Mangalore and Kudremukh Road Trip

Day 1

Mangalore trip – The seeds of this trip were sown during our Kerala road trip when we had stayed in Mangalore for a night while returning back to Goa from Kerala. We had felt the food was really delicious over there and were told about the extremely warm hospitality of the beautiful Mangaloreans. It was time to experience this first hand and in greater details.

We started our drive from North Goa a bit late in the day on a Saturday this June (, as I kept sleeping late due to a late night Friday party :)) We started around noon time and reached Mangalore around 8pm in the evening. Roads are amazing, all along NH66 and really well maintained – driving is a pleasure on this stretch. We had dinner on the highway after Udupi and before Mangalore. It was not a very good start as the food was really forgettable.

Sunny Smiles – Hit

We stayed the night at Sunny Smiles – Great host and well maintained neat rooms at the center of the city. We took a lot of recommendations from the owner Rohan. He suggested Re-cycle The lounge and Madhuvan restaurant. We partied for a bit same night at Re-cycle and had the awesome Mangalore buns at Madhuvan the next morning for breakfast.

Re-cycle The Lounge – Hit

Re-cycle had a DJ playing and had a very chilled out vibe. Place was packed and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Mangalore doesn’t seem to have quite a bustling nightlife and only a few clubs host DJs on weekends. Re-cycle is one of them and Onyx is another place which is famous for its Saturday night parties.

Apparently, a club is not allowed to have a dance floor here in Mangalore, so people dance wherever they find place (which is good in a way). Also, places are supposed to shut music by 1130pm which kind of let us down.

Day 2

We slept really well and had a laid back start to the day. We checkout from Sunny Smiles and went to Madhuvan for breakfast.

Madhuvan Restaurant – Hit

Delightful breakfast at Madhuvan. We hogged on the buns and other Mangalore specials as if there is no tomorrow 😁 One should definitely check this place out. They have many Sunday specials on the menu for Sunday breakfast.

We checked into AJ Grand Hotel, freshened up and wanted to venture out a bit. It was almost lunch time by the time we stepped out of AJ Grand. This was our day to venture towards Udupi and checkout Delta beach backwaters and Delta point. We had our lunch late on the way near Udupi.

Delta Beach Backwater – Hit

Delta beach backwaters was our first stop and we felt so exhilarated by seeing it in person – Arabian sea on one side of the road and backwaters on the other with coconut trees dotting the sea line. Weather was pleasant as well and we really enjoyed ourselves just sitting next to the sea on the big rocks.

Main charm of the place – not many tourists and not a lot population inhabiting this area. There were houses on the sides of the single approach road and that was it. So pristine and beautiful!

Delta Point – Miss

Next stop for the day was Delta point. It is very famous in the tourist circuit and drone shots are mesmerising, with water on the three sides of the approach road (the road leading to a dead end).

However, in reality we were not impressed due to pollution, lots of littering around this area. Being a famous spot – it was crowded with parking woes. We searched for a secluded spot walking further down the same road after the parking area and were lucky to find a quieter place to sit through the evening.

Kudroli Temple – Hit

It was around sunset time when we started our journey back from Delta point. It is one way around 70kms (90mins) from Mangalore city. Just after sunset, we reached Kudroli temple and it was drizzling by the time we reached, however that didn’t deter our enthusiasm. Rain went away and we could properly explore the temple. Temple is really beautiful and not at all crowded – one can sit there peacefully for a while which is exactly what we did.

ONYX Air Lounge – Hit

It was our most awaited evening of the trip when we wanted to checkout the famous Onyx Air Lounge. We couldn’t go there yesterday night as we had just one hour left to the closing, by the time we reached Mangalore and got ready. So, we thought to save it for today. We got all dressed up and we landed up at Onyx around 9pm. In Mangalore, clubbing places close by 1130pm so we thought to be early and reach by 9 o’clock and on Sunday there was no entry no cover charges nothing. Having our hopes high, we entered the club however we were let down as we were told that today will be a slightly dull evening. It was rather a laid back vibe, only a few tables were occupied. The place is huge going by Mangalorean standards with nice interiors and attentive staff. Everyone was seated on the lower level as they would keep the upper level for some special occasions and events. We got seated on one of tables facing the roadside. We wished it to be a disco night however we were disappointed. I am definitely keeping this for the next time to check it out on a Saturday night. Drinks were moderately priced, the starters were good. We had our food and drinks – no dancing and that was it.

