[sbraj]

Started from Airport Road, Bangalore at 5.45 am. Smooth and steady traffic on Mysore Road. Long weekend, hence lots of cars going out of Bangalore. Mornings are the best time to drive; people are less rash in mornings. One sees happy faces behind the wheels. And this brushes on to others as well. Reached Mysore in 1 hr 50 mins.

Took the bypass towards Madikeri. Mysore-Kushalnagar stretch (SH88) is recently laid and extremely smooth, one can keep going at 120KMPH. Look out for unmarked humps near village junctions though. Passed via Hunsur, Piriyapatana. Reached Kushalnagar in 1 hr 10 mins.

Stretch between Kushalnagar and Madikeri is not that good, but not very bad as well. Uneven surface due to poor tarring work. Though only 30KMs, it took 50 mins for me to reach Madikeri.

Madikeri has good places to eat - Hotel East End being one of them. Once one cross Madikeri, there are no places to eat. At the statue junction, one has to take a left turn downhill for Sullya.

Ghat section between Madikeri and Sullya is in pretty bad condition. At curves, there are wide potholes; it is difficult to find the remaining part of the road at times. I kept following local jeeps; the jeep drivers seemed to be familiar with the potholes and which part of the road to take to avoid them. Though the distance between Madikeri and Sullya is 50KM, it took around 1 hr 30 mins for me.

After around 10KM from Sullya, near Jalsoor, the road bifurcates. SH56 towards left take you to Kasargod while SH88 continues straight towards Mangalore via Puttur. After taking SH56, after 5KMs or so, one enters Kerala. This point onwards, the road condition is excellent. Very curvy roads, but not a ghat section. Goes through dense forest; very dark at times even at noon. At one point, we noticed a black 3 meter long snake crossing the road. On the way, one crosses Adur, Mulleria, Bovikanam and Cherkala.

At Cherkala, you have the option of taking the bypass towards Kanhangad or proceed towards Kasargod city and then reach Nileswaram via Udma, Bekal, and Kanhangad. The bypass road is in extremely bad condition, huge craters on the road make it un-drivable at times. Once the hilly region is through, the road is very good. Whereas if one goes via the city, roads are decent.

Reached Nileswaram in 50 mins. On the right side of the road, just before the Nileswaram Bridge, one finds the Nalanda resorts.

Bekal beach is wonderful to spend time at, though it was crowded due to the holiday season. View of the sea from Bekal fort is good.

Between Nileswaram-Kanhangad NH17 stretch off Hosdurg, one finds the Nithyananda Ashram. Here series of around 100 narrow caves are carved under a huge rock. Each cave is around 6x3 feet. This guru lived in the early parts of 20th century in this cave along with his disciples. Amazed that it is possible for a person to live in a 6x3 feet area. Photographs and belongings of the inhabitants indicate the simplicity of their life.

Around 20 KM off Kasargod town towards Kumbala one finds the Ananthapura lake Temple on a remote hilly region. There is a crocodile living in the lake called "Babia". Everyday at around 1130, the priest calls the crocodile for lunch. The crocodile comes out of water, eats the 'prasada' and goes back. This temple is considered as the original seat of Ananthapadmanabha Swami.

Best part of this trip was the stay at Nalanda resorts. Absolutely marvelous place. Very well maintained cottage. Excellent ambience. Cuisine is good, a little on the spicier side. Very friendly staff. One can spend the whole day lazing around by the river side.

Heard from local folks that Chithari beach near Bekal is a good one. Another scenic one is the narrow bridge near Nileswaram across river. I could not find time to visit these places; plan to do it next time I am in Kasargod.

Date of journey : 1 Oct 2008
Total distance : 420 KM
Total driving time : 7 hours

Trip log starting from Bangalore:
Mysore - 1 hr 50 mins
Kushalnagar - 1 hr 10 mins
Madikeri - 50 mins
Sullya (50KM) - 1 hr 30 mins
Cherkala (60KM) - 1 hr 20 mins
Nileswaram (30KM) - 40 mins

Some snaps below:

Hills near Madikeri



Cottage at Nalanda resorts



Nileswaram river seen from cottage



Nileswaram Bridge on NH17



Bekal Fort seen from the beach



Beach view from the Fort



Bekal Fort



Steep uphill on NH17 near Kasargod



Ananthapura Temple



Near Ananthapura Temple

[Mysticeyes]

nice writeup and great pics buddy. have been dreaming for years to make a trip to northern parts of kerala, especially bekal. your pics made me more determined

[snaronikar]

Good write up and nice pics.

[Jammy70]

sbraj,

Nice report and pics! The resort looks inviting... will try to do the trip sometime. Do you have any pictures of the Madikeri - Kasargod section; if so, please post them too.

