Places you must see in Udupi

Udupi is a coastal town in the western ghats region of Karnataka state, in Southern India.


Udupi is a very old temple city that is famous for its SriKrishna temple, established by Madhvacharya, the founder of the Dvaita philosophy. It had a nascent career as a financial hub till the 60s, with many banks being established here, but most of them got nationalized. Manipal within Udupi city is an important educational and medical centre in Karnataka. Its the second largest city in Coastal Karnataka after Mangalore Udupi City at present has Manipal, Malpe and surrounding areas as its suburbs.


Udupi is a divine shrine in the coastal region of Western Ghats. Situated about 60 kms from Mangalore, it is a fairly large and upcoming town that was sanctum of Madhvacharya, the great Sanskrit Philosopher. The famous temple here, has a fascinating idol of Lord Krishna that is richly adorned with jewels. It is the center for education, social and religious activities in the district of South Canara. It is known for the famous Sri Krishna temple. The reasons for its fame are the statue of Sri Krishna installed by the great saint Sri Madhvacharya and the penance and influence of Sri Vaadiraja yathivarenya. Another attraction of this temple is the 'Kanakana Kindi' -a small window through which Krishna is believed to have given darshan to his ardent devotee, Kanakadasa.  

There are three temples in Udupi; Chandreshwara, Anantheshwara and Sri Krishna temple. Chandreshwara and Anatheshwara are the most ancient temples of Udupi.

Udupi has some nice beaches, lush greenery, the quaint charm of a small town and many temples.

 
• Udupi Sri Krishna temple.800 years old, established by the Dwaita sage Madhvacharya  

In the 16^th century, during Sri Vaadiraja 's rule, Kanakadasa, an ardent believer of God, came to Udupi to worship Lord Krishna. He was not allowed inside the temple since he was from a lower caste. Sri Krishna, pleased by the worship of Kanakadasa created a small hole in the back wall of the temple and turned to face the hole so that Kanakadasa could see him. This hole came to be known as KanakanaKindi. 

The sight of the beautiful MudduKrishna is available to everybody through the Kanakanakindi. 

There are various Devi temples around Udupi. They are

• Shri Janardana and Mahakali Temple, Ambalpady. 
•  Situated about 3.5 km from Udupi bus stand, the holy place of Ambalpady is famous for the Sri Janardhana and Mahakali Temple. Ambalpady is named and dedicated after the Goddess Mahakali as Ambalpady means Ammana Padi ( Woods of Amma ). Ambalpady is a temple complex comprising of numerous temples namely Mahakali temple, Janardhana Pushkarani, Anjaneya temple and Raghavendra Swami s Brindavan. Goddess Mahakali is worshipped more here than others as she is like a mother to the devotees, her children.
  Named after the Goddess as Ambalpady, the place is said to have been visited by Janardhana Swami who came in search of Goddess Mahakali and resolved to stay and protect the devotees. Lord Janardhana is the main deity of Ambalpady and is worshipped along with Mata Mahakali.
  
  

• Shri Mahishamardhini Temple, Kadiyali. Kadiyali Mahishamardini Temple of Udupi is one of the oldest temples in the district of South Kanara and has a history of more than 1200 years. According to the famed archaeologist, Late Dr. P. Gururaja Bhatt, this Temple is as ancient as Sri Ananteshwara Temple of Udupi, established early as in the 7th Century and is thus more ancient than the Lord Sri Krishna Temple. He based this opinion on the style of sculpture of the Vigraha (statue) of Kadiyali Mahishamardini, which resembles the style of Chalukyas of Badami.The unique features of the statue are as follows The statue of Mahishamardini is in a standing posture. She has four arms. In Her upper right hand, She holds the Prayaga Chakra (the discus) and in Her upper left hand, the Shanka (conch shell). She is piercing the head of Mahishaasura, the buffalo shaped demon, who has fallen at Her feet, with the Trishul (Trident) held in Her lower right hand. She is pulling the tail of Mahishaasura with Her lower left hand. This emphatically portrays the helplessness of the Demon whose abdomen is bulging due to the pressure exerted by the pulling of his tail.The bearing of the Goddess in the standing posture, Her facial expression and the casual way of Her holding the weapons shows that it is but a child's play for Her to vanquish evil. This is a sculpture of unique beauty, devoid of any ornamental trappings. One falls under Her divine spell the moment they lay eyes on Her. 

• Shri Panchadurgaparameshwari Temple, Indrali.  Indrali temple, known as Indrani Panchadurga parameshwari temple. This temple has five udbhava lingas of 5 avatars of Durga Parameshwari. The temple also has five lakes known as panchatheertha and it is believed that if one can have bath in this panchatheerthas continously for 48 days his wish will be fulfilled. 
• Shri Jayadurgaparameshwari Temple, Kannarpady.  

• Venkatarman Temple, Tenkapet (0.5 km south of Sri Krishna Math). The temple was established on 1896 by Sri Sri Varadendra Teertha Swamiji of Sri Kashi Mathn Samsthan, Varanasi.  

You can also visit the birth place of the great Dwaita philosopher, Madhwacharya at Pajaka which is approximately 10 km from Udupi.

Visit Manipal(The Educational City of South India)its hardly 5 km from Udupi.

• Malpe beach. Watch the beautiful sunset in Malpe beach where you can take fantastic pictures of sunset in the background of St Marys island & its very good in evening for walk also... Attractive Mahatma Gandhi Statue....  

Many of the places are not very well known to many people outside of Udupi. If you are an adventurous and nature loving person, try to visit places below:

St Mary’s Island near Malpe beach, 

27JAN

Here are bunch of photos of St Mary’s Island, 

St Mary’s island is a little slip of land about 30 minutes out into the sea from Malpe beach in Udupi. As you can see in the photos, God certainly let loose on this one; it is gorgeous and I can say this with the certainty of someone who has seen a fair number of beaches and islands across the world. The island is full of crystallised basalt rock, a unique rock formation found in very few places in the world, the most notable being the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland. And, the sea between the island and the long curve of the beach at Malpe is placid and gentle (or at least looks that way).

More imaginative minds than mine can surely figure out more options. The island is a treasure and it would be a great feather in Karnataka’s cap if this was not left at the deep state of neglect it is today.

• Bengre Beach - an estuary around 20km away from Udupi town. Take the highway towards Kundapur, after 5 kms at Kallianpur Santhekatte get off the NH17 to the left and head towards Kemmannu. Bengre is an estuary wherein you could see the sea on one side of the road and the river on the other.
• Hanging Bridge (Suspension Bridge) - around 15 kms from Udupi near Kemmannu (Thonse). The best of visit is 5:00pm. The place is located near Kemmannu.
• Kudlu Theertha - a trek admist the forest to the waterfall on the way to Agumbe via Hebri.
• Jumblu Theertha - Near Brahmavar (Roughly 30 kms) a white water rafting location. Dangerous place for swimming. Best time of visit is from July to late January.
• Kapu Beach - a wonderful site from the top of lighthouse with a minimum charge of about Rupees 10/- per person to enter the lighthouse (not allowed after 4:30pm).
•  Manipal End-point - A view from Manipal where you can see the sea from the mountain top.
• Udyavar Pithrodi - An amazing island. Go to Udyavar(within a few kms from udupi town), take a boat to Pirthrodi, the boatman may charge around Rupees 10/- per head to take you to the other side of the river which is an island and on the other side (about 100mtrs) is the sea!