Maravanthe beach - Bond of sea and river

Alarm striking 6 am !!

Recalling the journey of the previous day [Udupi Krishna temple, Kere Basadi and Agumbe drive], I  dismissed the alarm and opened my eyes. A quick walk to the balcony to enjoy the morning bliss. The birds chirping and a calm stream of water. Within few minutes aunty offered me a cup of coffee with a smile to greet the day. Just a perfect morning to wake up for !! <3

Early morning, we had to visit Shwetha' s grandparents at a small place near Kundapura. We freshened up soon and surprisingly Rocky was ready first !! :P This is the other way on all other trips. Anyways, aunty told us to come soon for breakfast. Pradeep and Tharun were still asleep. They would be joining us after we come back. All set and we started off from Brahmavara at 7 am.

Drive - Brahmavara to Kundapura

An early morning drive on the NH66 highway. The environment was so fresh, and Rocky tuned up his playlist - Punjabi songs on the go !! :D Good vibes!

I completely enjoy long drives on highways. It was warm in the cosy back seat. The breeze was pleasantly playing with my hairs. Humming a tune, I opened my phone to check the places for the day. I was quick to notice Maravanthe beach is located along the way and will try to stop by :)

This drive from Udupi to Kundapura is one of the best stretches in coastal Karnataka. Several rivers such as Sita river, Kolluru river, Panchagangavali river, Chakra river and Souparnika river originating from the Western Ghats meets the Arabian sea leading to estuary points of Udupi. We passed by 3 to 4 bridges built across these rivers. Since it was the monsoon,  the backwaters flowing smoothly through the passage was a sight to watch. However, we couldn't stop on these bridges as it was a highway and also we were in short of time.

[caption id="attachment_6077" align="alignnone" width="1183"] Panchagangavali river bridge[/caption]

Glimpses of Maravanthe beach

[caption id="attachment_6064" align="alignnone" width="800"] By Jackson - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4420289[/caption]

While I was enjoying the views of Souparnika river to the right, my super ears heard the roaring waves. I quickly turned to the left and it was the Maravanthe beach. I was trying to capture the sights of both these water bodies at a single time :D and was overjoyed by this beautiful creation of nature. The highway appeared as a strip of land between the Arabian sea and Souparnika river. It looked amazing and is considered the only one of its kind in India. The river, which almost touches the Arabian Sea here, makes a U-turn and goes westward to join the sea after a journey of more than 10 km. The drive along the beach is mesmerizing with backwaters on one side and sea on the other side :)

[caption id="attachment_6078" align="alignnone" width="1184"] The first glimpse of the beach[/caption]

Moments at the beach

We managed to stop here for the spectacular view of one of the most beautiful beaches of Karnataka. The distant blue horizon looked merged to the sky. Since it was monsoon The tides were actually steep and heavily splashing the seabed.

[caption id="attachment_6076" align="alignnone" width="800"] The Maravanthe beach[/caption]

As the rock armour has been laid to prevent the sea from carving out the highway, there is no proper path to step into the beach. Also, localities warned us it's not a good time to step in as the waves are high and it's dangerous to play with this beach. So we stood along the highway and enjoyed few moments watching the roaring sea waves. The white sand, clear blue sky and the endless shore provide certainly an attractive tourist stop by.

[caption id="attachment_6075" align="alignnone" width="800"] Rock armours to prevent high waves[/caption]

It's probably one of the cleanest beaches I have seen :). It's sometimes great not many people know about this beach.This ensures it remains pristine.  Only tourists who pass by NH66 might be aware of this beach and would definitely stop for few moments. Also, I could notice only around 10 people around and some trucks and cars parked along the highway.

[caption id="attachment_6080" align="alignnone" width="1183"] Small stall on the shack[/caption]

There were few roadside shacks sell tea, coffee, eggs and tender coconut to quench your thirst. This beach is said to better to visit in the evening. This serene and unspoiled beach is at its best during the sunsets.

[caption id="attachment_6081" align="alignnone" width="1186"] Roaring waves[/caption]

[video src="http://travellerhoots.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/maravanthe_beach.mp4" height="440" width="720" poster="http://travellerhoots.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/maravanthe_beach_06.jpg"][/video]

A pause of 10 minutes here was worth it. Witnessing this bond of sea and river was a special start for the day. We resumed our journey and reached Kundapura at 8:30 am. It was a new experience for me to visit the homes of coastal regions. We met the family and stayed there for few moments. It was great to see the joint family and loved their hospitality.

[caption id="attachment_5318" align="alignnone" width="800"] Neer dosa - Popular dish of coastal Karnataka[/caption]

Back to Brahmavara

We left from there to reach back Brahmavara at 10 am. Pradeep and Tharun were ready and were exploring the estate capturing nature. Aunty had prepared Neer Dosa, a popular coastal region breakfast. She served us hot dosas with curry. It was the first time I tasted Neer dosa and completely loved it. She had also packed them in a hot box for us to have in the noon Many thanks to her!!

All set and started to drive towards Mangalore. Stay tuned for the next posts on Mangalore :)

Visiting tips :

• The Maravanthe beach is one the spectacular beaches of Karnataka. Its mesmerising to watch sea and river along two sides at the same time.


• It is around 55kms from Udupi and 430kms from Bangalore. It is located just on the highway NH66.


• The best time to visit here is in the evening to witness the beautiful sunset.


• I heard there is some resort on the beach, but read bad reviews on the resort and the food. The best option would be to stay at Udupi or Kundapura.


• There are small stalls on shack for quick bites, coffee and tender coconuts.


• The beach is mostly not allowed to enter during monsoons due to high tides and steep nature. It's highly prohibited to step into the sea in monsoon as it can prove fatal.


• Maraswamy temple is located nearby which you can consider visiting if you time. Souparnika river makes a U-turn on the east side of the temple. This river makes islands, which are called Kudru. The eastern view from this point is beautiful with palm trees, green fields and Kodachadri peak visible at the far eastern end and makes a reflection in the river.