The Best Road trip from Bangalore to Mangalore via Sakleshpur
I woke up at 3.30AM and got ready within a half hour for a road trip. I booked a taxi from OLA app and the taxi driver arrived after 15 minutes. I got into the taxi and asked him to go CMBT(A) Koyembedu. My friends were present there and I said greetings to them. They didn't find any buses to Bangalore at 4.30AM. But the bus operator from Parveen travels told us, there will be a bus at 6.45 AM and it will reach Bangalore by 1 PM afternoon. We thought it's a better deal to travel because the total travel time will be not more than 6 hours journey. Because some private and government SETC took around 8 to 10 hours tough journey to Bangalore. We friends had a good conversation in the meantime. At around 6.15AM, we had a breakfast at the Hotel Sangeetha Veg Restaurant. We had south Indian infamous Idly, tasty Pongal, crispy Dosa and delicious tea. It cost around INR369 for all the six members. We boarded a bus finally from Chennai to Bangalore by Tranzking travels(700INR).
It was a comfortable journey from Chennai to Bangalore. They provide us with headphones, a water bottle, wet napkin and a peaceful journey. The bus stopped for recess after 3 hours journey and we had orange juice(INR58) at Hotel Anandhas located between Vellore and Ambur Highway to avoid dehydration during travel. I slept for a few hours till we reached Hebbagodi, Bangalore.
We already booked the Zoom Car self-drive service(INR 12911 without fuel cost, free 863km, INR3000 included for refundable security deposit, rental for 3 days) and the destination point of Self drive car to pick was in Hebbagodi, Bangalore. We found the location of the car and we delighted with the look of the car (TATA HEXA) It was in the locked mode. I opened the ZOOM CAR app to unlock the car. In Zoom app, they provided a clear idea about unlocking the car, whereas about RC book, state permit, insurance and Key. Everything was kept inside the car and the only thing we do is to drive it.
I put the key and started the engine of the car where our trip started. I drove the car from Hebbagodi Bangalore towards Tumkur road. "The road made for every roadie". The drive is mostly along a wide and smooth express highway.
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| Bangalore to Haasan Highway |
I stopped the car near Petrol bunk to refill Diesel for 5000INR and we found roadside Dhaba nearby where we had Tandoori roti, Paneer butter masala, Egg Bhurji, Mushroom dry and Chicken Hyderabadi masala at Sri Vajra Family restaurant. The food was not great but definitely, it filled our hunger(1380INR). And one more thing, the family restaurant laid only in the name of the restaurant but not in reality.
We started our journey towards Haasan road and we were unstoppable for the next two hours. At 18.15, We stopped the car at Manya Tea shop located before Shravanabelagola on the Bandadka- Bangalore road. We had delicious tea and biscuits in the atmosphere of cool breeze(INR120). After Haasan, the road was patchy and under construction. We reached Sakleshpur and searching for a room. We found Hotel Durga International for INR 3000.
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| Manjarabad Fort, Sakleshpur |
Sakleshpur, the land of a coffee plantation with a subtropical climate, heavy rains, mystical temples, majestic hills, unique plant and animal species. This hill station located in the range of western ghats covered with Tea, Coffee and Spice plantation with serene nature and pleasant weather. It is famous for a homestay with homegrown ingredients and family recipes. It has the potential to grab the eyes of tourist with the scenic spot such as Manjirabad fort, Railway Bridge Trekking, Bisle viewpoint, Agni Gudda hill, Kukke Subramanya temple, Betta Byraveshwara Temple.
We Visited Manjarabad Fort, Sakleshpur. It is built by Tipu Sultan on the lines of French architecture. Star-shaped Fort surrounded by lush green hills and dense vegetation. We have to walk uphill to reach the Fort. While we came down from the fort, we had tender coconut. It was an awesome drink and the liquid part of the coconut was chilled by the hill weather. It cost around 35INR but worth the drink.
Before visiting Bisle Viewpoint, we stopped at Hotel Sri Ganesh, Maranahally, Sakleshpur Taluq. We had Sweet Kesari, Dosai and sweet mellow delicate coffee.
River Kempe Hole: The road we took was completely filled with a dense vegetation, adjacent to the flowing river Yettinahole(Kempe Hole), a tributary of the Netravati river, a west-flowing river of Karnataka State. We stopped at Shree Chowdeshwari temple and walked near the kempehole river. We were amazed at the beauty of river flowing near the hills filled with pebbles and we excited with the sound of the flowing river. We couldn't resist ourselves to take bath in the river.
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| RIVER KEMPEHOLE |
We culminated into nature and had a wonderful river bath. Our entire stress package in the Urban vanished within a second when my whole body embraces pure serene water. When I submerged completely, I felt the river of silence. After one hour of divine river bath, we get back to the temple and meditate for a few minutes. Enjoyed the place and getting back to our road trip towards Bisle Ghat viewpoint.
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| BISLE GHAT VIEWPOINT |
Bisle viewpoint enthrals a sweeping view of the encircling range of mountains. It has Sub-Tropical weather that favours a variety of flora and fauna.
The viewpoint is situated in the border district of Haasan and Dakshina Kanada and offers adorable sightings of mountain ranges including Pushpagiri, Dodda Betta, Kumara Parvatha.
The road to Bisle Viewpoint was quite a tough journey with narrow, steep roads and sometimes we had driven through off-road. The total journey of the Bisle viewpoint (44KM) round trip took around 2.5 hours from the Kukke Subramanya temple road. Most of the time we drove through off-road in the uphill. It's quite a challenging journey for riders in the narrow, steep, curved uphill road. After visiting Bisle Viewpoint, do visit Kukke Subramanya temple(Powerful Lord Murugan Temple)
After a long uphill drive to Bisle viewpoint, we drove towards Mangalore touched the National Highways NH75, NH73 and NH66. When we took this road, we received the feel of driving on the road of Kerala. Here, most of the settlements belong to the Islam community. The road was excellent to drive and out of hunger, we stopped at Koila. Luckily, we found the Hotel named Taj and had one new dish Katlappam, parota, Fish and Tea (INR250). It was a damn cheap and best hotel which save our bucks.
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| Parota with Fish curry |
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| Sakleshpur to Mangalore road |
There we started a driving to Mangalore and reached Panambur beach(locals favourite beach) at 08.00PM. We literally missed the sunset on the west coast of India. But we enjoyed a sea breeze at night and listened to the chanting of waves. After an hour, we reserved a room at Red rock resort, Surathkal(INR4000). We had the best night at the resort and woke up in the morning. The resort provides u with complimentary breakfast and swimming facilities.
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| REDROCK RESIDENCY |
 MANGALORE NEER DOSA |
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| Suratkal beach, Mangalore |
We returned to Bangalore by the same route, Mangalore--->Saklespur--->Haasan---->Bangalore. (Entire road trip journey around 989km). At Sakleshpur, don't miss out to eat Dhonne Briyani like us. So we had dinner at Bharani mess, Sakleshpur and the biryani were delicious(INR750). We returned to Bangalore from Sakleshpur with two coffee break. At2.28AM, We returned the vehicle at Hebbagodi, Bangalore. Luckily we got the bus to Chennai which waited so long for somebody in Electronic city. "We'll get! What is there for us"
"IT IS BETTER TO TRAVEL THAN TO ARRIVE" - GAUTAMA BUDDHA
Watch our travel video here.
Thank you!
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