Mekanagadde Homestay

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Category: Vacation

A Memorable Family Trip to Mekanagadde Homestay
Me Riya Sharma and our 5 family were looking for a relaxing getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city. We wanted to experience the beauty and tranquility of nature, and enjoy some quality time together. We decided to book a stay at Mekanagadde Homestay after Googling and finalized it, a cozy and comfortable place nestled in the Western Ghats of Karnataka.
We arrived at the homestay after a scenic drive through the lush green hills and paddy fields. We were greeted by the friendly hosts, who welcomed us with a warm smile and a refreshing fruit drink🍹. The hosts showed us around the property, which had a rustic charm and a homely vibe🏠. The rooms were spacious and clean, with all the amenities we needed. The homestay also had a common area where we all could talk, play games, or read books.
The next day, we woke up to the sound of birds chirping and the foggy hills surrounding property. We had a delicious breakfast of traditional dishes, Akki Rotti and Kesa. We then decided to go for a trekking adventure, guided by Vinay one of the localite who take care of the guest. We explored the nearby forest, where we saw various flora and fauna, and enjoyed the panoramic views of the mountains and valleys. We also visited a water stream gushing, where we splashed in the cool water and took some pictures.
After the trekking, we returned to the homestay for a relaxing lunch🍲. We then went for a coffee plantation tour on jeep, where we learned about the history and culture of coffee growing in the region. We also used to get filter coffee when we asked for, which was aromatic and flavorful. We bought some coffee beans as souvenirs for our other friends and family.
In the evening, we enjoyed a bonfire and barbecue at the homestay. We roasted chicken, sang songs, and chattered stories circling bonfire with family. We also had a mouthwatering dinner of local Malnad style🍛, cooked by the hosts. We thanked them for their hospitality and praised their food.
We retired to our rooms, feeling happy and content. We slept soundly, dreaming of our wonderful trip. We woke up the next day, feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. We packed our bags and bid farewell to the hosts and little dogs😊 (accompanied us everywhere). We thanked them for our memorable stay and promised to come back again.
We drove back to the city, feeling grateful for our family trip to Mekanagadde Homestay. We had experienced nature, adventure, culture, and food in a unique way. We had also bonded with our family more and had plans for next holiday trip. We agreed that it was one of our best trips ever.
– Riya Sharma & Family
Blogger
Bengaluru
May 20, 2023
Best things to do in Sakleshpur
Sakleshpur is a scenic hill station in the Western Ghats of Karnataka, India. It is known for its lush green coffee plantations, misty mountains, and rich biodiversity. Sakleshpur is an ideal destination for nature lovers, adventure seekers, and wildlife enthusiasts.
In this blog post, I will share with you some of the best things to do in Sakleshpur, based on my personal experience of visiting this beautiful place.
1. Trek to Bisle Ghat: Bisle Ghat is one of the most picturesque spots in Sakleshpur, offering stunning views of the valleys and hills. The trek to Bisle Ghat is about 5 km long and takes around 2 hours to complete. The trail passes through dense forests, streams, and waterfalls. You can also spot various birds and animals along the way, such as peacocks, monkeys, deer, and elephants.
2. Visit Manjarabad Fort: Manjarabad Fort is a star-shaped fort built by Tipu Sultan in the 18th century. It is located on a hilltop and offers a panoramic view of the surrounding area. The fort has eight bastions and a central chamber that was used as a magazine. The fort also has a secret tunnel that connects it to another fort in Srirangapatna.
3. Enjoy a homestay: One of the best ways to experience the culture and hospitality of Sakleshpur is to stay in a homestay. There are many homestays in Sakleshpur that offer comfortable accommodation, delicious food, and various activities. You can enjoy the serene atmosphere of the coffee plantations, interact with the local people, and learn about their traditions and customs.
4. Explore Pandavar Gudda: Pandavar Gudda is close to Mekanagadde village and offers a breathtaking view of the sunrise and sunset. Pandavar Gudda was the place where the Pandavas, the heroes of the Mahabharata epic, stayed during their exile. Pandavar Gudda offers a panoramic view of the surrounding landscape and attracts many tourists and pilgrims throughout the year.
5. Visit Sakleshpur Temple: Sakleshpur Temple is an ancient temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is located in the heart of Sakleshpur town and attracts many devotees and tourists. The temple has a unique architecture and features a stone lingam that is believed to be self-manifested. The temple also has a pond that is said to have healing properties.
These are some of the best things to do in Sakleshpur that will make your trip memorable and enjoyable. Sakleshpur is a perfect getaway from the hustle and bustle of city life and offers a refreshing and rejuvenating experience.
