Lucky guys, you! Beru and Kashif Nice words and pictures! If you have plans of going back there in winters, count me in. Serious.

Your trip brings back so many memories of my 'virgin beach hunt' tour across the western coast around three years ago on my RE. I can say with absolute certainty that the most beautiful and undiscovered beaches are on the west coast, between Karwar and Kashid.

I did the same thing in Tarkarli - MTDC was full, so stayed in the village with home cooked meals three times a day for Rs.500 a day only. And I was there in December, so the weather was lovely. I stayed in Tarkarli for 3 full days, no less. Half a day was spent renting a motorboat and going the ocean route to Vengurla and back. And of course, I did Ganpatiphule, Ganeshghule (another awesome and untouched beach after Ratnagiri, Goa, Vengurla (stayed there a night), Gokarna, jog falls, Chikmangulur etc etc.

Everyone must visit that place - even in peak winter 'season', the rates are reasonable, as long as you stay out of Goa and avoid chain hotels like the plague.

Some pictures which I took back then: (no photoshop/filter - straight out of my cybershot!)

breu n kashif.... man it seems you guys had a lot of fun... good shots n to compliment it a very nice write up.... loved the conversations that kashif has penned down...

thanks to u guys now i have a route in my Next "TO DO" list....

the beach actually looks virgin... nice set of pics there bluevolt

This is what I am going to do next:

I am going to buy an inflatable kayak soon and then paddle across to the deserted islands and camp there for a few days with basic supplies. Should be an awesome adventure! Will probably do that in December!

That would be great adventure but be careful the local guy told that there3 r a lot of underwater rocks close to these islands.Do take some local guy along.

Thanks for the tip - I'll get a handheld sonar!

Wow..Awesome pics and trip you guys had.And the conversation with Mr.Racer was interesting!!

Awesome log and pics!

I lived in a place called Ganeshgudi, next to Supa Dam for 5 years and had to take a bus to Dandeli for school everyday. I have to say its an amazing place!

You should have given Supa Dam a visit, its hardly 20KMs from Dandeli. There is a ghat section for around 1.5KMs which I used to thoroughly love during my days in school on the bus

DAY 2 - TARKARLI TO GOKARNA(OM BEACH) - MURUDESHWARA - UDUPPIGokarna - OM BEACH

Gokarna was not too far from Karwar.We drove like somebody is behind us to kill, and yeah it was heat.Om beach is 15-16 Kms inside from NH17.There is a ghat section,just after the end of the section there is right turn which takes us to the OM beach.
When we covered those 17-18 Kms we reached to a dead end,oh ! there comes the Om beach.Holy smokes, it was the love at first sight, beautiful blue water virgin beach separated by hills and cliffs.

View from the top


A closer look - Did you see the OM ??


We climbed down the hill, and the place was full of local peoples, students and little bit firangs.I asked Kashif,lets walk down to till the other end. But he seems to be little bit tired so he waved a no and asked me to continue. While Kashif was resting in a beach restaurant I went ahead to explore the other end and take some snaps.



Came back to the Restaurant and had a cold drink, mean while we discussed whether to take a dip or not. But discussion ended with a negative note as we had to cover a lot of distance in this killing heat. We started back, at the top we met some fellow Xbhpian's (Killer_Instinct). They were from XBHP Banglore.We sat together and had a chat for a while. It was time to leave for Murudeshwara as the clock ticked 3:00 PM.

Murudeshwara was another 80 Kms from the Om beach.We reached Murudeshwara at 5 PM.To reach the temple you have to go 2-3 Kms off from the main highway NH17.As expected the place was overcrowded.As we reached the temple,me and Kashif decided that we will pay the visit one at a time.So that one fella will keep an eye on the luggage and stuff.

Entrance of the temple,There is a lift in this complex which takes you to the top at a nominal charge of 20 Rs.



Sea around the temple


Lord Shiva and Durga idols carved in the Aarti Stambha


And Maa Kali


Took my time and did the Darshan.And returned back to the place where bikes were parked.Kashif decided to stay back and enjoy the ambience in Murudeshwara for the night.But I sticked to my plan to move ahead and run for Udupi.There is park in the back side of the temple,where there is a

Huge idol of Lord shiva.


Misc Pics
Beach at the other side


So called Multistory Beach Resto...


In this Heat run we almost forgot to eat anything at lunch time,we went to a nearby hotel named KAMAT HOTEL

Had garama garam Puri bhaji and it was time for me to move ahead for Udupi.Bidded Adieu to Kashif and started for Udupi which was another 100 Kms from Murudeshwara.Also One of my friend warned me and gave me latest update that route from Murudeshwara to Udupi is in very Bad condition.And yes he was damn right.Managed to cross those sick roads in 2 hours and reached Udupi at 8:00 PM in the night.Hunt begins for a good priced,decent accommodation preferably AC one.

