Temple - Beach Trip to Udupi-Kundapur-Murudeswara!!

Planning a weekend spiritual temple-hopping getaway from Bangalore is as simple as visiting your neighborhood temple...!!

A trip to Udupi, Mangalore, Murudeswara would be a good choice.. Also, the never-ending beaches and the quietness of a few places refreshes you from your bustling lifestyle..

There are a no. of KSRTC as well as Private buses which would take you to Udupi in a matter of 11-12 hours with rates starting at just 400 odd Rupees.. Well, if you prefer to drive, it's about 400kms from Bangalore..
Once in Udupi, you can take an auto to travel around the city.. The popular places to visit are all quite close-by.. If you are 3+ in a group, you can always hire a taxi\cab.. Usually the hotels would facilitate such services and help you with it...

Unless you are a very spiritual person and would want to spend a lot of time performing special pujas and homas in all the temples including the main Krishna Temple, you can easily cover all the places around in about a day..
The main temples are the Sri Krishna Temple (Udupi Krishna Mutt), which is famous for it's Kanakana Kindi (a window through which you get to see the image of Lord Krishna).. It is basically a cluster of several temples portraying the Dvaita philosophy..

A short 5km away from the city center is a port, Malpe.. The beach is a little over-crowded during the on-season.. About 15-20min motor-ride will take you to an island called St.Mary's, it has a columnar rock formation with a great scenic view...

Kaup Beach is located about 20km away and has a beautiful lighthouse view allowed only in the evenings and for a limited time..

There are many more beaches like Marvanthy, Kodi, Someswara, amongst others..

About 30km from Udupi towards Kundapura on NH17 is a temple called Anegudde, Sri Vinayaka Temple.. The speciality is that the temple is atop a hill(aane - elephant in kannada and gudde - hill).. The Lord Vinayaka is believed to fulfill the devotees' wishes and is said to have a 'Varada Hasta'..

Housing a 20-storied entrance (Rajagopura) and the World's second tallest idol of Lord Shiva, Murudeswara is a must-visit.. The temple is surrounded by huge sculptures of Geetopadesha, Sun, Lord Ganesha and Ravana..
Murudeswara Beach is also famous for many outdoor fun activities like Motor Boat Rides, Scuba-diving, Snorkelling, Water Bike Rides.....

Around a 1000-year old temple, about 40km from Kundapur is the Kollur Mookambika Temple.. Goddess Mookambika is known to be a manifestation of Hindu Gods - Shiv and Shakthi in the form of a Jyothir-linga..

Few authentic must-try dishes if you are in Udupi-Mangalore are pathrode, goli baje, neer dosa, thambuli etc...