We went back to our Hotel AJ Grand. One thing noteworthy about Mangalore- all these places are quite conveniently located – our Hotel, this club, or even Sunny Smiles, Madhuvan and Sagar Ratna – all of these located like hardly 15 minutes from each other which is what we liked about Mangalore. This city is not huge and you can easily travel from one place to another without getting tired.

Next day was dedicated for checking out some local malls. We also had some shopping to do. We stay in Goa, there are hardly any good shopping malls in Goa :(. Hence, we had saved our shopping plans for this Mangalore trip.

Day 3

Yet again, we had a late and relaxed start to the day because the theme of this whole trip was leisure and not a lot of sightseeing 😁 Today we thought of skipping AJ Grand’s buffet breakfast as we were utterly disappointed yesterday and I had found out one place having good recommendations by the name of Sagar Ratna. We would end up checking that out for breakfast today.

AJ Grand Hotel – Miss

We wanted to indulge a bit on our short stay in Mangalore this time, as mostly we travel on budget and end up booking economical stays. Which is why, we booked AJ Grand, a 4 star property, however we were let down. The rooms weren’t well maintained and my biggest disappointment was their below par breakfast buffet. Spread was really short and lacking quality. Buns were really pathetic although being a Mangalore’s speciality.

Sagar Ratna – Hit

In Goa, at almost all restaurants and clubs, you have to (search for the parking space which is mostly non existent in Goa) and park your vehicle on your own. Mangalore was a welcome change – everywhere valet parking was available and I really loved this. A person living in Goa can totally relate to this whereas someone living in a metro would be amused at what I said 🙂

The first item that we ordered was my very favourite Mangalore Buns and boy or boy – they took sometime to bring it but when it came, it delighted us – it was so soft and fluffy – exactly what my soul wanted :). We had a few other South Indian dishes one of those was Sambhar Wada. All the items were tasty and served fresh. Full marks to Sagar Ratna. The place had nice interiors, attentive staff and it is very famous among the localities and travellers alike.

After having a great breakfast, we went to the City Centre Mall. The mall is huge. The parking itself is on the top floor – something which was an interesting fact as I didn’t realise that while driving – we drove all the way to the fifth floor and only after reaching the lift section, I understood that we are on the top floor.

Hosabettu Beach – Hit

By the time we wrapped up our shopping at City Centre Mall, it was already around 5pm. We had just enough time to catch the sunset at one of the local beaches. We checked the maps and zeroed in on Hosabettu Beach.

This beach (like yesterdays’s delta backwaters beach) was quite laid back. There were a few more people compared to the backwaters beach area but overall it had relaxed and calming vibes. We sat on the beach watching the sunset for quite sometime – so peaceful and serene. Luckily there was no rain during the sunset time and we could enjoy our evening watching the waves.

Kadri Manjunath Temple – Hit

Kadri Manjunath is one of the most revered temples of Mangalore. Upon reaching, we realised that some special pooja was underway – parking was totally packed and when Arti started, everyone started queueing up two neat lines. We were intrigued. On observing closely, we realised that this temple has a unique structure – to see the idol, you have to stand in a line – there are three structures (small temples) one after the other and there is a open door in the first structure and from that gate you can look through that whole structure. Then your line of sight will go to the middle structure – that is where the main idol of the temple is kept. That is that is how you will be able to see the idol. One can’t see it from any other direction. There was so much crowd and all the people were standing in two neat queues on either side of the line of sight in front of the front structure. That is how everyone was able to see the idol and Arti. It was indeed blissful.

After Manjunath Temple, we returned back and thought of having early dinner. We were so impressed with Sagar Ratna’s food and that we planned to have dinner over there. We wanted to have South Indian thali but that’s we were told thats its available for lunch only. We then had dosas and other South Indian items. We went to the hotel early so that we can be on time for our trip for the next day – Kudremukh National Reserve. That was the end of day 3 of our trip.

Day 4

Kudremukh Road Trip – Hit

Since the beginning of this trip, we had mostly been chilling out and not taking up any long drives – we thought of taking one slightly longer day trip somewhere memorable. I researched about the nearby places which can be visited in one day and couple of options came up in all of my search. One of them was Kudremukh National Reserve whereas the other was Agumbe Ghats. We had almost finalised Agumbe when I talked to some locals and their recommendation was Kudremukh. So, the plan was sealed – Kudremukh day trip!

