We visited Coastal Karnataka just after a heavy monsoon. The scent of the wet earth wafted through the balmy air and the trees swayed from side to side in welcome. The beaches have clear white sand and are bejewelled by coconut trees.
Taking in the beauty of this place we wondered why it was ignored by tourists all along and then thanked our stars for the same. We spent two blissful days exploring the beaches, highways and eating some of the most delicious food.
We set out from Bangalore in the wee hours of the night and drove to Coastal Karnataka via the Agumbe forest. This is a beautiful and unexplored forest often due to the lack of stay options (just a handful of homestays).
The road went past some dense forest, and the streets were beautiful! We stopped on the way just after the winding roads for some chai and vada. We took shelter under the small shed and shared our precious vada with the monkeys around. We reached Udupi around a late afternoon and checked into our Airbnb in Kaup beach.
We went to the beautiful Kapu Lighthouse in the late afternoon. It was built by the British in 1901 and stood 27 metres tall. The lighthouse was very close to our cottage. There were multiple places of food joints near the beach, and public transport was readily available if need be.
Entrance fees: Rs 10 per head and Rs 20 per camera
Opening hours: 4.00 pm to 6.00 pm
No trip to Coastal Karnataka is complete without a visit to Maravanthe. This highway, from where you can see the Arabian sea on one side and the Souparnika river on the other, is 54 km from Kapu beach. Maravanthe Beach is spectacular and is very peaceful.
After driving around in Maravanthe to our heart’s content, we went to Kundapura to eat the famous ghee roast at Shetty’s Lunch Home.
We drove further down the coast by about a 100 km and reached Murudeshwar. We saw the sunset at Murudeshwar beach and got back to Kapu. We fell asleep to the sound of the waves and the rustle of the coconut trees.
We left from Udupi for Bangalore after a great pitstop to eat the very famous udupi dosas. On our way back to Bangalore, we passed by forests, ghats, green fields, dams and some amazing highways.
If you travel to this part of the town after the monsoon, there are a lot of activities you can enjoy here. You can go kayaking on the backwaters and you can learn to surf like a pro. You can dive in the Nethrani islands nearby and may get lucky and see some bio-luminescence on the beach too. But monsoon has an untouched charm even though it means you cannot do a lot of activities.
Expenditure:
Flight from Bangalore to Mangalore: Rs 2,107
A one-way ticket on a train: Rs 135 - Rs 240
Taxi starting tariff: Rs 6500 approx.
Hotel stay in Udupi: Average Rs 1200 for a room per night
Meal for two: Rs 50 - Rs 500 approx.
Average Daily Expenditure: Rs 936
Accommodation:
Value for money: Hotel Shiva Prasad Grand
Mid-Range: Blue Waters, Kundapur
Luxury: Suvarna Sangam
When to go:
October to March. Though we went during the monsoon in August and loved it!
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