Udupi

A Krishna temple town on the Karnataka coast and the birthplace of Udupi vegetarian cuisine, with St. Mary's Island and its hexagonal basalt columns just off Malpe Beach.

Udupi lies on the southwestern coast of Karnataka, India, squeezed between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats, about 350 km south of Goa and 60 km north of Mangaluru. It is the center of the Dvaita school founded by the 13th-century philosopher Madhvacharya: the Krishna Temple in the heart of town and the eight surrounding mathas (monasteries) form the core of the pilgrimage, and the famous "Udupi" vegetarian cuisine (dosas, banana-leaf meals) known across India originated here. Neighboring Manipal, just east, is a university town with the End Point viewpoint and the Hasta Shilpa Heritage Village, a collection of relocated old houses. The coastline is the other big draw: 6 km west, Malpe Beach is the departure point for boats to St. Mary's Island and its hexagonal basalt columns; to the south are Kaup Lighthouse Beach and the Blue Flag–certified Padubidri Beach; heading north along NH 66 you reach Maravanthe, where only a strip of road separates the highway from the beach, and Byndoor beach, with the Kollur Mookambika Temple inland. To the southeast, Karkala and Moodbidri are home to colossal Jain statues and the Thousand Pillar Temple. From Oct to Mar the weather is clear and the sea calm; boats to St. Mary's Island usually start running after September and stop at the end of May. Jun–Sep brings heavy monsoon rain, and swimming at the beaches is prohibited. The nearest airport is Mangaluru (about 60 km), and Udupi station on the Konkan Railway has trains to Mumbai, Goa and Kerala. In town, auto-rickshaws and ride-hailing apps are the main way to get around; for coastal and inland sights, hiring a car with driver is recommended. Plan on 2–3 days.

Top sights

• Udupi Sri Krishna Matha – A Krishna temple founded by Madhvacharya, where devotees view the deity through a nine-holed silver window. It is one of South India's most…
• Malpe Beach – Udupi's liveliest golden beach, with a floating bridge, a sea walkway and water activities. It is also the pier for boats to St. Mary's Isl…
• St. Mary's Islands – A small island off Malpe, covered in hexagonal columnar basalt. It is one of India's national geological monuments.
• Kaup Beach Lighthouse – A white lighthouse built in 1901 on rocky shores. In the evening, visitors can climb up for views of the beach and the sunset over the Arab…
• Anantheshwara & Chandramouleshwara Temples – Two ancient Shiva temples beside the Krishna Temple, said to predate it. They are part of the pilgrimage along Car Street in Udupi.
• Manipal End Point – A cliffside park on the edge of the Manipal university town, overlooking the Swarna River valley, and a popular spot for watching sunsets.
• Hasta Shilpa Heritage Village – An open-air museum that has relocated and restored endangered old houses and temples from across South India. Its collection is remarkably…
• Delta Beach (Kodi Bengre) – A narrow sandbar at a river mouth, with calm backwaters on one side and the Arabian Sea on the other. It is uncrowded and beautiful.
• Padubidri Blue Flag Beach – One of the first beaches in India to earn International Blue Flag certification, with clean sand, good facilities and lifeguards on duty.
• Maravanthe Beach – National Highway 66 runs between the Arabian Sea on one side and the Suparnika River on the other, making it one of India's most beautiful…
• Kollur Mookambika Temple – A goddess temple at the foot of the Western Ghats, one of the seven moksha pilgrimage sites of Karnataka, drawing steady streams of devotee…
• Gommateshwara Statue, Karkala – A Jain Bahubali statue carved in 1432 from a single granite outcrop atop a hill, standing about 13 meters tall and the second tallest such…
• Chaturmukha Basadi, Karkala – A 16th-century Jain temple built entirely of stone, symmetrical with a door on each of its four sides, and each side enshrining three stand…
• Saavira Kambada Basadi (Thousand Pillar Temple) – A 15th-century Jain temple with over a thousand carved stone pillars, none alike, known as the "Southern Jain Holy Site."
• Someshwara Beach, Byndoor – A bay where rocks, beach, and river mouth meet, with Ottinenne Hill beside it as a viewpoint for watching the sunset.

Where to eat

• Mitra Samaj – A long-established restaurant on Car Street by Udupi's Krishna Temple, known for traditional sattvic vegetarian food an…
• Woodlands Restaurant – A long-running vegetarian restaurant near Krishna Temple; crispy masala dosa and the South Indian thali get the best re…
• Diana Restaurant – One of Udupi's oldest restaurants, widely credited as the birthplace of the Gadbad ice cream sundae.

Itineraries

• Coastal Karnataka & Rainforest – Head north along the Konkan Coast via Udupi, Agumbe Rainforest, and Murudeshwar to Gokarna.