Around 9:00 PM we gather, load bags, do a quick round of introductions, and leave the city. Sakleshpura is about 220 km away, four-lane highway almost the whole way through Hassan, so this is one of our shorter overnight runs. The air turns cool somewhere past Hassan and stays that way till Sunday. Get the playlist and the introductions done early, then sleep. You'll wake up on a coffee estate with mist in the trees. Overnight: on the road.

5.30 to 6:00 AM : Reach the homestay, find your room (sharing basis), and take a nap. 8:00 AM : Malnad breakfast, filter coffee in coffee country, then a short briefing. 9:15 AM Hosahalli Betta, the offbeat way. Most people reach this summit on the jeep track. We walk a quieter route instead, 5 to 6 km return over four to five hours, easy to moderate. It's a real trail with real uphill, not a stroll, but nobody gets left behind. Afternoon: Back to the base for lunch. Mookanamane Falls. Loudest through the monsoon and the weeks that follow. Sit near it, get wet if you like, dry off on the walk back. Late afternoon: Jeep to Gavi Betta. The climb is half the fun and the jeep is included, so nothing extra at the gate. Evening: Back to the homestay for snacks. Overnight: Homestay on a coffee estate. Night (Saturday): Bonfire and a Malnad dinner If the weather holds we light a bonfire, and dinner is home cooked and unhurried. Swap notes from the trail, argue about which stop was best, and go to bed early. Sunday starts before the mist lifts.

8:00 AM : Malnad breakfast, pack up, check out. Mid-morning: Kaaginahare viewpoint, a short drive from the homestay. Stand at the edge, look at hills stacked behind hills, and don't rush it. Early-noon: Manjarabad Fort. Tipu Sultan built it in 1792 as an eight pointed star, which you only really see from the top. Roughly 253 steps up through the entrance, then walk the ramparts and look out over the ghats you'll be driving down later. Lunch: On the way, self sponsored. [Sakleshpura town or Hassan, depending on timing.] Afternoon: Shettihalli Rosary Church. An 1860s Gothic ruin left standing in the Hemavathi reservoir. Through the monsoon it's half underwater and you look at it from the shore. By winter the water pulls back and you can walk right up to it. Late afternoon: Start back towards Bangalore. Highway all the way, so this is the leg for sleeping, photos, and the group chat name debate. Reach Bengaluru by 8:00 to 9:00 PM (timing may vary).