Sakleshpur - A Hill resort in the Western Ghats
Sakleshpur takes its name from the temple built on the banks of the Kumaradhara river to honor Shiva. Sakleshpur is located in the Shiradi range of Western Ghats. This area is popularly known as the Malnad (which literally means hilly region) area of Karnataka. The whole of Malnad is an enchanting place filled with thick and lush greenery, tropical forests, acres and acres coffee estates, a few Tea estates as well, small streams and rivers, innumerable waterfalls and a view of the amazing Western Ghats. In fact it is a magical place,a real paradise on earth.
Sakleshpur is a small town that is located at a distance of 38 kms from Haasan which is the closest major city to this town. And Hassan itself is located at a distance of 180 kms from Bangalore, the capital city of Karnataka and 175 kms from Mangalore the major port and coastal city of the state. It is located at about 4250 feet above sea level and has pleasant weather all round the year and it rains all through the year. The drizzles and the intermittent rains feed those tropical forests that cover the entire area of the western ghats. The place is known for its wide range of flora and fauna and one gets to see different kinds of wild life here.
I have had the opportunity of visiting Sakleshpur many times since my student days .In fact the state highway that connects Mangalore to Bangalore passes through the western Ghats and the town of Sakleshpur.
The place has grown over the years but still managed to remain unique with an identity of its own. Basically it is a small town that is spread over the little hills and the valleys on top of the mountains and with a magnificent view of the mountain range from every part of the town. One can hope to have a relatively quiet holiday there since most of the resorts are situated outside the town. The town is crowded and busy mainly because of the highway and the activity involved in catering to the needs of the travelers who normally stop here for a break.
You get to see the valley in all its glory when you drive out of Sakleshpur and the smaller hills from where you look on to the Western Ghats that has everything that you wish for. You simply want to gaze at those hills and the clouds constantly playing hide and seek and the ever changing scenery that nature is displaying for your benefit. One loses count of time and days here. You don’t want to be disturbed by your mobile,TV the internet. I would say that it is a very romantic place, an ideal spot for couple to get lost in !
What to see and do
Recently we went there on a package tour offered by one of the many resorts that was situated in the valley surrounded by the shiradi ghats and a smallish tributary of river Kumaradhara passing through it. The resort had a beautiful view of the ghats and the valley which is in between the resort and the Western ghats. After driving down from Haasan where we had spent a day visiting Halebid and Belur ,when we arrived at the resort it was dark and we could hear the roar of a waterfall which was close to the resort. The next morning we got to see it at close quarters.The blue of the sky, lush greenery of the forest and the coffee plants covering the sloping hill sides and those amazing mountains showing from amidst the white clouds. I was reminded of Chickmaglur which was very similar to this place also situated on the other side of the Western Ghats in the Sahyadri range!
There are many spots one can visit from here like Bisleghats another smaller hill station which is at a distance of 10 kilometres and you can take two different routes to get there and both are special in their own way since the drive through the narrow ghat roads and quaint little villages is very scenic and except for some bad patches the road is good though winding ! I drive that way from Bangalore regularly and although I know every inch of the road by now, am still amazed and pleasantly surprised each time I pass that way since the landscape is ever changing and beautiful. The place looks at its best during the rainy season when the waterfalls (there are many located by the road side and down below in the valley) are full, sometimes even overflowing to the winding roads.
Sakleshpur has large expanses of open spaces, a dam now built across A stream that later joins river Kumaradhra at a place called Kemphole and the most maginificent view of the mountains. There is a huge national park which has many rare species of orchids ,plants and trees.The entire place can be covered in a day and if you are coming from Mangalore you can make a stop over here and then proceed to Haasan or other places of interest.
Some Useful information about the place
The only draw back is that there are some naxalites hiding in the place , in fact they are there everywhere in Chikmaglur, Kudremukh and all over the western ghats and we were constantly warned about them by the resort owners and the other locals that we met. Even this little piece of dreaded information did not stop us from having our fun and enjoying the place to its maximum..However, we were shocked to hear that a few villagers were beaten that night and robbed of some essential commodities like rice,dhal and a couple of chicken and a cow – goes to show that they were on the verge of starvation and poverty. In some ways it was pitiful to a certain extent, also an eye opener. I felt that it was a movement that had no future since it was not a mass movement nor was it people friendly even after all these years - More like a misguided missile and a wasted effort and man power ! But, it is better to know that they have made this part of the state their hideout and although many of them get caught from time to time, we still hear about their nefarious activities. In fact within a couple of days 2 of them were shot dead by the forest guards and both of them were barely out of their teens which was shocking!
Coming back to the topic, one can visit Subramanya, where there is a beautiful temple and a river surrounding the temple and visited by many tourists all round the year and Dharmastala, another ancient temple that is very famous. The drive to both these places is beautiful. One can stay at the guest house at both these temple resorts for which you need to book in advance since it is filled to capacity most of the time. The booking can be done on line and the place is definitely worth visiting. There are many homestay as well in all the places and most of them offer meals as part of the package as well since it is difficult to find decent restaurants on the outskirts of the city.
When you are planning for a holiday in these areas you need to take at least one jacket or sweater to keep you warm since nights are cold and an umbrella or a rain coat just so that you are prepared for those unexpected showers that is part and parcel of every day life there. We got caught in one while we were trekking and it was quite a scary experience since mist came on fast and we could see nothing for about half an hour. We just sat down where we were shivering and wondering how to get help, and as suddenly as it came the rain stopped and the mist began to clear away too...this is something that has been experienced by many tourists.
Finally to conclude, Sakleshpur is not an expensive place and other than river rafting and trekking you do not have any other outdoor sport faclities, although I read somewhere that the state tourism is planning ito introduce it in a big way in the coming months . When you are visiting Bangalore or Mangalore, you can easily stop over here for a weekend at least if not longer since it's very well connected by road. The place , as I already mentioned several times is amazingly beautiful and most tourists tend to come back here, some even coming here at different time of the year to get a complete feel of the place.
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