Pop: 450,000 Area Code: 0824

Mangalore is on the coast about 990km south of Mumbai, almost due west of Bangalore. There is not much to see here.

If you are going to one of the places in the areas around Mangalore, there is a good chance you will have to stop here. Udupi is 60km north of Mangalore. At Karkala, 53km away, there are several temples and a 13m high statue of Lord Bahubali, which was completed in 1432.

At Moodabidri, 35km away, there are eighteen Jain temples. The oldest of them, the Chandranath Temple, has thousands of intricately carved pillars. Dharmasthala, 74km northeast of Mangalore, also has Jain temples, including the Manjunath Temple.

Information
The Tourist Office (421-692) is at the Hotel Indraprastha, Lighthouse Hill Rd, in the center of town. Open daily 10.30 am to 1.30 pm and 2.30 to 5.30 pm. They offer tours to Udupi and Dharmasthala. KSRTC, the state bus company, has an office in the same hotel.

Two good places to change money are Trade Wings travel agency, Ligthhouse Hill Rd, and TT Travels, in the Poonja International Shopping Centre. Bank of Baroda accepts Visa and MasterCard.

The Post Office is on Dr UP Maliya Rd, southwest of Shetty circle. You can make a collect call at the Telegraph Office next to the post office.

Internet at I-Net 107 Cyber Cafe on KS Roa Rd, and Computer Zone, Lighthouse Hill Rd.
Higginbothams, Lighthouse Hill Rd, near the Hotel Indraprastha, has a decent selection of books.

Sri Manjunath Temple
This important Siva temple (1068) is located at Kadri, about 3km north of the city center. There are Buddhist sculptures in the temple, and a 1.5m (5 ft) high bronze image of Lokeswara. This temple is surrounded by attractive gardens and nine tanks. Open 6.30 am to noon and 6 to 9 pm. Buses #14, #14a, #19, and #48 come here.

Across from the temple is a path leading to the Shri Yogishwar Math. The sadhus there worship Kala Bhairava (a terrifying aspect of Siva), Durga, and Agni (the fire god).

Places to See
Sultan’s Battery is a fort overlooking the old port. It is 5km north of the city and can be reached by taking bus #16.

You can get a good view from the Lighthouse on Lighthouse Hill Rd. It is surrounded by nice gardens. St Aloysius College Chapel on Lighthouse Hill has an interesting painted ceiling dating from 1899. Open 8.30 to 10 am and 3.30 to 6.30 pm.

There is a long, sandy beach at Ullal, 12km south of Mangalore, which is popular with tourists and local people in the evenings. The current is strong here, so it is not safe for swimming. You can get here by taking bus #44A from the end of KS Rao Rd.

Where to Stay—Lower
Most of the hotels are along KS Rao Rd in the center of town.
Hotel Vishnu Bhavan (24622) has rooms with bath for Rs 150. The rooms in the front are noisy and basic.
Panchami (411-986), right next to the bus station, has basic rooms for Rs 125/175. It has hot water in the early morning.
Hotel Roopa (421-271), Lighthouse Hill Rd, has rooms for Rs 150/225 and Rs 400/500 with A/C.
Hotel Vasanth (22311), KS Rao Rd, has rooms for Rs 135/165.
KSTDC Mayura Nethravathi (411-192), about 1km north of the bus stand, has rooms with hot water and an ocean view for Rs 200/250. It is a good value. To find it, ask for the “Circuit House.”
Hotel Manorama (440-306), KS Rao Rd, has large, clean rooms with a bath for Rs 250/350 and Rs 600 with A/C. 24-hour checkout.
Indraprastha (425-750), Lighthouse Hill Rd, has large rooms with a bath and hot water for Rs 200/250. The rooms in the back are quiet.

