My visit to Kundapura

 

My visit to Kundapura

By Sujata Dabolkar

From October 17-19 , I visited Kundapura town along with my husband Mr. Prathamesh Naik by a roadways. Kundapura also known as kundapur is a coastal town situated in the Udipi district of the state of Karnataka. We started our journey from Margao at 9:30 am on 17^th October 2020. The distance from Margao to Kundapur is 244Km via NH 66 and it was five hours and twenty two minutes journey. On the way we were mesmerized by the beauty of the nature at Karmal ghat in Canacona taluka.  An open road can be a fun and exciting place where you can make amazing memories. We crossed the kali river bridge and reached the Karwar where we visited the rock garden. on the way we came across main towns such as Belekeri, Ankola, Kumta, Honnavar the port town of Uttara Kannada followed by Murdeshwar and Bhatkal. On the way to Kundapur, we came across beautiful beach with white sand named Maravanthe beach where the highway runs alongside the coast. We reached Kundapur by afternoon at around 2pm. we had booked our stay at the Blue water resort which was an excellent choice for rest and rejuvenation. This resort is located on the bank of the river Panchagangavali to the north side. Each room offers a panaromic view of the pristine river. After the lunch we took some rest and visited the city to have a glimpses of the night life. Kundapur is surrounded by water from three sides.  To the east lies Kalaghar river and to the west lies the Kodi backwaters seawalk and Arabian sea. On the second day we visited Shri Kundeshwara Swami Shiva temple. The presiding deity is black Shiva linga. This temple was built by Kundaverma in the vicinity of the river and the name of the town is derived from the Kundaverma who ruled the area. We also visited the Laxmi Narayan temple which lies on the main road. The town has many shopping malls and on the street one can find many modern jewellery shops as well as local artisanal works. Street are very clean and busy. We tasted different local sweets which included Mysore pak, jalebi, besan ladoo, halva and local churmura styled namkeen.

Next up was the walk on the Kodi beach which is estimated to be 10 kms stretch. The walk along the beach adjoining to the waves is very invigorating and good exercise. There is also light house on the beach. Kodi sea walk viewpoint just next to the beach. We experienced the beautiful construction of Gangolli-Kodi breakwaters. At the end of the walk you find your self surrounded by the water from all three sides and a beautiful sunset you can see from the same point.  On the third day and our last day in Kundapura, we visited the Prabhakar tiles works which is 100 years old factory and was 2km away from the resort. The proprietor, Mr. Vishwas took us around the factory and explained how the tiles are made. According to him, the factory produces seventy tiles per minutes. He also explained how demand for the tiles are getting reduced day by day due to lack in clay resource. The factory still works with the old machinery and it was intriguing to see how it is functioning. Same afternoon we left the Kundapur town with the thought of coming back again as we really loved the peaceful environment in the town. On our way back we also visited the Murdeshwar which is famous for the world’s second tallest Shiva statue and famous for the Murdeshwar temple.