#SoMyTravels- A Road Trip In Karnataka

Hello,

New month, new travels. A  road trip in monsoon makes for a great memory!

I went on a week-long trip to Karnataka with family. Our initial plan was to visit Kerala, but we came to know about the situation there and diverted our plans to Karnataka.

DAY 1- Arrive at Bengaluru. 

We boarded a train at Secunderabad station on 5th August at 9 pm to Yelahanka station. We arrived at the destination in the morning at 10:30 am and headed towards our guest house in Power Grid Corporation Ltd.

We quickly freshen up and had our lunch and headed out to explore Bangalore city. We rented a car for the entire journey and visited Bangalore Palace, Tipu Sultan Summer Palace, Lal Bagh and Commercial Street.

Bengaluru is my favourite city after Hyderabad, and I always wanted to visit it. The city has a young, educated crowd and perfect weather and I couldn’t be more happier.

DAY 2- Bandipur National Reserve.

The next day morning, 6th August we packed our bags and left Bengaluru to visit the national reserve which is approximately 4 hours.

We wanted to hire a personal safari car, but we came to know at the ticket counter that we need to book online. Hence, we got onto the safari bus and rode into the dense forest. I was a little disappointed as I did not spot any Tigers there but spotted few other wild animals.

A funny thing happened here, this cute monkey jumped onto my bag out of nowhere and grabbed my belongings in the side pocket and ran! I wish somebody had captured that moment. And I wanted to sneak him into my backup! So freaking cute the monkeys were!

DAY 3- Mysore.

After exploring Bandipur, we started our journey towards Mysore and reached around 6:30 pm. For this trip, we didn’t pre-book any room anywhere.

So, while entering into the city, we found a beautiful resort named “The Village Resort.” You know the advantage of going out on a trip with the family? Is that, you get to stay in freaking great rooms, and you don’t have to worry about the budget, unlike the trips I go with my friends. Well, the room tariffs for one night are pretty high, but still, we ended up booking it since we were tired of all the travelling and it was the best decision.

After leaving our bags in the room, we went out to a newly opened Forum Mall to pass some time. To be honest, I liked Mysore’s Forum mall than our Hyderabad’s.

The next day morning, we went out to visit the Mysore Palace and do some shopping. The Mysore Palace is a historical gem with striking interiors. We spent the day canvassing through the city and made our lunch stop at the famous Saravana Bhavan for some authentic local food.

Next, we went to Philomena’s Church.

The same day we started to Coorg.

DAY 4 & 5- Coorg, The Scotland Of India.

All the places we travelled were approximately 3-4 hours away. So, it was a pretty good car drive and wasn’t very tiring. We checked into the hotel “The Mayura Valley View” it is a decent hotel to stay for one night. In the daylight, the view looked great from my room window, but during the night it was terrifying! So, the next day we checked into another hotel called “Hotel Al Wesal International” nearby with zero views and zero nightmares!

Coorg has many things to do from paddy fields, tea plantations, waterfalls and here are some of the things which we did.

On day 4, we visited Thala Kaveri, Abbey Falls, and Raja’s seat. Thala Kaveri is the place where the river Kaveri originated, it was raining continuously, but it didn’t hinder our plans for the day and the view from Thala Kaveri was oh so fabulous!

It took about 2 hours to reach Abbey falls from Thala Kaveri. There was greenery lined up on both sides of the road while you drive through the city making you stop and admire the beauty of Coorg.

After having our lunch at Udipi, we proceeded towards Raja’s seat which was nearby to our hotel. It was more of a couple’s spot than tourists. It is supposed to have a breathtaking sunrise and sunsets, but due to the weather, we couldn’t get any of it. Anyhow, we sure knew how to enjoy and made some dubsmash and boomerangs.

Day 5, we left for Chikmagalur and on the way we checked out Buddha Monastery, Nisarghadama and Harangi Dam which is located in Kushal Nagar near Coorg. Nisarghadhama is more of a picnic spot with lush greenery; it is a picturesque spot if visited in summer because most of the area was muddy and closed due to rains.

Namdrooling Monastery was surreal with the magnificent landscape; it takes you away from the urban jungle. We witnessed their daily prayer routine in the tranquil ambience.

DAY 6-  Chikmagalur, a visit to the land of coffee.

To visit Chikmagalur was a spur of the moment decision and it took around 4 hours to reach the destination from Coorg. We booked a suite room in “Rajmahal Orchid Hotel” using booking.com app. The room was affordable and neatly maintained. After checking into the room and dropping our bags my family and I went out for an evening stroll around the city. The climate was pleasant and serene, after walking for a while, we went to have an authentic south Indian food at “Hotel Soundarya” which a friend of mine recommended. The ambience is of a typical south mess, but the food is delicious.

Day 6, we visited the highest peak Mullayanagiri peak, there wasn’t much view to look at because of the climate, but the way up to the peak was pretty thrilling. After that, we went to visit Jhari falls which were also like a rollercoaster ride.

We didn’t visit many places in Chikmagalur; we were canvassing through the city and stopping at random locations. We didn’t make any definite plans to visit certain tourist places. For lunch we went to a cute little restaurant called “Mysore foodz little corridor” it is a charming house converted into a restaurant with good food.

 

DAY 7- Return to Bengaluru.

We reached Bengaluru late in the night on day 6, again booked our rooms in the Power Grid guest house. On the last day morning, we went for a stroll in Cubbon park, one of the oldest park in the city. It had no pre-historic monuments or exhibits it is just a lush green park to relax and enjoy the climate.

Next, visited the famous church street, MG and Brigade road and fell in love with the city even on a rainy afternoon. People hung on the streets, quaint cafes, graffiti on the walls it reminded me of HKV-Delhi.

OUTFITS-

1.Pants- Pune street market | Tunic: Splash | Shrug: Stalk Buy Love.

2. Skirt: Soul Sante | Top: Stalk Buy Love.

3. Pants: Bossini | Tunic: Spencers Supermarket.

4. Dress: Max Fashion India | Jacket: Ajio.com

5. Pants: Bossini | Tunic: Ajio.com | Umbrella: H&M.

6. Skirt: H&M | Top: Lifestyle stores.

7. Dress: Tailor Made.

That’s it for now- an ideal week-long road trip with family. If you’re a nature lover, then you will love the routes in Karnataka.

 

Love,

Sowmya.