If you ever drive from Bengaluru to Goa take the longer route – via Mangaluru.
It might be an extra 150 km but there are few coastal drives in India that are more rewarding.
Ask me, I’ve been down this road five times and I’ve discovered something new every single time.
Karnataka’s 320 km long coastline that runs from Mangaluru to Karwar in the north packs everything from idyllic beaches to scrumptious cuisine and then some more. If there’s one thing I learnt from my favourite coastal drive in India, it is to keep plans open and let the sights along the way dictate when you eventually end up in Goa.
Udupi is at 55 Km
The drive begins in charming Mangaluru but it’s Udupi where the action truly heats up.
Udupi might be best known for its crispy, ghee-soaked masala dosa – but that’s barely the tip of the iceberg.
Udupi’s pristine Shri Krishna temple is not just popular with the faithful – but also foodies who make a beeline for the temple’s delicious meals (served free for lunch and dinner on all days except Ekadasi). Some local restaurateurs call it the ‘Food of the Gods’ – and it’s tough to disagree. Do try Udupi’s famous ‘goli baje’ (deep-fried bondas crafted with rice flour, maida and yoghurt) at Mitra Samaj, or the banana buns (a unique sweet and savoury fritter) at Woodlands.
Udupi might also be a good place to anchor for the night. There are at least two must-do beaches that are within 30 minutes’ driving distance. Malpe, once a not-so-busy beach and a hangout for students from Manipal (Udupi’s twin town) is now a hub for beach sports like parasailing.
You could also make a quick boat ride to St Mary’s Island. But it’s Kaup beach with its charming lighthouse (what’s a coastal drive without at least one quaint lighthouse?) that makes for a picture perfect sunset.
Maravanthe is at 109 Km
So you thought Udupi was a vegetarian’s paradise? Restaurants like Sharon’s and Shetty’s Lunch Home in nearby Kundapura bust the myth with relish.
Watch small pieces of the kori roti (a rice bread) dissolve into the region’s favourite Kundapura chicken curry. Alternately, discover one of the west coast’s tastiest fish – Kane (Lady Fish) – at Sharon’s along the highway.
Great seafood is a recurring theme along the highway that doesn’t just hug the Konkan coastline but also keeps meeting rivers and streams along the way.
There’s one such spot that is truly magical; I’ve somehow always struggled to encapsulate it within a photograph – even when I’ve tuned my camera to ‘Panorama’. The highway literally cuts through the Maravanthe beach on one side and the Suparnika river on the other end. Truly unique.
While the Maravanthe beach is impossible to escape, I stumbled upon the Ottinene sunset point (15 km ahead) overlooking the Byndoor beach, almost by accident.
Murudeshwara is at 156 Km
The Andamans might be India’s most popular diving site but my first ever dive was on sheer impulse at Netrani (aka Pigeon) Island. It’s an hour by boat from the imposing temple tower at Murudeshwara and is a haven for stingrays, sea turtles and great barracudas.
December and January – when the water is clear – are particularly good months to dive here.
While this is inarguably the finest diving site along India’s western coast, another landmark here gets quite overlooked. This is the deserted Mirjan Fort built with Deccan and Mughal influences that most road trippers don’t really make the detour for. But here’s why you could – sure, large parts of the fort (that date back 500 years) are in ruins, but the main entrance still looks beautifully imposing.
Gokarna is at 231 Km
I still remember the bumpy road to Gokarna on my first visit.
That road hasn’t changed much – but the beach getaway, where backpackers from around the world literally rub shoulders with devout pilgrims, is now much busier than I remember it.
The beach bums crowd cafes along Om Beach (where there’s a banoffee pie on every menu) – while the seasoned travellers make the trek to Paradise Beach, slightly out of way from noisy tourists.
This is where you think you’ve almost reached Goa.
And this is the best part of the Karnataka leg of NH66 (the Kochi-Panvel highway).
It’s one of those trips that convince you that the journey is the destination – and yet, there lies Goa, just around the corner. Quite literally though, Goa’s waiting for you right after you cross the gorgeous backwaters of the Devbagh Beach in Karwar, coastal Karnataka’s northern most point.
Getting there and around: You could drive all the way from Bengaluru or hire a car from Mangaluru (the airport has frequent flights from most metros) and drive up to Goa.
Accommodation: There are a series of beach resorts along the route at various price points like Turtle Bay at Kundapura (www.justahotels.com) or CGH Earth’s Swaswara resort in Gokarna (www.swaswara.com)
(Ashwin Rajagopalan enjoys communicating across boundaries in his three distinct roles as a widely published lifestyle writer, one of India’s only cross cultural trainers and a consultant for a global brand services firm. Ashwin writes extensively on travel, food, technology and trends)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)