7 day-long experiential trips around Bangalore

At FarmLore, chefs harvest and forage the greens, fruits and vegetables they need off the 37-acre property, (Photo by Antony Samson via Instagram/@FramLore)

Experiential getaways close to Bengaluru can range from dining within a farm, 4 am biryani, vineyards and wine rooms to mountain biking, trails through an ancient temple complex and coffee estates under old silver oak trees.

Food: Dining within a farm at FarmLore

Set on 37-acre farmland, this idyllic 18-table restaurant opens in the evening, is booked in advance, and serves a 10-course tasting menu. The talented team of young chefs led by Chef Johnson Ebenezer ethically sources seafood and meat, harvests vegetables and fruits on the farm, forages wild greens, and milks Gir and Halikar cows. The food is cooked in wood-fired ovens and pits, and the fire is generated from pruned mango wood.

The harvest-driven menu changes every day. In the past, FarmLore has served duck with a kokum sauce and potato dumplings, Bannur Lamb with a horse gram millet sauce, mushrooms cooked over mango wood, Barramundi in haldi sauce, and a crab and cheese pate served with anchovy garum (fish sauce).

Seasons decide what goes into your dish, and ingredients can be as varied as jackfruit, jamun, quail, Gongura, Mangalore prawns, corn, Bannur lamb, moringa, ragi, and Hallikar cow milk, duck, Kollam rice, huli soppu, Malabar oysters, Giriraja eggs, Teja chillies, Joni bella, Mandya butter, Coorg chocolate and Sanikatta salt!

At an hour's drive from the core of Bangalore city.

Food: 4 am Biryani at Mani Dum Biryani

Who leaves home at 3.30 am to eat biryani at 4 am, right? Well, some Bangaloreans in the know do. At about 10 km from the city centre (Central Business District around Vidhan Soudha), towards Hoskote, is a destination that attracts biryani enthusiasts. It also serves chicken fry and what is locally known as ‘oil kebab’, but it is the flavourful, juicy, meaty Donne Biryani (biryani served in donne or palm or papaya leaf cups) that motivates even the sanest of people to drive down before dawn.

Mani Dum Biryani began life in response to the needs of the fuel tanker and lorry drivers, and went on to feed the hungry employees of the IT-BPO sector who streamed out, blurry-eyed and hungry at 4 am, after night-long work. Word about the succulent pieces of meat cooked in flavourful rice spread quickly, and now, it attracts an audience beyond the people it was intended for.

Mani Dum Biryani is open three days of the week —Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, as many Bangaloreans are vegetarian on other days of the week. Homemade masalas and a secret spice are used in a biryani made from a unique blend of Kesar Kali Kolum rice, India Gate basmati, and kuri or sheep meat sourced from local villages. About 220kg of mutton, 190kg of rice and 8ltrs of Nandini Ghee are cooked in each deghchi or vessel, and on weekends and public holidays, enthusiasts and biryani lovers can finish up to five to six deghchis in a matter of three to four hours.

At an hour's drive from Bangalore city

Farmer for a day: Kamadhenu Organic Farm

Just 45 minutes from Bangalore city’s core, in the rural district of Janthagondanahalli, stands a farm with sprawling agricultural land interspersed by colourful homes. The organic farm once used to grow only one type of crop – carrots. It now grows over 40 varieties of vegetables on nearly two hectares. Take a walk around the farm, learn the basics of farming, pick your vegetables, and if you so desire, choose a plot within which you can tend on weekends.

At a 45-minute drive from Whitefield.

Vineyard and Wine Room Experience: Grover Zampa Vineyard and Wine Room

The Grover Zampa Vineyard and wine room is more than just a vineyard experience. It is also a lesson in history. Grover are one of the oldest winemakers in India, and the vineyard tour, besides taking you across acres of land covered with grape vines, will introduce you to how India began making wines and a brand like Grover (before it became Grover Zampa) began exporting it. Within the winery, you will stumble across a few clay amphorae or qvevris from Georgia, which are used to mature wines. The ancient world matured wines in amphoras and not barrels, and Grover is attempting to bring this tradition back.

The glass-fronted wine room with a view of the vineyards is equally impressive. End the day with a glass or more from the premium La Reserve collection of oak-matured Shiraz reds and Cabernet Sauvignon, and watch native birds that have made the grounds their home fly across blue skies.

At 1 hour and 12 minute drive from Bangalore.

Adventure: Trek or mountain bike up Skandagiri Hills

This one is special. You need permission from Karnataka’s forest department and pre-book the trek dates on their official website since the hills lie deep within a sanctuary. Only 150 passes are allowed per day.

Skandagiri and Nandi are part of the same chain of mountains with a landscape of misty hills, a sea of clouds, dense forests and a summit point that rises 1400 feet above sea level. Skandagiri is home to the ruins of Tipu Sultan’s fort, demolished during British rule, and Samadhi caves carved out by Buddhist monks.

At a two-hour drive from Bangalore.

Nandi Hills, Kodgibail (Photo by Sebin Thomas via Unsplash)

Heritage: Avani Betta

On the highest summit of the rocky mountain of Avani Betta stands a historical temple dedicated to just Goddess Sita. Local myth states that this is where Luv and Kush, the two sons of Lord Ram and Sita, were born. At the foot of the hillock is an ASI-protected Ramalingeshwara temple complex, home to almost 1,000-year-old pocket-sized shrines, a rare sight in a state where temples are a few storeys high.

Within the temple complex is another 13th-century Sita temple, a Lakshmanalingeshwara temple dedicated to the worship of Laxman, and a Bharateshwara temple which puts Bharat at the core. Across the shrines is a wealth of inscriptions, commissioned by royals such as Nolambas, Cholas, Hoysalas and Vijayanagara kings. Within the basement is a greater wealth of art and unusual sculptures: Mythical beasts, lions and elephants playfully cavorting, jauntily pulling each other’s tails, snarling and teasing, much like little puppies, while they ‘march’ joyfully across the stone columns and walls.

At a two-hour drive from Bangalore.

On a coffee trail: Ratnagiri Estate

Those who obsess about coffee will love Ratnagiri Estate, a sustainable coffee plantation on the edges of the Western Ghats. Here, coffee is grown under the shade of luxuriant silver oak trees. Several coffee brands such as Blue Tokai and roasters such as KC Roasters are said to source their beans, and roasts, from Ratnagiri’s owner Ashok Patre’s pearly fields (Ratnagiri translates to ‘Pearl Mountains’). The estate uses advanced machinery such as stainless-steel tanks instead of concrete vats and a state-of-the-art dry mill to dry and roast the beans. The sustainably grown green coffee is then packed in vacuum-sealed grain-pro bags.

The estate offers tours that let you explore it on foot, learn how coffee is roasted, enjoy an afternoon siesta under silver oak canopies, and end the day with a cup of medium-dark roast coffee (creamy body, mild acidity and notes of brown sugar and milk chocolate), with strawberry jam and cocoa butter cream.

At a 35-minute drive from Bangalore’s city centre.