Cheers,

[vrvarier]

Good report and pics, dude. Really tempting. 420 KM is one way, right? 7 hrs is good speed. Is your car a Getz? Could see from one snap. How did it took the travel? Is this resort expensive? Looks to be ideal for a leisurely outing.

[arjunkr]

hi vrvarier ,
I have checked the tariff of Nalanda Resort , it looks quite very decent deal for facilities they provide , check the below link for more details

Nalanda Resorts Link

[pgginish]

More information about ths resort is available on the below link:
Nalanda Resorts Kasargod Kerala,Kasargod hotels,kasargod resorts,Budget Hotels in Kasargod,Accommodation in Kasargod

[sbraj]

Nalanda Resorts - cottages are available for Rs. 2000/- per night. Air-conditioned room with TV, telephone, refrigerator, double bed, a dining section, spacious bathroom with tub. Wooden furniture and earthen tile flooring, reminding of the traditional Kerala style architecture. There are 3 cottages only; so availability may be an issue. Each cottage has an open verandah facing the river with wooden railings and seats (‘poomugham with charupadi’). Resort has boating facility also. I made a telephonic reservation, followed it up with an email and upon reaching the resort made the payment.

Snap of the cottage interiors attached.

@vrvarier: Yes, drive was on Getz. Car gave no troubles whatsoever; one just has to be a little careful in the Madikeri-Sullya stretch, else it may scrape the bottom.

@Jammy70: Unfortunately I don’t have any snaps of the Madikeri-Kasargod stretch. Driving becomes addictive at times that one forgets to stop and stare. This trip was so enjoyable for me that I wish to do it again; if so, certainly I would have these snaps as well.

[crn12]

Opening this thread after a year

I am planning / shortlisted to visit the same resort for the Dec 14th - Dec 17th, appreciate if you could tell me the road conditions from Blore & the stay in the resort. We would have our 3yr son joining us.

I would be driving in my Fiat Palio (Diesel), any thoughts on prior service / or a general check up would suffice?

PS: If you can recommend any other place / resort for a 2 night 3 days with less than 6 hrs of drive from blore, is appreciated.

Thanks, Nitin

[nairrk]

How many of you all there??
If more people i.e around 6 or more then you all can go for another joy ride
at Bekal Boat Stay at Nileshwaram. Only thing is that you have to hire a boat-
food will be served on board. The boat will leave the place at certain time and go on water (backwater). Day boat timing is between 10 am to 4 pm. And there are other timings also.
If interested please check their website: bekalboatstay.com

[crn12]

Originally Posted by nairrk

How many of you all there??
If more people i.e around 6 or more then you all can go for another joy ride
at Bekal Boat Stay at Nileshwaram. Only thing is that you have to hire a boat-
food will be served on board. The boat will leave the place at certain time and go on water (backwater). Day boat timing is between 10 am to 4 pm. And there are other timings also.
If interested please check their website: bekalboatstay.com

Thanks for the quick reply, we are 3 including my son.

[crn12]

Originally Posted by nairrk

How many of you all there??
If more people i.e around 6 or more then you all can go for another joy ride
at Bekal Boat Stay at Nileshwaram. Only thing is that you have to hire a boat-
food will be served on board. The boat will leave the place at certain time and go on water (backwater). Day boat timing is between 10 am to 4 pm. And there are other timings also.
If interested please check their website: bekalboatstay.com

I checked on the house boats, it works out to be too expensive for the two of us. I will drop this house boat for now.

If I have any other options, pl let me know.

[rjstyles69]

Looks like I would have to add this also to my wish-list during the year-end sojourn on the western coast. Nileshwar sure looks quite inviting and thanks a ton for sharing your experience with the place .

[RajeshK]

Hi Sbraj,

Any reason why you didn't took the Madikeri - Bhagamandala - Panathur - Kanhangad route? This would have been atleast 20-25km short to Nileswar, and better road though it is narrow.

Nalanda resort is very scenic, and the sea food served are used be very good. Right now Gokulam group is managing the resort.

A small correction : The picture
Attachment 67350
Steep uphill on NH17 near Kasargod
is not actually in NH17, but the in the road to Kasargod from Kanhangad connecting Bekal. Right...?

Thanks
Rajesh

[crn12]

Originally Posted by RajeshK

Hi Sbraj,

Any reason why you didn't took the Madikeri - Bhagamandala - Panathur - Kanhangad route? This would have been atleast 20-25km short to Nileswar, and better road though it is narrow.

Nalanda resort is very scenic, and the sea food served are used be very good. Right now Gokulam group is managing the resort.

A small correction : The picture
Attachment 67350
Steep uphill on NH17 near Kasargod
is not actually in NH17, but the in the road to Kasargod from Kanhangad connecting Bekal. Right...?

Thanks
Rajesh

Looks like you have traveled on this road, can you pl let me know on the road conditions & the avg time taken from Blore to the resort.
Thanks, Nitin