Arriving in Pune (my first time at the airport), the emptiness of the airport despite a full flight coming in was a little disconcerting, but I was forewarned by friends not to think twice about it. Anyways, luggage in hand, we found a waiting cab for us and settled down to a leisurely hour's drive to the Four Season's Chateau. The roads, being the early hour that it was, were relatively empty and the highways broad and smooth.

I try to run away from Bangalore at every given opportunity. In fact, one of the first things I do each time the new academic calendar comes in for Little A, is to mark out all the long weekends and plan to do something on each one of them. One such time when I was looking for a quick long weekend escape from the city around 4 years ago, I chanced upon Mugilu at Saklespur. It seemed like exactly what we wanted - not too far from the city, not too fancy, smack in the middle of nature and with the promise of being cut off from the world. Have always loved the drive through the ghats in Saklespur since I am from Mangalore, and we drive down often. Mugilu is before the Shiradi ghats, but the views are worth a drive down at least half the way, or if you are visiting from Mangalore, then all the way up.


Chandan and Sapna Gurukar, a couple who have done their tours of duty as professionals in Bangalore, decided to give it up and live the farm life in Saklespur. Their estate is accessible from Saklespur town, if the roads are in decent shape, or by another route from Hassan, which Chandan will guide you from. The idea is to get to this now, not-so-little-board that says Bugadahalli and turn in onto a pathway for a while till you hit the estate gates.

Mugilu is literally the last estate in the line here and beyond its gates is a small hill, that turns lush green post the rains and a lovely hue of brown in the summer. A few cars can be parked inside the gates of the estate and those that remain out are equally safe. A steep slope down and you see some graffiti leading to the sign board that directs you to the cottages, of which there are four. There is also a covered outdoor area for dining and the lounge area, complete with books, an emptying hanging frame, power points to plug in your kind of music, and large lounge beds - all that you need to make this a wonderful getaway. This area has some lovely ambient lighting in the nights that makes it an even more comfortable place to hang out at.
The beauty of Mugilu is the fact that it gives you that rustic, being-in-the-middle-of-nature feeling, without altering the look of the estate too much. This homestay has four cottages, built down the length of one section of the estate - each cottage has a colour theme to it - blue, green, orange. The cottages face the rising sun and each morning your room will be bathed in the colour it is decked in, thanks to sunlight streaming in.