We had our breakfast again at Sagar Ratna (one more round of Buns 😁 and then we got it parcelled as well. I had my very favourite Sambar Vada. After wrapping up the breakfast, we started our drive towards Kudremukh – little did we know that this was going to be the best day of our trip and most memorable. We would witness the nature like we have not seen on the trip so far.

The roads were pretty well maintained – from Mangalore we had to drive almost till mid way to Udupi and then there is a diversion for Kudremukh National Reserve. First on the NH 66 we drove for an hour and then from there, we had to take a diversion on state highway (an hour approx) and then we saw the board of Kudremukh National reserve. We need to take a token from the police check post at entry which needs to be returned back at the exit gate after crossing the National reserve.

We almost killed (speaking figuratively :)) ourselves because we thought we will get something to eat inside the Reserve or some hotel/restaurants will be there but boy o boy – there was no option at all after leaving NH 66, hardly a couple of very small hotels just before the entry of The Reserve. We deemed them not to be good enough. Human nature – even after being so hungry we were still particular about quality!!! At the breakfast, we had a couple of buns packed – those kind of saved us when we are not able to control our hunger and some fruits that we bought on the way saved us that afternoon.

The whole drive inside Kudremukh National reserve is very beautiful – initial half an hour to 40 minutes drive is only jungle while the road is very good. We got to see some waterfalls. It was a rainy day (not raining like continuously) but it was cloudy and inside the forest it appeared as if it was already evening or dark in the afternoon itself. The forest was so dense.

After driving for around an hour inside the forest (we were driving in a relaxed mode enjoying the views and soaking it all in), we reached the Kudremukh junction – where the various trekking options start or the place where once the famous KIOCL township flourished. In total, it took us 3 hours to reach the Kudremukh township area.

Famous treks such as Kinjal trek start from here – however one has to get in touch with forest department officials for trekking. They would facilitate the complete trek apparently and treks cant be done on our own in this area.

After reaching the base camp we had our plans to go further ahead on the same road till Kalasa town. We had been told that there are some nice beautiful landscapes to be seen between Kudremukh and Kalasa.

Before that, we thought to explore around a little bit in the Kudremukh town and this was one of the highlights of the day – a series of houses all similar in construction and paint as if these were government quarters or as if part of a township. What was really attention grabbing – majority of those houses were abandoned and nobody was staying there. We could hardly spot anyone in about a kilometre or so stretch of the road. We could only spot one or two human beings and 3-4 houses were having some clothes dried up on their balcony. A few cars were parked in a handful of houses.

Kudremukh – The Ghost town

This is when we understood why Kudremukh is also known as a ghost town. After a little while, I learned that it was once a Township built by KIOCL and due to environmental issues they had to shut down their operations in this area. The Township had their own school, hospital, temples, garden and everything that a housing society might need. We saw a grocery store still functioning although very basis and in poor condition. It probably served the forest department officials and a few township residents who still live here.

Around 15 years ago, the iron mining had to be closed due to court orders in this area and once a flourishing town has now become what appears to be like a haunted city. This township is a vivid example of how nature can take over human establishments and how fast things can change. It is really an eye opener on how fragile our lives are. No matter how meticulously or with how much care and money, we build a house or society – how quickly everything can turn to nothing and everything can come crashing down – Kudremukh township ruins stands as a testimony of that.

How to reach Kudremukh

It is definitely something that one must visit if you around Mangalore or Udupi.

Just a couple of hours drive from Mangalore/Udupi.

8-9 hours drive from North Goa.

About 6 hours from South Goa.

Drive to Kalasa from Kudremukh – Hit – Highlight of the trip

It was well past lunch time and on our desperate search for a nice restaurant to have lunch, we kept driving but we didn’t complain – the scenery on either size of the road was so amazing that we even forget how famished we were. This was the highlight of the day – the best part of this whole drive and the whole trip I may say.

Tea plantations, paddy fields, waterfalls and river streams – this stretch had it all – If you don’t want to go all the way to Munnar then one can come down to Kudremukh. Most memorable part of this day trip was the drive from Kudremukh township area to Kalasa town.

Finally we reached Kalasa town. Just before entering the city, we found a decent looking hotel with a cute restaurant. It was supposed to be a good one but food was rather mediocre and we just had something for the sake of staying alive.

