Mangalore

Mangalore,the district headquarters, has a long history of maritime trade. Though developed as a business and commercial centres Mangalore still retains its old world charm-old tile-roofed buildings amidst coconut groves, fishing boats silhouetted against the darkening skyline, fishermen hauling in rich catch of fish,sea food served in spicy coconut curries. Mangalore is a remainder of the good times of life. The district offers a wide range of interesting places for both pilgrimage and pleasure tourists such as Dharmasthala, Subramanya, Kollur, Udupi, Karkala, Venoor and Moodabidri.

Sri Mangaladevi Temple: The place name Mangalapura ( now Mangalore) owes its origin to the temple of Mangaladevi. Situated in Bolar about 3 kms from Hampankatta ( the heart of the city), the temple has its roots into the ninth century. The ardent devotees even today believe that the worship of Mangaldevi brings them prosperity and happiness.

Kadri Manjunath Temple: The Kadri Manjunath Temple located in Mangalore dates back to about 1068 A.D. The square temple built with nine water tanks, nestles at the foot of the highest hill at Kadri in Mangalore.The chief deity of this temple is Lokeshwara who is depicted in a statue made of bronze. This statue of Lokeshwara in the seated position with three faces and six arms is tipped to be the best bronze statue in India. It is about 1.6m tall.

Sri Sharavu Mahaganapathy Temple: Mangalore is known as a pilgrim center and boasts of many sacred temples like Sharavu, Kadri, Mangaladevi, Kudroli etc. Out of these Sri Sharavu Sharabeshwara - Sri Mahaganapathy Kshetra is an outstanding, pious center of great illustrious history of marathon 800 years. Since the temple is located in the heart of the city, locating and reaching the temple is very easy. It is at a walking distance from Hampankatta and also can comfortably reached by autorickhaws.

Gokarnatheshwara Temple: Situated in the city of Mangalore, this beautiful temple is the abode of Lord Gokarnatha, another name for Lord Shiva. Compared to the other temples in and around Mangalore this temple was built pretty recently.This temple was built by a devotee called H. Koragappa in the year 1912. Sree Narayana Guru, the great saint and philosopher who had visited Mangalore in the year 1912, expressed his wish that the Billavas should build a temple for Lord Shiva in the city.

Tannirubhavi Beach: Tannirubhavi beach near Mangalore, Karnataka, India, can be approached by two routes. First, by land via Panambur. Second is through a ferry ride across Gurupur river from Sultan Battery. Sultan Battery is around 5 km from Mangalore city centre (Hampankatta) and can be approached by public transport and other means.

Ullal: Ullal is a small town about 8-10km south of Mangalore close to the border between the two southern Indian states of Karnataka and kerala.It is very famous for historic locations like Someshwara Temple, Summer Sands Beach Resort and Queen abbakka's Fort at RaniPura. This quaint little sea town was the setting for wide scale sea-erosion that occurred in the late 90s and early this millennium.