May 19, 2023
Things to do Before Going on Vacation
Going on vacation is a great way to relax, have fun, and explore new places. But before you pack your bags and head to the destination, there are some things you need to do to prepare for your trip. Here are some tips on what to do before going on vacation, so you can enjoy your time away without any worries.
Plan your budget and itinerary
One of the first things you need to do before going on vacation is to plan your budget and itinerary. How much money do you want to spend on your trip? What are the main attractions and activities you want to see and do? How will you get around and where will you stay? Having a clear idea of your budget and itinerary will help you avoid overspending, missing out on important sights, or wasting time on transportation.
Book your transportation and accommodation
Once you have your budget and itinerary, you need to book your flights and accommodation. Compare different airlines and travel websites to find the best deals and options for your dates and destination. Make sure to read the reviews, cancellation policies, and terms and conditions before booking anything. Also, don’t forget to print or save your confirmation emails and tickets.
Check your travel documents
Another important thing to do before going on vacation is to check your passport, visa, and travel insurance. Make sure your passport is valid for at least six months after your return date and has enough blank pages for stamps. If you need a visa for your destination, apply for it well in advance and follow the requirements carefully. Also, get a travel insurance policy that covers medical expenses, trip cancellation, lost luggage, and other emergencies. Pack smartly and lightly.
Pack smartly and lightly
Packing smartly and lightly is one of the best things you can do before going on vacation. Not only will it save you space, time, and money, but it will also make your trip more comfortable and enjoyable. To pack smartly and lightly, follow these steps:
- Make a packing list of the essentials you need for your trip, such as clothes, shoes, toiletries, electronics, documents, etc.
- Check the weather forecast, dress code, and cultural norms of your destination and pack accordingly.
- Choose versatile, wrinkle-resistant, and easy-to-wash items that can be mixed and matched.
- Use packing cubes or bags to organize your items by category and compress them.
- Roll or fold your clothes neatly to prevent wrinkles and save space.
- Pack your heaviest items at the bottom of your suitcase and fill the gaps with smaller items.
- Wear your bulkiest items on the plane to free up space in your luggage.
- Pack a carry-on bag with your essentials, such as passport, wallet, phone, charger, headphones, snacks, water bottle, etc.
Prepare your home for your absence
The last thing you want to do before going on vacation is to prepare your home for your absence. This will ensure that your home is safe, secure, and welcoming when you return. Here are some things you can do to prepare your home for your absence:
- Clean up your house and get rid of any trash or perishable food.
- Unplug any unnecessary appliances and electronics to save energy and prevent fire hazards.
- Adjust your thermostat and water heater to save energy and prevent damage.
- Lock all doors and windows and set up a security system or alarm if you have one.
- Ask a friend or neighbor to check on your house regularly, collect your mail, water your plants, feed your pets, etc.
- Leave a spare key with someone you trust in case of emergencies.
May 17, 2023
Looking for a Pet-friendly Accommodation for Your Vacation?
Love travelling but can’t stay away from your pet? We get you! While planning a trip, pet-owners often have to worry about leaving their pets behind with someone who’ll take good care of them. But what if you could just travel along with your ‘Good Boy’ and enjoy an awesome vacation together? While it’s difficult to hunt for a reasonably priced pet-friendly accommodation in Karnataka, here is a fabulous place that welcome pets with all their heart!
Mekanagadde Homestay
Need a detox from the chaotic city life? Come unwind amidst lush green forests and fields at Mekanagadde Homestay in Chikmagalur! This heritage bungalow stay in Chikmagalur is 25 km away from the Mudigere city center and is located around the Western Ghats range. You can stay at their beautifully built guest house cottage. Enjoy a great variety of authentic Malnad cuisine, with dishes like, Akki Rotti, veg/no-veg biriyani, kadabu with chicken curry, Shavige, Spicy Chicken dry, payasa, and lots more! This cottage stay also features a play area, family rooms, and barbeque facilities. If you’re travelling with a big dog, this spacious pet-friendly accommodation is a superb choice as bigger dogs can easily move around the green fields without feeling constrained in a small space.
While you can rent a jeep for safari or go for guided tours, treks and bird watching, there’s abundant space for your pet to play around and join you on your adventure pursuits. So, just take off to Chikmagalur with your little friend, relax amidst the breathtaking scenery and share an Instagram story! Trust us, you won’t need any filters!
December 16, 2020
Connecting People To Nature
From your backyard to your favorite national park, nature is closer than you think. It’s time to get out and enjoy it.
‘Connecting People to Nature’, the theme for World Environment Day 2017, implores us to get outdoors and into nature, to appreciate its beauty and its importance, and to take forward the call to protect the Earth that we share.

The value of nature
In recent decades, scientific advances as well as growing environmental problems such as global warming are helping us to understand the countless ways in which natural systems support our own prosperity and well-being.
