollu, Gokarna	Beaches, Historical temples, Scenic view points	Dharmastala Kukke Bisle Ghat Udupi Kollur Mookambiga Temples
35	Karnataka - Belur, Halebidu, Shravanabelagola, Belavadi, Doddagaddavalli, Shettyhalli, Gorur, Somanathapura	All the places listed	World famous sculptures and carvings, Historical monuments, Must Visit in Lifetime	1.       Belur Halebidu Belavadi Photo Feature 2.       Belur Halebidu and Somanathapura - Wonders of the world and Must see in INDIA 3.       Shravanabelagola Vindyagiri and Chandragiri Bahupali statue 4.       Doddagaddavalli - Lakshmi Devi temple 5.       Shettihalli church 6.       Belavadi Veera Narayana Temple
36	Karnataka - Chitradurga	Famous fort	Historical monument - Fort and windmills	Chitradurga Fort or Kallina kote and Windmills
37	Karnataka - Mysore and nearby places	In and around Mysore - Nanjungad, Ranganathittu Bird sanctuary, KRS Dam, Srirangapatna temple, Nimishamba temple, Replica of Hampi stone chariot, Karighatta, Sivanasaudram waterfalls, Talakad, Balmuri falls	World famous Mysore Palace, Historical temples, Forts, River and landscapes	Mysore and nearby places
38	Karnataka - Coorg, Madikeri, Kakkabe, Sangama, Brahmagiri hills, Thalacauvery	Madikeri Hill station, Thalacauvery - starting point, Brahmagiri hills, Nisargadama, Bylakuppe Tibetan temple and colony,	Hill station, Landscape, Nature, River, Trekking	Coorg Madikeri Kakkabe
39	Karnataka - Melukote, Siddharabetta, Madhugiri Betta, Kokkarebelluru	Historic temple and monuments, Trekking, Bird watching and photography	Melukote is a small and beautiful village, Nature, Landscape, Historical monuments, Lake, Fort and Small hill for trekking, Bird watching and photography at Kokkarebelluru	1.       Melukote and Kokkare Bellur 2.       Trekking and Cave exploration in Siddara Betta 3.       Madhugiri Fort or Madhugiri Betta
40	Karnataka - Kere Thonnur, Hosahalalu	Kere Thonnur and Hosahalalu	Ancient and historic temples, monuments, lake	Kere Thonnur Ramanujacharya Temple and Hosaholalu
41	Karnataka - Adi Chunchunagiri, Nagamangala	Both the places are temples, Nagamangala has many historic temples		Mysore and nearby places
42	Karnataka - Shivagange	Hill trekking, Temple, Great view points		Shivagange or Dakshina Kashi Near Tumkur
43	Karnataka - Somanathapura, Talakad, Shivanasamudram,	Historical monuments, Amazing intricate carvings and sculptures		Somanathapura, Talakkad and Shivanasamudram Waterfalls
44	Karnataka - BR Hills	Wildlife and photography, Safari	Safari is famous, The temple on top of the hill is very old and has scenic views	Biligiriranga hills and KGudi Wilderness Camp
45	Karnataka - Bandipur national park and tiger reserve	Wildlife and photography, Safari	Safari is famous	Bandipur National Park and Tiger Reserve

 

Hope this is useful, share with your friends and family. Feel free to share your comments below. Thank you.