#placestoseenearbanagalore

[mytravelrecitals]

All I wanted was some fresh air, a new crisp book in my hands, Coorg style filter coffee, good home cooked food and relief from Bengaluru heat.

With an aim of doing absolutely nothing and relaxing to the bits on a weekend, I with a group of friends planned to head to Coorg but without the intention of seeing the touristy Coorg. All of us just wanted an uninterrupted relaxation with no hurry of reaching a spot to see sunrise / sunset or any of the other attractions of the town.

On a friend’s recommendation, we decided on staying put at Keremane estate which is located in a small cozy village of Coorg called Bekke Sodlur. We had put Keremane estate’s location on map and drove through the scenic landscapes and reached the homestay.

—–About the homestay—–

Keremane estate means “house on lake side”, true to its literal meaning has a deep man-made lake amidst the 5 acre wide estate. The estate has 5 mud house cottages with the straw laden roof to give the cottage most simple and earthy feel. The lesser number of cottages makes sure that people get privacy and can have a good time with their loved ones.

—–Room—–

The mud house cottages surely transported me to villages where the basics and simplicity are still preserved. The roofs laden with straw gave the entire cottage a very rustic feel. The cottages were although equipped with basics yet so well done up from inside boasting the local art on the walls. Comfortable mattresses were laid on an elevated section of floor to make you feel all the more humble and grounded. Everything looked so basic that got me worried about the bathroom. To my absolute relief, bathroom was all modern and extremely clean. Now, I was really sorted for my stay here.

I spent most of my time sitting in the porch outside the cottage reading my book.  The porch had enough space to lie down and chill. I think the porch was my favorite spot of the home stay.

Friend chilling in the porch

Happy relaxed faces chilling in the porch

—-Open Dining Area—–

There is an open dining section in the estate where we indulged in delicious, authentic Coorg style home cooked food with cool breeze as an accompaniment. The wall of the dining area left me in an awe of creativity as it was beautifully hand painted featuring the food specialties, local lifestyle, culture and major attractions of Coorg.

    —–Our time there—–

We had started early morning and took a halt at Bylakuppe Monastery also called as Golden Temple. I have been there multiple times but my love for monasteries never let me go away without a visit to them. Also, my friends were visiting this monastery for the first time, so we called for a halt there. It’s a perfect quick detour when you are heading to Keremane homestay.

We reached Keremane estate by 2pm. We were served with appetizing Coorg style meal with a lot of variety on our plate. Yup, I was too hungry to click a picture of the food.

I went on to read my book while others retired for a short nap. Around 5pm, we were served with hot piping filter coffee with pakoras. What more one would want when on spur of moment, it starts raining.  I kept going gaga over the ingenuousness of the place and the food served.

Earlier while having lunch, we had seen a carrom board kept in the dining area hoping to play after coffee. And here we were taking our places to play carrom.

Time passed by and we went with the flow of the day and soon the sun dissolved leaving orange and pink hues on sky.

We read, chatted, played and chilled till our dinner was ready. We sat by the bonfire and enjoyed a sumptuous dinner before calling it a day.

We woke up to the chit chattering of the little birdies and clicked few pictures in their appreciation.

While our breakfast was getting ready, we had time to roam around and what we found was enough to bring out the child in all of us. The trees with berries loaded made us jump heights to pluck those. We hadn’t enjoyed the berries enough before we were called for an appetizing portion of breakfast. To avoid the traffic woes, we left in time for Bengaluru.

—–How to reach there—–

A drive to Keremane estate is highly recommended as it takes you through the spectacular views and you might get lucky as we got to see some wildlife on the way while passing through Nagarhole Reserve.

The drive of 5 hours zip zapping through the swift roads and relishing the beauteous landscapes will lead you to this humble abode.

Alternatively, you can take a bus till Virajpet and then an auto till Keremane estate.

Do you have a story of weekend escapade where the only plan was to do nothing at all?

All I wanted was some fresh air, a new crisp book in my hands, coorg style filter coffee, good home cooked food and relief from Bengaluru heat.  With an aim of doing absolutely nothing and relaxing to the bits on a weekend, I with a group of friends planned to head to Coorg but without the intention of seeing the touristy Coorg. All of us just wanted an uninterrupted relaxation with no hurry of reaching a spot to see sunrise / sunset or any of the other attractions of the town. All I wanted was some fresh air, a new crisp book in my hands, Coorg style filter coffee, good home cooked food and relief from Bengaluru heat.