Lost in the mist of Megur

It was the 1st of August and we were in exactly one month of Mr & Mrs game. A week ago we decided to go somewhere, precisely Madikeri(Coorg). But as usual my mood swings got me into trouble and the rest is history. The entire universe knows what happens when we cancel a planned trip (especially with the better half). One fine morning on my week off it was 6:00 AM and we decided to fly off. Call it an unplanned trip (best way to plan a trip). Google suggested a lot of places nearby but I always wanted new places to explore. Last night my FB feed accidently showed a place which I visited almost 8 years ago.

So our first destination was Sri Karinjeshwara Temple (https://goo.gl/maps/h2Z9TFCLdXRf4WfX6), It was around 8:00 AM when we reached here and Hitha as usual started her photography class keeping me as object near the "Gaadha Theertha lake". We started climbing and lush greenery surrounded us. Note: There are two entries to reach: If we park our vehicle near the first gate, then more steps to climb. We can skip the first gate and continue driving to reach the second gate. Always be hydrated, keep water and some food handy and most importantly DO NOT LITTER.

With a simple breakfast with Idli, Vada, Poori & Tea(100 rupees) at a small hotel, we were off to our next destination, the Ermai waterfalls. Around 100km from Mangalore, trekking with some water crossing in the middle of nowhere is the best part of it. If we take a walk from the main road then it will be around 3km including a water crossing (a bit dangerous during heavy rain). We took a jeep ride that costed us 500 rupees (More people can share a single jeep). Need to walk a km to reach the main falls(you will witness multiple falls in between so don't get confused). Prefer weekdays and monsoon season for best view. We spent a good amount of time and said adios. We then visited a relative's house near Ujire and had lunch. We dozed off after having delicious food which included Kori rotti, chicken curry, chicken fry, Paneer chilli, and some more. Around 5:30 we left to head back home. But there was a bit of a change in plan. We visited Charmadi Ghat. This place is no less than heaven, and with rain we enjoyed each bit of it. We didn't notice how time flew and it was 7:00PM. Why can’t we extend for one more day? we started discussing where to stay. Google God recommended Megur homestay and all the reviews were quite impressive. So we dialed the number provided and with some bargain we made a deal of 2300/Person which includes dinner, breakfast & Lunch for a day.

The Megur homestay is 25km from Charmadi. We started with the help of Google maps. Calm and composed weather with some showers, it was 9:00 PM and we lost the route. No Network, no street lights, no visibility just us trying to reach the home stay contacts. With a few wrong turns we finally managed to reach the homestay safe and sound. It was dinner time and we lost all hope seeing the last 2 pieces of paneer that were left for us. The room was pretty decent but not impressive. Ya, we agree that for the last minute bookings we can expect this kind of welcome.

Day 2: This was when all the opinions about the Megur homestay changed. This is built right in the center of mountains which gives a beautiful 360 view and we witnessed fog the entire day covering the Tea estate. One can visit tea factory which is just a walk away with a tiny entrance fee. The place is simply mesmerizing and I would definitely recommend it to all the nature lovers. Not to forget the breakfast and the lunch were also pretty well balanced. One more thing to highlight here is the garden, there are 100s of plants which are maintained pretty well. The walk in the Tea estate with your loved one has no word to explain. With some high tea at 5:00PM we set to pack our bags.