One might even give it a thought to stay in these beautiful surroundings a few kms before Kalasa town if one is not short on time. Imagine being treated to these landscapes when you don’t have a time limit to return – you can soak in the nature as much as you can. We did find some guest house and homestays on the way from Kudremukh to Kalasa – basic, no frills but definitely doable options. If luxury is your thing, we didn’t find any star hotels on our drive here. This is really something that we plan to do next time.

Bittu Da Dhaba – Hit

We started our return drive from Kalasa town around 5pm and it was around 830pm by the time we reached the highway. For the night, our stay was at a different hotel as we didn’t want to stay in Mangalore but near Udupi so that our return drive the next day will be shorter and easier. We selected a beach facing property by the name Sea Shade. This area was almost in the middle of Mangalore and Udupi – it was very difficult finding a good restaurant for dinner. We didn’t want to travel far (either to Mangalore or Udupi town where we would find plentiful options) as we were very tired. It had rained almost all our return journey and by the time we hit the highway, we were very very tired. With apprehensions, we selected Bittu Da Dhaba for dinner which is on NH66 itself but it ended up being a good choice. Fresh hot north Indian food – just exactly what bodies and souls needed after a long and tiring day.

Sea Shade – Miss

After having the fulfilling dinner, we drove to our stay for the night – Sea Shade. It was a beach facing property and anticipation was building high by seeing the location of the property. I wanted to reach there by sunset time but once we started from Kalasa, it kept on raining all the way, so even if we had reached there by sunset, it hardly would have made any difference.

We checked into the guest house. The owners stay in the ground floor and there is a small unit on the top floor which they rent out. This house was slightly inside the approach road but there was nothing in the visible line of sight from the sea – all open land and around 100m from the road. The sea is on the opposite side of the approach road. One has to agree, this house had a great location and great sea view right from our room.

However, we were let down by how the house was maintained. We didn’t like the interiors altogether. The beds were not that clean – some insects kept bugging us all night. Although the place had nice reviews on booking.com but we didn’t like the experience at all. It kept raining the whole night and the curtains kept ramming on the walls so hard that we couldn’t sleep as peacefully as be would have liked. Probably monsoons was the wrong time to stay in this property which made our experience poor.

Day 5

Somehow the night came to an end and day 5 of our journey began – when we would return back to Goa. We checked out from Sea Shade and I had selected the place for breakfast on the way near Udupi. The plan was to have the breakfast over there and get going. We had planned to have lunch somewhere on the way.

Udupi Rasoi – Hit

Udupi Rasoi was our shortlisted place for breakfast. It was conveniently located on NH 66 and inside a star hotel. The place had nice interiors and attentive staff. Sambhar Vada was good, dosa was reasonable however Buns were pretty ordinary it was noway near about Sagar Ratna’s quality or not even Madhuvan’s standards – it was just about okayish. By the time we resumed our journey back, it was almost 11am.

Maravanthe Beach – Miss

Maravanthe Beach – around an hour drive from Udupi up north. It looked decent enough. Probably due to monsoons, when looking at the area up and close, it didn’t look anywhere as scenic as it appears in drone shots.

The complete drive from Mangalore to Goa is lovely – well maintained NH66 coupled with breathtaking views. Especially, the stretch around Karwar is very scenic and that is where we saw the Arabian sea on one side and some mountain views on the other side. All in all the whole drive I would say is very beautiful – one would definitely enjoy driving on this stretch.

One funny thing which always happens with us – we were again famished for lunch, we kept searching for some good restaurants but hardly any nice places or restaurants between Udupi and Karwar. It was almost 4 o’clock by the time we reached Karwar. We were so hungry that took a diversion from NH66 and went into Karwar town. We are searching for some nice restaurants however as it was middle of the day (after lunch and between dinner time), we were not getting any good option. Finally I saw Dominos and that is where we had our much needed lunch. Relief relief relief!!!

From Karwar, it took us around 3 hours to reach back our home in North Goa. The usual traffic around Madgaon and Porvorim was excessive.

All in all – a good drive and a good trip! And how can I end this blog without adding a line about how warm and lovely, Mangaloreans are! Everywhere we were treated with a delightful smile – from strangers and acquaintances alike. We could feel a very welcoming and pleasant vibe in every interaction we had with a local in Mangalore. The lovely and friendly locals here surely made our experience one of the most special ones which we will remember for a long time to come.