For example, the world’s oceans, forests and soils act as vast stores for greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane; farmers and fisher-folk harness nature on land and under water to provide us with food; scientists develop medicines using genetic material drawn from the millions of species that make up Earth’s astounding biological diversity.
Billions of rural people around the world spend every working day ‘connected to nature’ and appreciate full well their dependence on natural water supplies and how nature provides their livelihoods in the form of fertile soil. They are among the first to suffer when ecosystems are threatened, whether by pollution, climate change or over-exploitation.
Nature’s gifts are often hard to value in monetary terms. Like clean air, they are often taken for granted, at least until they become scarce. However, economists are developing ways to measure the multi-trillion-dollar worth of many so-called ‘ecosystem services’, from insects pollinating fruit trees in the orchards of California to the leisure, health and spiritual benefits of a hike up a Himalayan valley.
Hit the park
This year’s World Environment Day is an ideal occasion to go out and enjoy your country’s national parks and other wilderness areas. Park authorities in some countries may follow Canada’s example and waive or reduce park entry fees on June 5 or for a longer period.
Once you are there, why not set yourself a challenge (seek out a rare mammal, identify five butterflies, reach the remotest corner of the park). Record what you see, and send us a photo of yourself and/or your discoveries so we can post it on our digital channels and encourage others to go exploring too.
You could join the growing number of citizen scientists. More and more smartphone apps help you log your sightings and connect with others who can identify the species. The records feed into conservation strategies and map the effects of climate change on biodiversity.
Nature up close
Connecting to nature can involve all the physical senses: why not take off your shoes and get your feet (and hands) dirty; don’t just look at the beautiful lake, jump in! Take a hike at night and rely on your ears and nose to experience nature.
You can also connect with nature in the city, where major parks can be a green lung and a hub of biodiversity. Why not do your bit to green the urban environment, by greening your street or a derelict site, or planting a window box? You could put a spade in the soil or lift a paving slab and see what creatures live beneath.
Wherever you are, you could vow to pick up 10 (or 100) pieces of trash, or take inspiration from the citizens of Mumbai, India, and organize a mass beach clean-up.
Your activity doesn’t have to take place on 5 June itself. UN Environment, for instance, will soon begin testing your knowledge and raising your appreciation of a healthy environment with competitions and online quizzes and provide a whole menu of ideas to help you celebrate the day.
In the age of asphalt and smartphones and among the distractions of modern life, connections with nature can be fleeting. But with your help, World Environment Day can make clearer than ever that we need harmony between humanity and nature so that both are able to thrive.
Source: worldenvironmentday.global
June 5, 2017
More You Travel More You Learn
Why Travel | The more you travel, the more you learn. It does not matter what you do for leaving or how much money you make – make it a point to venture out. The memories that we make on our trips give us fuel to go on in life.
Travel Style | Our travel style changes from trip to trip, depending on the place and budget. We must be a flexible traveller.
Foodie Moment | Experimenting with Malnad food! Many love their spices. We love green mutton curry and rice.
Must pack items | Speakers, map and camera.
Travel lessons to learn | There is always a solution for everything. One must never panic, and instead think and find a solution. In addition, we must learn to adapt to things easily.
Travel help to realize | People might speak different languages and eat different foods, but at core we are all the same. Love interacting with people from different states and getting to know their stories. It is enriching.
My Travel style tips | Carry track pants that are easy and comfortable to wear and look cool at the same time. Carry lots of basics so you can pair them up with things and get a new look every time.
January 15, 2017
Focus on These Four Factors to Make the Most of a Vacation
Ask five people what their idea of an awesome vacation is and you might get five different answers. Everyone understands the main point, which is to recharge and recover from the stresses of everyday life, but what you focus on when you take vacation could impact its overall restorative effect.
There are four major factors, based on the findings of sociologists from German’s University of Konstanz, that make a vacation truly beneficial. Some are more obvious than others:
- Relaxation: This is the whole point of vacation. What you do shouldn’t feel like work. It should give you “positive energy” instead.
- Control: When your other time is filled with demands of bosses and family members, regaining control during your vacation is liberating. You decide how to make use of your leisure time, energy, and attention.
- Mastery Experiences: You spend time doing the things you’re good at. This could be challenging and engaging, like chess.
- Mental Detachment from Work: This is pretty straightforward. You might take a smart phone or laptop with you “just in case,” but we all know how counterproductive that’ll be.
As the article notes:
Breaks that are high in all four are the equivalent of nutritious and nourishing meals; those that aren’t are like empty calories.
