[ST7677]

Western Karnataka Tour
My 5 day tour of Western Karnataka covering Jog Falls, Murdeshwar, Marwanthe, Udupi, Manipal, Agumbe, Sringeri, Dharmasthal, Kukke Subramanya and Namdroling's Golden Temple at Bylakuppe (1316km)

If you have Google earth, you can fly through this tour by downloading this file: Western Karnataka Tour.kml

Else you can check it out on Google maps at Google Maps

And for more photos with Geo Tagging visit you can visit: Picasa Web Albums - Sunil - Western Karna...

[ST7677]

DAY 1
Bangalore - Tumkur - Shimoga - Sagar - Jog Falls - Honnavar - Murdeshwar
455 kms, 10 hrs drive

Driving Time (with small breaks in between)
Bangalore - Shimoga (280km): 5:45hrs
Shimoga - Jog Falls (100km): 2 hrs
Jog Falls - Murdeshwar (75km): 2 hrs

Started from Bangalore at 6am

Road Condition (as in Dec'08)
Bangalore - Tumkur: Very good but repair work happening at few places
Arsikere - Kadur - Tarikere - Bhadravathi: Decent but some very big pot holes come suddenly
Bhadravathi - Jog Falls: Good roads
Jog Falls - Honnavar: Bad in Patches, ghat section.
Honnavar - Murdeshwar: Excellent

Attractions
JogFalls -Reached at 1:45pm - 380 kms, 8hrs drive from Bangalore.
Created by the Sharavathi River falling from a height of 253 meters (829 ft) is the highest plunge waterfall in India. Best time to visit - during monsoons.











































Murdeshwar - Reached at 5:30pm - 455 kms, 10 hrs drive from Bangalore
Attractions: Shiva Statue, Beach, Sunset in Arabian Sea
Worlds tallest statue of Lord Shiva. The sea is an intrinsic part of the temple at Murudeshwar. The sea on three sides surrounds the temple. Two life-size elephants in concrete stand guard at the steps leading to the temple. The Tallest Hindu Temple Gopuram in the World (249 ft).
Sun set is an amazing experience here. Expected Sunrise Sunset time in Dec – 6:40am and 6pm

[ST7677]

DAY 2
Murdeshwar - Marawanthe - Kundapur - Udupi
101km, 2 hrs drive

Driving time:
Murdeshwar - Marwanthe (50km): 0:50 mins
Marwanthe - Udupi (51km): 1:10 hrs

Road Conditions (as in Dec'08)
Murdeshwar - Bhatkal: Decent road with patches
Bhatkal - Udupi: Good till 10kms before reaching Udupi, repair work going on.


Attractions
Marwanthe Beach - Beautiful scenic view with Arabian Sea on one side and Sauparnika river on the other side of the road















Sri Krishna Mutt Udupi - Udupi is known for the Sri Krishna Mutt. In the 16th century, during Sri Vaadiraja 's rule, Kanakadasa, an ardent believer of God, came to Udupi to worship Lord Krishna. He was not allowed inside the temple since he was from a lower caste. Sri Krishna, pleased by the worship of Kanakadasa created a small hole in the back wall of the temple and turned to face the hole so that Kanakadasa could see him. Through the nine small holes of the window we see the tiny icon of Sri Krishna as a very young boy. He holds the churning rod in His right hand and rope in his left.














Malpe Beach - This scenic beach is very popular among both locals and tourists

Places to eat in Manipal (4 kms from Udupi - not many good dining options in Udupi)
Hangyo Saiba Restaurant - Highly recommended - Very good Multi-cuisine restaurant Veg/Non-Veg - Meal for two would cost around Rs.300-400
China Wall Restaurant - Decent Chinese Restaurant - Non/Veg - Meal for 2 would cost about Rs.400

[ST7677]

DAY 3
Udupi - Manipal - Agumbe - Sringeri (and back via same route)
166 km, 3:40 hrs drive (both ways)

Driving time:
Udupi - Agumbe (Sunset pt) (57km): 1:10 hr
Agumbe - Sringeri (26km): 40 mins

Road Conditions:
Udupi to Agumbe: Decent with potholes in some places
Agumbe Ghat: Bad and deteriorating. But this is a very small stretch
Agumbe - Sringeri: Good (pl note - road depiction in map for this segment is an indicative one and not accurate route. If you are on this route, just follow the sign boards.)