Went to couple of good hotels but no luck,all were jam packed because of the long weekend.So I took a room in a lodge for 150 Rs.Cheap isn't it.
Places to be visited in Udupi was the very famous Radha-Krishana temple and Malpe beach.Radha krishana temple is opened till 10 PM in the night.
Took a refreshing bath and headed to the temple which was quite close from my Hotel.

Entrance


Some Musical Program was going on.Music was just too good,magical and trippy sort of.I sat for a while and enjoyed it.


I was in love with the place,Did the darshan and roamed in and around for an hour.

Misc






Ratha in the Backyard


I was feeling little bit hungry,I saw an arrow pointing upwards with a message "PRASAD HALL".I followed the arrow and reached a hall where the Dinner was getting served.Soon I realized what it is,and grabbed my seat.

Waiting Waiting and Waiting - when the food will be served


They served super duper hot Rice and Sambhar in the Banana leaves.It was very tasty.
Beautiful sites,Religious activities,Tasty rice Sambhar,Amazing Music...A day spended worth million pounds.
Went back to hotel and dived into the bed.

Cheers
Biru

Thinking nahi --- Admiration is what I was busy in.

That place looks really nice


Good un-focussed shot

Hahaha..I know I know

Thanks for the appreciation of my photography skills :P

Cheers
Biru

Day 3 - Uddupi - Dharamsthala - Chickmanglur - Shimoga - Hubli - Mumbai

I continued my legacy of being a lazy person and woke up late in the morning at 8 AM.Moved myself to Malpe beach after packing, unpacking and unloading things.

Glimpse of the Malpe beach





Didn't looked much attractive to me, so sat for a while and went towards Dharamsthala.It was another 100 Kms from Uduppi.

Udupi to Karkala..Karkala to Belthangady (via SH37)..Ujre and then finally Dharamsthala.Reached dharamstahala at 11 AM. Roads which I encountered from Udupi to Dharmstahala all were in good conditions.
Raam Kshetra temple on the way to Dharmsthala



Dharmasthala is one of the important temple town in Karnataka in Belthangady taluk of Dakshina Kannad district.Dharmasthala is the home to Sri Manjunatheshwara Temple with golden lingam, a famous temple dedicated to Lord Shiva.

Place was too much overcrowded and no bags, no cameras were allowed inside the temple campus. There is a bag counter in the right where you have to keep all the stuff. And to the right of it...is the entry to the waiting row for Darshan.Waiting row was 5 times long as compared to the waiting row in Shirdi.I got pulled out thrice from the row .First time because I was wearing shoes, I was carrying the camera with me...so second time, third time. came out by myself after standing for an hour and listening that its going to take another 2-3 hours to reach for the darshan.

At the start of the line


Somewhere in the middle,after which i was pulled out to keep the camera at the luggage counter


After running for thousands of meters the waiting queue ends here- Check the left corner


Disappointed me collected my luggage and dropped the plan of Subramanyam temple.

Gateway of Dharmsthala


Next thing was to reach Chickmanglur,take lunch and enquire about the route to reach NH4.

After reaching Chickmanglur,dropped-in in a Veg restaurant and ordered a Veg-Thali.Over the course of lunch I discussed the route with the owner of the hotel.... which I had to take from chickmanglur to NH4.
On my way from Chickmanglur to Shimoga I encountered some very beautiful ghats,beautiful coffee gardens and superb scenic views.



At this time of season in Maharashtra where all the ghats have taken the brown shade, those ghats were still wearing the lush green shade
With each KM I moved a thought repeatedly came into my mind.." If these ghats are so beautiful now, what would be they looking like in the month of Monsoons "

Some where in the middle


Twisties


Damn I am going to visit this place again for sure, and that too in Monsoon.

Enjoyed a lot riding on those green mountains, state highways. Still pictures of those scenes are still imprinted in my back of the head .

Some proof





Some plains and Coconut plantation





Rice fields - Last pic of the trip



Touched NH4 at some HARIHAR bypass by 6PM.Stopped for a sutta break. After 20 mins of good break started back towards Mumbai.
130-140 Km of patch was in quite bad condition. Encountered some bad traffic jam near by a railway crossing. Later came to know that this joint is a famous one, for traffic jam thingy .
Rode all night with regular breaks and reached Mumbai at 7:30 AM in the morning. Was very tired so immediately crashed into the bed.
Slept for 3 hours and so and went to office at 11 AM.
End of a Wonderful ride.

Cheers
Biru

b'ful temples.

Btw how many km you did on last day?

Thanks Kashif Bhai..Around 900 Kms i guess

Excellent trip logs! And 900 kms in a day!! Mindboggling!

The pics of the last post were awesome. Would like to plan a huge trip like this sometime myself

Again, thanks for the inspirational log.