Interestingly, your happiness levels seem to shoot up fastest in the first couple of days of vacation and peak around a week into it. Then it stagnates or dips a bit in the days beyond that. This is to say that maybe you don’t need to accumulate weeks and weeks of vacation time when a week of time-off with those four factors could also do you a world of good.
January 12, 2017
Adventure Dads
Cycling, running, scuba diving, travel – New Age dads are bonding with their kids through adventure and a spirit of sportsmanship
Did your outdoor pursuits end after the kids arrived? By eliminating activity from your life after fatherhood, you are actually removing the factor most likely to spur you children to grow into healthy adults: you as an example or role model. A study by a non-profit organization found that 75 per cent of kids aged 6 to 12 years, who participate in adventure sports are simply copying their parents. This means your first act as a dad is to walk out of the front door!
No, not the way you think. We are talking adventure. Outdoors. Travel. Life lessons. “Our culture of convenience has come with a hefty price. Children are moving less, spending most of their sitting or lying down, giving raise to multiple mental, physical and social problems,” says clinical psychologist Dr Seema Hongorrany. That’s where some dads are coming handy.
Building Memories
When fathers spend a good amount of time doing a fun activity with their kids, they are able to draw common memories and experiences, pass a lifetime of learning they possess and set an example by being an active role model.
The trick is to get your child to balance academics with outdoor activities. Time spent outdoors help children reboot before getting back to the usual home-to-school routine. It encourages creativity and willingness to do well.
A recent study titled, Influence of parents’ Physical Activity Levels on Activity Levels of Young Children, found that children of active and energetic fathers are 3.5 times more active than children of inactive fathers.
Passing Essential Life Skills
Outdoor activities have much more to teach a child about what it means to live a wholesome life. According to family education study, the most influential factor in a child’s emotional health is how involved the father was in the child’s care when he was young. Children who have involved fathers are more likely to be emotionally secure, confident about exploring their physical surroundings, and have better social connections. “When a child is around a father who loves being outdoors, the child is likely to be a lot more empathetic. Moreover, it improves their resilience and helps them develop grit, tenacity, perseverance, fairness, integrity and responsibility. It rewires the brain for learning, helps build social intelligence and above all, introduces respect for limits and boundaries. Thus, activity is a matchless opportunity to connect with your children and teach them valuable life skills,” adds Hingorrany.
In a digital age, taking children outdoors and letting them learn from nature and their surroundings is not a choice but a necessity. That apart, nature outings and adventure let children become aware of nature and its beauty from an early age. Says Shah, “When the child is walking amid beautiful flora and fauna, they value the beauty of nature a lot more. Nature lets children deal with their fears in a healthy way.
June 19, 2016
Country Roads to Village Vacation
Find life in its most unfiltered form at a village vacation this year
We are eating ancient grains, wearing indigenous clothing, cooking from grandma’s recipes and gradually putting life in slow gear. There is a universal yearning to go back to the roots, to live a less complicated and de-cluttered life. While some people have been able to slow down their everyday madness, others simply look for it elsewhere….
The Alternative Route
Travel trends confirm that more and more people are cutting away from the lure of big cities and their trappings and taking a detour towards small towns and villages on their travels in India and abroad. Be it a spectacular Swiss village or an enchanting Northeastern hamlet, pastoral charm is swaying travellers. “What’s the in going from one frenzied city to another? The whole point of vacation is to find some vacant mind space – and you get a lot of it in rustic setting,” says Delhi-based website designer Nitin Moudgil. “I find a village holiday a better substitute for a full body detox. You can get your fix to clean air, give your lungs a good scrub, stock up on homegrown fresh produce and flush out all the mental toxins!” he adds. In fact, a rustic holiday can be so much more. It could be a walking vacation, exploring the ethnicity of the place on foot or a vacation in sync with a music fest or annual cultural procession. You could stay with a local artisan and learn a native craft or check into heritage homestay and enjoy a bit of luxury in the middle of nowhere.
Go Local
From misty Himalayan hamlets and the sunny north Indian countryside to the arty heritage villages of Gujarat and Rajasthan, it really takes a village to see India in its characteristic colours. “There is a growing desire amongst city dwellers to reconnect to their roots and enjoy the tranquillity and cultural refreshment offered by traditional rural environments,” shares Manisha Pande of Village Ways, a social enterprise with the specific aim of promoting rural livelihoods through community tourism in Binsar villages, Mothakkara village in Kerala, villages in Satpurs and Pench amongst others. On their tours, they offer guests seasonal food bursting with flavours, leisurely walks from village to village, night stays at different guest houses with well-informed guides to update you on the wildlife and rural cultural life. Sometimes it’s just for that one pure food experience that you head to village – dollops of fresh white butter, chicken saaru on the neer dosa and kadubu with pork.
May 22, 2016