Attractions
St Mary's Island (near Udupi) – Ferry starts at 9am in the morning from Malpe dock, better to visit early to avoid rush and afternoon sun. Boat frequency depends on number of tourists. Sailing time is 25-30 mins one way. You get about 1 hour at the island before the Ferry picks you back. Distance about 5 kms, Round Trip Fare - Adults: Rs 70, Children (3yrs+): Rs 30.
Before reaching St Mary’s Island you need to transfer from big ferry to smaller boat to reach the shore.
The major attraction of these islands are the basalt rocks which have crystallized into whole columns and split into a horizontal mosaic. The western coasts of the islands are a seashell haven with seashells of various shapes and sizes littered along the coast. There is no sand and hence water is very very clean. The depth of rock increases suddenly and it is not safe to get into water here. On some of the rocks you can spot few crabs too...

























Agumbe Sunset Viewpoint - View of sun going down the Arabian see from the sunset point is an experience that you can cherish. However visibility varies drastically depending on the weather conditions. Expected Sunrise Sunset time in Dec – 6:00pm














Agumbe Village - One of the highest peaks of the western ghats – 830 M from sea level. Receives second highest rainfall in the country. It is the home of the Agumbe Rainforest Research Station, the only permanent rainforest research station in India. Also called the capital of King Cobra.


Sringeri Temple - Sharadamba Temple (Goddess of Learning & Wisdom), Vidyashankara Temple - The temple architecture is also an exhibition of the astronomical expertise of medieval south Indian temple builders. The main temple hall features 12 pillars designated for the 12 signs of the zodiac. Windows and doors along the temple walls are arranged such that equinoxes sunrise views reach the deity. The northern and southern gates enable the sunrise view from the hall during solstices

[ST7677]

DAY 4
Udupi - Manipal - Karkala - Bajagoli - Guruwayanekere - Belthangadi - Ujire - Dharmasthala - NH48 - Kukke Subramanya
172 km, 3:10 hrs

Driving time:
Udupi - Dharmsthal (110 km): 2 hrs
Dharmsthal - Subramanya (62 km): 1:10 hrs

Road Conditions (as in Dec'08)
Udupi - Dharmasthal 110km: Very good road with few potholes in between
Dharmasthal to NH48 23km: Decent road with lot of curves
NH48 17km: Very bad at almost all turns
NH48 - Kukke Subramanya 22km: Good road with lot of curves
(pl note - road depiction in map for this segment is an indicative one and not accurate route). If you are on this route, just follow the sign boards.

Attractions
Dharmsthal - The temple is devoted to Shiva and houses a linga of gold. The temple is unusual in that it is run by a Jain administration and poojas are conducted by Hindu priests. On an average the flow of pilgrims is about 10,000 people a day. A mechanized and clean kitchen provides free food for all pilgrims.
It gets very crowded over weekends and holidays. The queue is not managed well and can take 2-3 hrs for darshan.



(Photo from web)


Kukke Subramanya Temple - This is believed to be the abode of Subramanya (Karttikeya), the son of Lord Shiva. The belief is that Vasuki and other snakes took refuge under God Subrahmanya in the caves at Subramanya. Here God Subrahmanya is worshipped as a snake.
The devotees enter the courtyard from behind and walk around to go before the idol. There is Garuda pillar covered with silver between the sanctuary and the portico entrance. It is believed that the pillar was charmed and planted there to shield the devotees from the poison flames streaming from the breath of Vasuki who resides inside. Devotees circle the pillar. Beyond the pillar is the outer hall and then the inner hall and after that the sanctuary of Sri Subrahmanya. In the center of sanctuary is a pedestal. On the upper dais stands the idol of Sri Subrahmanya and then the idol of Vasuki and somewhat lower the idol of Shesha Naga.
Vasuki was the king of snake (with Nagamani on his head) who was used as a rope for Samudra Manthan.
Shesha Naga is king of all nagas, one of the primal beings of creation, he is generally depicted with a massive form that floats coiled in space, or on the universal ocean, to form the bed on which Vishnu lies.


