Resort & Weekend getaway from Bangalore

Its more than a week since my last post! The weather in Bangalore is wet and hot - its not only confusing, but also flu and cold are prevalent. I was one of the victims and now back to normalcy, well, almost with the occasional cough!
To celebrate my recovery, we gathered a few friends and made a day trip to a cave resort called Guhantara in the outskirts of Bangalore- on the Kanakapura road. It is 30 Kms from HSR layout and around 50 Kms from Indirangar.4 couples and 3 kids made it in 2 cars on sunday morning and after a slow long drive, we reached the resort by 10 am. The last 3 km was a rollercoaster ride as there were no roads inside the forest-village. Another resort by name 'Angana' is also located on the way. Thanks to the monsoons, the place wore a lush green and wet look.
We had registered earlier for a day full of activity. The entrance resembled a cave and after payments, we were taken through a tunnel the interiors of which were of mud and gave a rocky feeling. The kids were thrilled with the dim light, sunlight peeping through the holes and made sounds to highlight the effect. After a 300m walk, we were led into a central room which had dinner tables made out of logs and lots of people. I would have thought for a moment that we entered a theatre, if not for the breakfast buffet counters. An artificial waterfall with a small pool of water formed the centre and against this backdrop, there were seating arrangements done like a theatre. Little did we know that our sunday would be spent in that area!
After tea, we proceeded to the play-area which had Table tennis at the corner of a cave. the table was broken and a half was lower than the other!The place was poorly lit. Still, 4 of us played TT for sometime and the rest were engaged with the dartboard which had only 3 arrows to throw! Though there was a snooker table, a board that read 'Only professionals allowed' kept us away. 3 carom boards were available for the kids. After half an hour of play, we decided to venture out to the open. Came out of the cave and realised that the entire play area was not more than 3000 sq.ft. And including us, appx. 400 persons are to enjoy the resort facilities.
Only the beach volley ball has an earmarked area, there were no cricket pitches, but 3-4 teams were already playing - some with their own bat and balls! We had to wait to get hold of shuttle rackets and played amidst fielding. Within a few minutes, the resort guy came demanding the rackets and asked all 8+3 of us to play with a single frisbee. When I refused to return the rackets, he told me that two women from our group are playing shuttle elsewhere. Inspite of me telling him that they did not belong to our group, he insisted that we play frisbee. But where?
We whiled away the time and got into volleyball by noon. Two other women joined us and we had a match. After that, again the question what next? Thankfully, the resort had organised events like tug of war, singing competition, housie etc to retain people in the auditorium and keep them engaged.
Another shock was that the swimming pool is the same as the small waterfall pool which had a rocky base! We waited for lunch and it turned out be average. It was very spicy for some of us and the housie kept us engaged. Post lunch, when it is difficult to move around, the singing competition started. It was raining out and we spent some time playing dumb charades, swing, slide etc. The auditorium also served as the rain dance area and it started by 3.30 pm and went on for an hour. Meanwhile, we slipped into the pool and played in water. We timed it just before the rain dance got over for the shower. High tea was served and time to say bye and left by 5 pm!
Well, overall, its a small place and definitely lacks sporting facilities. There were many corporate teams having their day-outing and having fun. But, this place is definitely not worth the money we pay, which is Rs.650 per head for a day!
http://www.guhantara.com/
Pictures available in the above website.