Where to Stay—Middle
Hotel Shaan Place (440-312), KS Rao Rd, has clean rooms with cable TV for Rs 350/400 and Rs 700 with A/C. A well-managed place.
Hotel Navaratna Palace (441-104), KS Rao Rd, is newly built and comfortable. Rooms go for Rs 250/400 and Rs 600/700 with A/C. Recommended.
Hotel Srinivas (440-061; fax 423-302), GHS Rd, is about the same and has rooms for Rs 400/500 and Rs 550/650 with A/C.
Poonja International (440-171; Fax 441-081; email: www.poonjainternational.click2site.com), KS Rao Rd, is a new place with central A/C. It has clean rooms with color cable TV for Rs 500/600 and Rs 800/900 with A/C. It is a good value and breakfast is included with the price.

Where to Stay—High
Summer Sands Beach Resort, in Ullal, 10km out of town, is designed in the local traditional style. Rooms are Rs 500/600 and Rs 800/9000 with A/C. It has a good pool and bungalows with two bedrooms, a living room, porch, and a kitchen. Buses #44A, #44C, and #44D come here. Recommended.
The three-star Moti Mahal Hotel (441-411; fax 441-011), Falnir Road, has a swimming pool. Rooms are Rs 500/650 and Rs 700/800 with A/C. They also have suites. Recommended. It has a veg restaurant.
Manjarun Taj Hotel (420-420; fax 420-585), Bunder (Old Port) Rd, 2km from the railway station, is a centrally air-conditioned with all facilities. Rooms are Rs 2000/2200, some with a view of the ocean. It has a pool, which nonresidents can use for Rs 100.

Where to Eat
Palimar, at the Hotel Manorama on KS Rao Rd, has both good vegetarian food and good service.
Kamadhenu Vegetarian Restaurant is in the Roopa Hotel.
Pai Cafe in the Navaratna Hotel, by the bus stand, serves very good vegetarian food.
The Moti Mahal Hotel, Falnir Rd, has the Madhuvan vegetarian restaurant serving good Indian, Chinese, and Continental food.
The popular Dhanyavad, at the intersection of Lighthouse Hill Rd and K S Rao Rd, has inexpensive meals.
The restaurants at the Manjarun Hotel are very good, but expensive.

Travel
Air  Indian Airlines has flights daily to Mumbai ($120) and has four flights a week to Bangalore ($70) and Chennai ($95). Jet Airways has flights to Bangalore (daily, $70) and Mumbai (2 daily, $125). The few flights a day are usually over booked. The Air Indian (455-300; fax 455-307) and Indian Airlines (455-259; Airport: 752-433; fax 455-307) offices are on Hathill Rd in the Lalbagh area, 4km from town. Indian Airlines also has an office in the Hotel Moti Mahal (424-669). Jet Airways (440-694; Airport: 752-709). The bus to the airport (#47A) leaves for the 20km trip from there.

Train From Mangalore there are trains to Delhi, Chennai, Agra, Hyderabad, and Thiruvananthapuram. There are daily trains to Hassan, including the Mahalaxmi Express, departing at 11 pm, and a passenger train (6½ hr), leaving at 6.10 pm. It is eighteen hours to Chennai on the Mangalore Mail #6002 and seventeen hours to Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum).

Bus The KSRTC long-distance bus station is 3km north of the railway station, near where most of the hotels are located (Rs 15 by auto-rickshaw). The buses heading north and east are usually much quicker than the train. There are daily buses to Hospet (Rs 11 hr), Mysore (7 hr), Bangalore (9 hr), Hassan (4 hr), Chennai (16 hr), Goa (11 hr, five daily), and Mumbai (24 hr). There are regular buses to Udupi.
Most of the private companies have their offices on Falnir Rd.

If you know of a informationthat is not correct or if you would like to help update our listings, please e-mail us at:

Our own Vegetarian, Vegan, Alternative & Spiritual Sales Shop

Buy Spiritual India, A Practical Guide

Please Help Support This Site Buy USA Vegetarian Restaurants Book

Please check out our Natural Nirvana Store, which we started to help pay for the maintenance of this Website. Natural Nirvana is dedicated to selling vegetarian, spiritual and alternative products. We sell only animal-friendly and cruelty-free clothing, gifts, health foods, books and beauty products.