Mangalore re-visited (after 11 years)

Mangalore, one of the biggest cities in the western part of the state of Karnataka gets its name after the goddess Mangaladevi. The story behind goes along way in enriching the cultural heritage of Mangalore. . With an important port, this coastal town is a major commercial centre. It is a centre for the export of coffee and cashew nuts. The city has a modern port now. The major home industries are Beedi’s, Tiles, Cashew , Coffee curing and Fishing. Mangalore is located near the backwaters formed by converging Netravati and Gurpur rivers.
Mangalore is approx 350 kms from the capital city of Bangalore.

Getting there

Rail : There are trains from Bangalore to Mangalore. The train route goes through scenic places and is best covered during the day.
Air: Flights from all major cities fly to Mangalore Bajpe airport.
Road : One of the best and faster means of transport is by road. Plenty of overnite buses ply from Bangalore to Mangalore

There are 2 main routes from Bangalore to Mangalore

Route 1: Bangalore – Nelamangala – CR Patna – Hassan – Sakleshpur – Uppinangadi – Mani – Bantwal- Mangalore
Route 2 : Bangalore – Hassan – Mudigere – Charmadi – Bantwal – Mangalore

The drive from Bangalore takes approximately 6 hours. Getting out of Bangalore is probably the biggest ordeal. After crossing Nelamangala, traffic eases out and its a breeze through Kunigal and CR Patna. 4-laning of the Bangalore-Hassan road is under progress in pockets. The road from Hassan to Sakleshpur is a ‘single road’ but very nice to drive on. The (shiradi) ghat section starts after Sakleshpur. The drive on shiradi ghat is slow but a nice one. The roads are patched up and its motor-able. Oncoming traffic and frequent curves make the going slow. Adding to this, road widening activities further slow down speed at places.

Greenery around Shiradi ghat

Accomodation
Mangalore had loads of staying options that suit every budget. One of the oldest hotels , The Woodlands, on Bunts hostel road, provides a decent budget option in the heart of the town. There are quite a few staying options on K.S.Rao road as well.

Places to eat
Hotel Woodlands is a good option for food as well. Probably the best place for vegetarian delicacies.

Things to do
One of the places of interest to visit in Mangalore is the temple after which it got its name , Mangala devi temple.

The best thing one could do is to spend time at the beach. To access beaches, one has to travel to Panambur beach (20 kms) or Ullal beach (13 km). To reach Ullal beach , take the Mangalore-Kasargod road and look out for the board for Ullal beach. This is also called Someshwara beach. The waves lashing out at the rocks in Ullal beach makes a good treat for the eyes.

Waves crashing on the rocks at Ullal beach

Any visit to Mangalore would be incomplete without a visit to the Ideal ice cream parlour. The gadbad ice-cream is one of the favorite out over here.

The famous Gadbad ice cream at Ideal's

Also try out the Cashew Macroni from Komal’s .

If you are visiting Mangalore for the first time, make sure you have allocate atleast 2 days for going around the place.