the light baggage

Overview: The onset of summer in Chikkamagalur was early in January when we planned a boys trip to Coffee Gudda homestay. Our ever excited gang was all geared up for an extra long drive to Coffee Gudda through Agumbe and Sringeri. The drive was very scenic and thrilling, no doubts about that. We reached Agumbe just for the sunset, but unfortunately, it was quite hazy and couldn't get a clear view. From Agumbe we proceeded towards "Dodda Mane", the old house which was used during the filming of the TV series "The Malgudi Days". The house is still in good shape and is currently used for offering accomodation to tourists. From Doddamane we proceeded towards Coffee Gudda via Sringeri and Kudremukh town. The homestay was along the highway connecting Hornadu and Kudremukh. The cottages can be reached by crossing a hanging bridge and a narrow path through the coffee plantations. Around the resort, taking a small walk leads us to some tea estates, which is quite

Overview: Located on the border of Vidarbha and Marathwada regions of Maharashtra is the village of Lonar, popular mainly for the crater lake, which was formed roughly around 50000 years ago as a result of a meteriorite crash into the Earth. Initially believed to be a volcanic site, it was termed as a site formed due to the impact of an asteroid in the 1990s. The water in the lake is of alkaline nature. We stayed at MTDC resort, just opposite to the lake, and hired a guide to take us around the crater lake and other places of interest in Lonar. The base of the crater is approachable by a light trek through dense woods. On the way to the base is an ancient temple dedicated to Lord Rama and another one dedicated to Lord Shiva, built during the 11th century. The base of the crater is filled with alkaline lake, spread across 1.5kms in diameter. Different kinds of rocks can be seen on the lake bed, like copper, iron and basalt. The lake looks best at sunset when looked from the rim o

Overview:   Following the downfall of the Hoysalas, the district of Bengaluru came under Vijayanagaras, Kempegowdas and Marathas. There are several Medieval monuments and structures which we cross everyday within the city, most of us unaware of its past. 1. Bugle Rock and Bull Temple, Basavanagudi: At the Bugle Rock, Kempegowda II built a watch tower where a person used to sound the bugle every evening to make sure all is fine after having a view of the city from the top. The Bull Temple built by KempeGowda in the 16th century in the Sunkenahalli village.   2. Mallikarjunaswamy temple, Basavanagudi: The history of this temple dates back to 1689 during the rule of Chikkadevaraya Wodeyar, who is also credited for his work in building Kote Venkataramanaswamy temple.   3. Kempegowda Towers: Kempegowda II built 4 watch towers marking the outer boundary of his Bengaluru. These towers can be seen today at Halasooru(East), Lalbagh(South), Sadashivanagar(North) and Kempambudhi Ker