A quiet little charming coastal town.. (Mangalore)

Member Name: kiran8

Product:	Mangalore
Date:	31/08/08 (87 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It is not crowded like most other tourrist destinations

Disadvantages: Heavy rains in monsoon, resulting in land slides and bad roads ..

MANGALORE

To the south of India , by the shores of Arabian Sea is located the port town of Mangalore, a rambling,lush green, friendly town.This place is promises a serene getaway, a little off the beaten track and ideal for those who want a relaxed laidback sort of vacation. An ideal place to unwind without the usual hustle and bustle of the more frequented tourist spots in India... Mangalore has an ideal location on a narrow coastal strip between the towering Western Ghats on one side and the Arabian sea on the other.There is greenery everywhere and one can see coconut palms all over the place...

Geographical destination

Mangalore or Mangaluru as it is called now is the district capital of South Kanara district, in the Karnataka State in India.It is located on the western part of India.It is a coastal town and a major port city of India.It is at a distance of 350 kilometers from Bangalore or Bengaluru as it is known now, which is the State Capital of Karnataka.
Mangalore is connected through Air,Rail and Road from most major cities of India.There is an International airport as well which has a few flights operating to the Middle Eastern countries like Dubai and Kuwait, and to far eastern countries like Singapore.It is now being developed into the second largest airport in the State , which will finally be connected to many more International cities..

Many people compare Mangalore to Goa as it has the same kind of landscape infringed with coconut palms and a number of beaches .The beaches here are far less crowded than the Goan ones and much cleaner..
The city is very scenic , it is made up of a group of hills and hillocks, so there are winding roads as you climb up and down from hill to the other.And one has a lovely view of the sea and the distant hills from many parts of the city...
The places within the city are named accordingly, you have Kadri Hills, Mercara Hills ,Lighthouse Hill, Sanyasi Gudde which means 'Hill frequented by the saints' , Hat house hill,Mary Hill...it is a very interesting little place.

The landscape is dotted with tiled-roof buildings, topped with the famous Mangalore tiles, which is made with the locally available hard red clay.

There are a lot of very old beautiful churches, as there is a considerable number of Mangalorean Christians , who speak Konkani. the other languages spoken here are Tulu and Kannada.

There are some old temples as well, mainly The Kadri Temple dating back to about 1068 A.D, nestling at the foot of the highest hill in Mangalore, The Kadri Hills..
There are many places of interest around Mangalore . Kudremukh, a small, very beautiful hill station in the Western Ghats which is about 60 kilometers from Mangalore.There are no glamorous casinos or resorts here, just a couple of simple guest house run by the Kudremukh Iron ore companies(KIOC).But the charm of this place is its abundant beauty and nature.It is absolutely beautiful with waterfalls , streams, a Dam and a little river that is not too deep and one can walk across easily...we have had such fun spending hours ..
There is Huge Botanical garden atop the Kudremukh Hills maintained by the KIOC.This place is definitely worth visiting, as it is off the beaten track and one can have their fill of nature and its bounties...

One can visit Udipi another coastal town at a distance of 55 kilometers further up to the north of Mangalore which has the famous Krishna Temple and a famous beach called 'Malpe' and' St mary's island beach' which can be reached by a boat.

A little away from Udipi is ' Manipal' which is a center of Education.It has world class universities providing an allround education...Medical, Dental, Management,Engineering to name a few..

Mangalore is very famous for its cuisine, both vegetarian and non vegetarian...
Most of the south Indian chain of authentic vegetarian restaurants are owned by Mangaloreans..it is a big business in Mangalore.
And the variety of Sea food and other Non vegetarian dishes are mind boggling, at a very affordable price...A good meal consisting of Rice, naan,vegetable, dhal, chicken sukka( dry), Fish fry, Prawn masala with a couple of drinks can be had for about 7-8 pounds for 2 people as the servings are large here... or for even lesser at smaller places...

There are many good Hotels in Mangalore and around Mangalore.
One should be able to get a decent Air conditioned room at a good hotel for about Rs 2000/-( 25 pounds ) or even less..
Mangalore is home to many famous personalities notably former MIss world and famous Actress Aishwariya Rai, Actress Shilpa Shetty who was caught up in a racial controversy last year in Britain while taking part in television series Big Boss, and Vijay Mallya Industrialist, who owns the Kingfisher Beer and airlines...
Mangalore is now poised for super growth as there are many industries being set up here and the property prices are already skyrocketing here..
Not many people are happy about this because of the negative impact it has on their lives..I come from Mangalore and most of our family members and old relatives live here.Many of them are dependent on rice cultivation in large paddy fields.But now these fields and the houses which are generally built amidst the fields as it is convenient to work from there, are being taken over by the authorities to make way for large housing colonies and other commercial purposes.The land owners are very poorly compensated, and , this has rightfully angered the locals .
Yet at the same time there is no way one can halt progress.

Mangalore as a place is a must visit fplace for tourists travelling through the southern parts of India.It can be planned as a stopover, while going to Kerala .In fact Mangalore borders Kerala State and is well connected to Cochin and other places in Kerala...

Summary: Lovely place for a relaxing holiday