(Photo from web)

[ST7677]

DAY 5
Kukke Subramanya - Sulya - Madikere - Kushalnagar - Namdroling's Golden Temple - Srirangapatnam - Bangalore
347 km, 8 hrs drive

Driving time:
Subramanya - Sulya (39km) - 1 hr
Sulya - Madikere (46km) - 1:30 hrs
Madikere - Kushalnagar (27km) - 50 mins

Kushalnagar - Srirangapatnam (88 km) - 1:40 hrs
Srirangapatnam - Bangalore (147 km) - 3 hrs

Reached Bangalore at 8:30pm


Road Conditions (as in Dec'08)
Subramanya - Sulya: Good road with lot of curves. There are no potholes but road is very narrow and side shoulder level is 6-8 inches down. (pl note - road depiction in map for this segment is an indicative one and not accurate route). If you are on this route, just follow the sign boards.
Sulya - Kushalnagar: Bad road with lot of potholes, can drive only in 2/3rd gear.
All the above are ghat drives, with Sampaji ghat between Sulya-Madikere.

Kushalnagar to Bangalore: Excellent 4 lane road, except for shortcut between Elivala to Srirangapatnam, which is also decent.





Attractions
Namdroling's Golden Temple - It is the second largest Tibetan settlement outside the mountain kingdom, the first being Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh, where the Dalai Lama lives. What is amazing about Bylakuppe is that most of the 20,000 Tibetans who stay here, carry on with their traditions, without ever having visited their homeland.
The grand Golden Temple here has a sixty-foot statue of Gautam Buddha, flanked by two other equally grand images of Buddhas.

[dreamdiesel]

Amazing.. very good pictures. I did a similar stretch during the monsoons in 2008. Brought back the memories. Did you visit any beaches on this stretch? How is RNS at Murdeshwar? Will be visiting Murdeshwar in a months time.

[maddy42]

Amazing. That was an awesome trip. The thing about your style of writing is you add tit bits of info. I have visited Kukke many number of times but have never known the story behind the place. Simply awesome

[lohithrao]

ST...good report indeed, you seem to have collected right info off the places you visited

Your pictures reminded me of home hehehe

[condor]

@ST7677, well written report of a lovely trip. I really liked the first post : the collage and the map.

[Samurai]

Great Report, I was supposed to meet Sunil on Christmas night, but I got horribly delayed in my 320Kms Jeep trip and reached home only at 11PM.

BTW, I was very curious about this new China Wall Restaurant. I actually downloaded and installed Google Earth to read your kml file. Unfortunately, it is not a new restaurant. It is China Valley, my usual haunt. Please correct it in your KML file.

[akbaree]

Some amazing places. Although I have visited some places in Western Karnataka, but am longing for a trip like this for a long time now.

[ASHISHPALLOD]

Originally Posted by ST7677

Places to eat not many good dining options in Udupi

All over India, Udupi managed hotels are supposed to be good hotels for food. But in Udupi itself, i wonder, there are not good hotels for dine.

Nice report of travel.

[ST7677]

Thanks Dream Diesel, Maddy, Lothirao, Condor and others!

I did visit beaches, they are very clean and safe, especially the Murdeshwar one is very good.

RNS is excellent for the location. There are 2 options RNS Residency which is a 3 star hotel and RNS guest house both next to each other with Sea facing rooms.
Residency charges 1500+12% tax and Guest houses charge 600+12% tax (I think). I stayed at the Residency.

For pictures on road condition please see: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post1111884

Thanks Samurai, Yes it was China Valley restaurant. I have corrected it.


Actually I wanted to experiment with Geo Tagging of the photographs and also wanted to experiment with Google Maps. So the travelogue was written on google maps, but later I was unable to combine my photos with my map and have it in any convenient usable way, except in Google earth which again does not share photos.

Also the idea was to collate all information so that others planning a route get full help on driving route, road conditions and driving times.

Hope you guys have gone through all the links in 1st post and enjoyed...

[lohithrao]

Originally Posted by ST7677

Thanks Dream Diesel, Maddy, Lothirao, Condor and others!

I did visit beaches, they are very clean and safe, especially the Murdeshwar one is very good.

St...there is a typo "Lohithrao" not lothi hhhehe

On the beaches Murudeshwara is nice but not safe, infact many beaches are not safe interms of getting into water....it makes sense speak to the locals before getting adventourous