Explore India like never before with Xafari!

I've been exploring the different continents of the world for the past few months, and now that I am back home now, I decided that it’s time to take a step back and traverse my own country. I was keen to try new experiences, so started off by researching about some unique destinations that I could head to, when I stumbled upon an app called Xafari. It covers a wide range of offbeat and unexplored locations, alongside rural businesses that you can visit while travelling to these places of interest. This one-of-a-kind concept really piqued my curiosity and coincidentally enough, the founder, Goutham Ravi, was going on a road trip in the following days, for which he invited me too!

Explore rural India like never before!

Here's the video of our adventures! Pls do read ahead on how you can also do an adventure like this too!

About Xafari

Before we headed on our journey, Goutham gave me further insight on why he started Xafari. The main goal that Xafari fosters is giving a platform to rural businesses to showcase their stories and ’why’ they do, what they do. While travelling to lesser-known locations and listening to the folklores and tales about them, unravelling the stories of the locals who are making a living through the small businesses at these places seemed like such a fresh and exciting concept to me. 

Road trip with Xafari

We started off on the road trip with my excitement going through the roof, as Goutham had planned our itinerary with some interesting places to explore. The curiosity was killing me; with Goutham keeping the first location a secret, till we reached there, although he gave a small hint that it was a beautiful temple with a blend of two different architectural styles on display. We found the location using the different filters and features on the app, and then put it up on the Xafari map to follow the directions to reach the place. As I stepped into the temple, I was left in awe at the varying architectural styles, which I later learnt displayed the Chola style of architecture on the exteriors and Hoysala style of architecture on the interiors. It was none other than the Lakshmi Narasimha Temple, which dates back to the 13th century, showing off all the intricate carvings in absolute elegance. 

Lakshmi Narasimha Temple 

After basking in the architectural glory of the temple and offering our respects, we were back on the road and headed onto the next secret location in Hassan, the Bagur-Navile Tunnel. Stretching for about 10 km, connecting the towns of Bagur and Navile, this is India’s longest water tunnel. Driving alongside this engineering spectacle that is 50 ft. deep and surrounded by a serene environment made our road trip an engrossing one. Exploring Hassan under the sultry heat definitely made us very hungry, so we headed off immediately for a refreshing sip of coconut water and some filling traditional lunch.

Bagur-Navile Tunnel

Something I enjoy a lot about road trips and visiting the interiors of our country is the authentic food you get to try. That is exactly what I got to taste on this road trip, where I had a sneak-peak into the traditional Halli cuisine or the rural cuisine of Karnataka. The Raagi Mudde (a ball made of millets and yogurt) dunked in flavourful sambhar along with a side of the crispy vada was certainly the highlight for me. 

With our tummies and hearts full, we got back into the car to head to our next destination, but this time, I took the steer in my control and chose a place from the app that I read about and found very interesting. We reached the Shettihalli Church soon enough, which is a Gothic style, 19th century church built by French missionaries. A dam was built here 100 years later over the Hemavathi River, and the waters of the reservoir flooded the surrounding regions. The structure of the church could not hold itself, and half of it is now submerged in the water, although it makes for an aesthetic spot to click pictures of the ruins or the sunset for your Instagram. We actually checked into Shettihalli Church on the Xafari app and shared a beautiful picture of the church onto my social media handles too. That’s another interesting feature that I loved about Xafari- you can check into all the places on the app, and share it on your social media.

Shettihalli church

The intense exploration of these rural regions left us exhausted, so we retired in for the night to SimplyCamp.in, where we got to stay in a unique tent style accommodation, and experience living close to wilderness, first hand. I even got to cook some yummy Bajjis (chillies fried in gram flour), for which the host who was helping me gave a big thumbs up. The feeling of sharing an interesting conversation next to a bonfire is certainly an unforgettable experience, and that is exactly what Goutham and I experienced after dinner, where he spoke about the story behind the idea and inspiration of Xafari, which you can watch in the video. 

My home at Simply Camp

After a peaceful night of sleep listening to the buzzing of crickets and soft whooshing of the wind outside, we woke up to delve into the natural beauty of Hassan. The adventurer in me was full of thrill as we hopped on a jeep and headed on a muddy pathway for an off-roading drive through the forests of Hassan. Upon reaching a spot where we could not take the jeep further, we hiked up a short distance to reach the Agani Gudda Hill, a beautiful hill which the locals believe many centuries ago was a volcanic one, giving it its name. The tiring but exhilarating trek was worth it, and we spent some quiet moments at the peak before heading on to another Xafari partner, Hemavathi Naturestay for breakfast. 

Agani Gudda Hills

Apart from gorging on some delicious food, I was also excited to try my skills at cooking some traditional Malnad food at the homestay. This is one of the highlights of staying at homely places, as it gives you a chance to experience the authentic lifestyle of the locals. I got a chance to try my hand at making some authentic Malnad dishes such as Neer Dosa and Kadubu too. This in a way helped me stay connected with the local culture of the region, which made the road trip even more special. 

We then headed onto the ultimate leg of our road trip where we visited the 600-year-old Bettada Byraveshwara Temple, which is perched atop a small hill. The climb up the hill to reach the top which offered beautiful aerial views of the towns below and the magnificent architecture of the temple made the exhaustion worth it. After getting down from the hill, I got to splash around in the Magajahalli Waterfalls to cool down after all the walking under the hot sun. 

Bettada Byraveshwara Temple

Magajahalli Waterfall

Post a delicious lunch, we got to visit another Xafari partner, D’Souza Rosewood Handicrafts, where we spoke to the owner, Mr. D’Souza about how he started his small business, and also how his craftsman makes the beautiful wood carvings. I tried my hand at chiselling, to create a small elephant sculpture, which I feel might need lot more work, until I can proudly claim that it’s my creation. If you want to try your hand at making these wood carvings, stay tuned on Xafari, as they will be conducting workshops in collaboration with their partners in the near future. Finally, to end the road trip off on a high, we decided to get our adrenaline pumping and headed to the Yagachi Dam, near Belur, where we tried some adventure water sports, which brought my heart to my mouth!

With Mr D'Souza at Rosewood Handicrafts

Overall, this road trip with Xafari gave me a lot of insight into rural tourism and offbeat destinations. Discovering these places through the Xafari app and interacting with the locals about their livelihoods and the backstories of their businesses were certainly the highlights for me. I am definitely looking forward to curating more itineraries for myself on Xafari, and exploring the untouched locations of the country.  

How you can also use Xafari!

You can download Xafari app from here to plan for your next travel and explorations.

iOS & Android.