A buffalo race
It was a beautiful morning and our car was cruising smoothly on the National Highway 17 from
Mangalore towards north on the coastal road. Tommy Singh, my friend had joined me at
Mangalore on the previous evening. Together we had gone to witness an awesome event at
Mangalore-
"Cambala" a buffalo raceWe were entering into a beach country of the state of Karnataka. While looking at the passing landscape of the occasional view of the Arabian Sea to the west and
the hills dotted with the village houses, the plantations of Arecanut and coconut trees to the east, the passing folks on the road in the local costumes, I thought of whether I would be able to see this wonderland called India in my life time. Our destination was
Murudeshwar, the final frontier of spirituality and pilgrimage situated on the most scenic beach, a journey of about 175 km from Mangalore with a
Night halt at MaravantheUdupi:
After a drive of about two hours we reached the township of Udupi. A town with a rustic charm. We visited the famous
Krishna Temple with it's spell bounding golden chariot. Of course,
Udupi is known for
it's great cuisine all around the country. There are more t
han 1000 Udupi restaurants in India.We had sumptuous snacks with steaming
idlis (boiled rice and lentil balls with tamarind spiced lentil curry and coconut sauce) at
Hotel Navrang, Udupi and left for more enchanting places.
Malpe:
Suddenly we were stunned!
A 5 km from Udupi and we were at a beautiful beach of Malpe. Wow! What a sight it was, a beautiful.
Malpe was a scenic fishing village We spent some time walking around and then took a boat to The St. Mary's Islands with the sea salted breeze cooling our faces.
The St. Mary's Islands:
St. Mary's, Isles are a group of islands accessible by ferry from Malpe. Vascoda Gama appears to have touched the island in 1498 before he reached C
alicut. The Islands are just a few scattered projections of rock rising out of the Arabian Sea round about Malpe. The northern most island is about a square mile in area and not more than 250 yards in width. It has a coconut garden, which makes it the shadiest isle of the group and gives it a true south sea color.It is noted for its famous basalt rocks, which have crystallized into columns and split into hexagonal mosaic. Perhaps, this is the only spot in
India where basaltic rocks show up such peculiar formations.
The waves hit the rocks with awesome force and the crevices between rocks have enough water to breed a mini ecosystem within. We found a multi-colored crab, but he was camera shy, so after wondering about and enjoying the nature's wonder, we started back to
Malpe.
Maravanthe:
The thrilling journey continued for another 50 km to north on NH17 passing the township of
Kundapur to yet another incredible beach of
Maravanthe! My goodness, I thought. Nature's jewels one after another! Was it a dream or a reality? But we were there, very much.
The Moravians were a seaside to
wnship with a picturesque and virgin beach on one side and the Satuparnika River on the other side. With the backdrop of mountains, we could see the miles and miles of white sand and with the sun setting on the western horizon, the waters of the Arabian Sea were turning gold. The place out of the leaves of the fairy tales books.Our
halt was at
The Turtle Bay Beach Resort, Maravanthe, a beautiful place with the dancing coconut groves and
soft cool breeze add to the already perfect natural surroundings.
In the late evening we had been discussing on
Maravanthe beach and concluded that it was one of the finest beaches in the world!
I didn't sleep well that night. One, I fell in love with
Maravanthe and second, what wonderful surprises tomorrow will bring when we arrive at Murudeshwar.
Stay:Turtle Bay Beach Resort
Kanchugodu, Gujjadi P.O., Kundapur Taluk
,Udupi District - 576 213
Phone: +91-8254- 45422, +91-98441 25712
Related post TRAVEL TO EXOTIC PORT OF MANGALORE WITH IT'S CULINARY HERITAGE, South West Coast, Karnataka, India