Bekal fort which is a famous landmark through its presence in many movies, was one of the unvisited place for me until I visited this place in December annual shut down period. As usual, christmas is the time where in many people go on vacation and for obvious reasons any vacation destination will be crowded. Luckily for me, my in-laws were staying in Mangalore at that time, which solved my problem of looking out for a stay.
Bekal is at around 70km from Mangalore and is present in Mangalore-Kasargod road. The forts history and related information can be known from wikipedia.
The road from Mangalore to Kasargod is neither too good, nor too bad. For some distance road is a 4 lane highway until Karnataka border. Once the Kerala border begins, the road gets narrower, becoming a just 2-way lane with traffic on both sides of the single road. One has to drive carefully here to avoid getting collided with the vehicles coming from opposite direction.
We started our journey at around 8AM, finishing sumptuous breakfast at Janatha Deluxe at the heart of the Mangalore, and headed towards the highway. Initially we followed google maps to reach the fort, later had to be diverted as per local guides to reach the venue. We reached at around 9.15, and realized that we made a mistake by not carrying a cap. It was so hot outside, and umbrella may be necessary to avoid the heat. The fort timings is 8AM to 6PM. However, the ticket counter will be open only till 5.30 PM.
As we neared the ticket counter, we saw an ancient Mukhyaprana temple, which is very well maintained. As per the archaka over there, this was built during Nayakas period, where in they worshipped lord Hanuman before getting to the war. Beside the temple there is ticket counter which costs 15INR for a person. For camera, additional ticket has to be taken. The place is wheelchair friendly as well.
The fort is surrounded by the arabian sea, and the gushing sound of the waves keeps you awake throughout. The watchtowers built along gives you nice views of the surroundings, with sea on one side and coconut trees on the other. Early morning or evening would be the right time to visit this place.
Here are some glimpses of what I got.
Few notes:
Bekal is at around 70km from Mangalore and is present in Mangalore-Kasargod road. The forts history and related information can be known from wikipedia.
The road from Mangalore to Kasargod is neither too good, nor too bad. For some distance road is a 4 lane highway until Karnataka border. Once the Kerala border begins, the road gets narrower, becoming a just 2-way lane with traffic on both sides of the single road. One has to drive carefully here to avoid getting collided with the vehicles coming from opposite direction.
We started our journey at around 8AM, finishing sumptuous breakfast at Janatha Deluxe at the heart of the Mangalore, and headed towards the highway. Initially we followed google maps to reach the fort, later had to be diverted as per local guides to reach the venue. We reached at around 9.15, and realized that we made a mistake by not carrying a cap. It was so hot outside, and umbrella may be necessary to avoid the heat. The fort timings is 8AM to 6PM. However, the ticket counter will be open only till 5.30 PM.
As we neared the ticket counter, we saw an ancient Mukhyaprana temple, which is very well maintained. As per the archaka over there, this was built during Nayakas period, where in they worshipped lord Hanuman before getting to the war. Beside the temple there is ticket counter which costs 15INR for a person. For camera, additional ticket has to be taken. The place is wheelchair friendly as well.
The fort is surrounded by the arabian sea, and the gushing sound of the waves keeps you awake throughout. The watchtowers built along gives you nice views of the surroundings, with sea on one side and coconut trees on the other. Early morning or evening would be the right time to visit this place.
Here are some glimpses of what I got.
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| Entrance |
After enjoying the views for half an hour, we had a cup of tea in the nearby stall and started towards Anandapura, which is near Seethanguli in Kerala, The temple here is Anantapadmanabha temple. As per the locals, there is a tunnel from this temple to the temple in Thiruvananthapuram. One more speciality of this temple is it is surrounded by Pond, which is green in color. Also, one more speciality is, there is a crocodile here in the pond which is known as Babiya, which is known to protect the wealth under the temple. Everyday at 12PM, prasadam will be offered to the Babiya first during maha mangalarati. Lot of people will be waiting to witness this speciality. So if you are around Mangalore or Bekal do visit this place. Here are glimpses of it.
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| Temple surrounding |
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| Babiya, crocodile |
Few notes:
- There are not much good eateries around this place, few decent places are there to survive the day.
- It would be good to carry some home food to avoid surprises.
- Carry enough water, if it gets over do not worry, just enjoy the tender coconuts of the region which are tasty always.
- Carry umbrella, hat if you are visiting anytime after September/October.
- A sunglass would enhance your experience.
