trip to sirsi, solo ride to maravante beach, trip to west coast, yana bike trip, murudeshwara bike trip, kuvempu house, thirthalli trip, mangalore bike trip
There wasn't even a single soul at this beach! Nobody! Exactly how I liked it!
Day 1: Bangalore - Thirthalli (350kms)
With no plan in mind, I set out on NH48. After a couple hours ride, I had some food at a local roadside stand and then decided to visit Thirthahalli.
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| Towards Thirthalli! |
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| Empty roads! |
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| Coz, selfies are essential |
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| Evenings! 😍 |
The ride to Thirthalli was an amazing one. Those empty roads, and the long growing shadows of trees on the road and the setting sun was a beautiful sight to watch. I loved the calmness in the air and there was a sense of calmness in me as well. Was it just this place that was weaving a magical web of tranquility around me? or was it just the air or was it just me? I would never know!
READ ALSO: Solo ride to offbeat destinations in Karnataka
Day 2: Kavimane - Beejadi beach ( via Agumbe ) - Maravanthe beach (150 km)
I decided to visit the house of a well known Kannada poet Kuvempu (1904 - 1994) today. Luckily it was his birthday that day, and it attracted quite a bit of crowd than usual. I spent a couple of hours at Kavimane ( Kavi meaning Poet, Mane means Home) and explored the house of Kuvempu which is converted to a small museum which has a meager entry fee.
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| On the way to Kuppali |
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| Kavimane - Kuvempu's home! |
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| Kavishaila |
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| Modern-day Stonehenge? |
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| Kavishaila - place where Kuvempu used to sit and do what he did best! |
A delicious breakfast at a canteen nearby, and I was all ready for the further ride today!
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| A small store beside the Kavimane |
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| Upma, any day - any time! Delicious! 😋 |
The route from Thirthalli to Beejadi is through the forest regions of Agumbe. While I was at it, all the memories from my last trip to Agumbe went past me. The roads were in good condition, and I was in Agumbe after a cruise of roughly an hour or so. Beejadi beach was further 2 hours away from where I was standing. After a quick refreshment at a local store, I continued my journey!
READ ALSO: Adventure solo ride to Kodachadri
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| Down the memory lane - Riding across Agumbe once again! 👻 |
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| Here at Doddamane, Agumbe after 4 years! 💭 |
I missed a couple of turns and exits in the pursuit of finding this offbeat beach. The tiny interior mud roads lead me to the beach, and I was finally there!
There wasn't even a single soul at this beach! Nobody! Exactly how I liked it! Serene! I spent some time at this beach just roaming around, looking at the vastness of the sea, and then I sat under the shade of a tree just enjoying the music of nature - the sound of the wind, the waves, the rustling of leaves and my very own heartbeats! It was bliss!
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| At the beach! Looks so beautiful already!😍 |
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| The whole beach for myself - Beejadi beach 😇 |
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| Footprints! 💭 |
Since there was no place to stay for the night, I continued my journey towards the not-so-famous Maravante beach. Again, since the crowd is attracted to some of the popular beaches in Mangalore, very few people visit this. Thanks to another friend of mine Suri for suggesting this quiet beach.
I found a hotel just across the road near the beach and rested for a while. The sunset at this beach was soothing. Stood there at the beach capturing some clicks and letting the waves caress my feet, go back and come back again and again. I sat on the rocks by the beach until all the crowd slowly vanished, and the sun went down at the west leaving behind his mark on the sky like a freshly painted canvas with a soothing yet vibrant pink which blended evenly with the fading blue sky!
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| At the beach |
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| Beautiful 👌 |
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| Sunset! 😇 |
Day 3: Maravanthe Beach - Murudeshwara - Yana - Sirsi (205 km )
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| All set for a coastal ride! ✌ |
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| The way ahead! |
This day, I had no idea where to head! I just wanted to start early so as to enjoy the coastal ride while the sun was gentle. I just started further and reached Murudeshwara Temple after a good couple hours ride.
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| Behind the giant Shiva idol at Murudeshwara! |
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| Trying different things with my cam..😛 |
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| Murudeshwara! |
Just about 20kms from Murudeshwara was a split road. One towards Gokarna and other one was Sirsi. Since I had always wanted to visit it, I went ahead. Just about 50 km shy of Sirsi, a diversion through the dense forest leads to Yana rock caves.
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| Best part of the ride today!😍 |
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| Welcome to Yana!🙏 |
I was exhausted from driving all along, and after reaching Yana, I was literally in no mood to walk another 1-2 km to get to the caves. But I did not want to return empty handed after driving so far, so I pushed myself and finally, I was at the caves!
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| Yana Rock Caves! |
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| At the caves 😛 |
The road from Yana to Sirsi is so very scenic. The journey uphill was so delightful and involving due to those curves and the best part was, I was worried about the fuel levels in my bike. But in the end, it was just enough to reach Sirsi.
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| It looked even more beautiful in real! |
Sirsi is a very small city with basic infrastructure and a lot of temples around. The first thing I did when I reached Sirsi was to find an eatery and eat! I spent about 30 minutes and finally found a decent hotel to stay at.
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| Couple of miles away from the city center |
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| At Marikamba temple! One of the most devoted Goddesses in the region! 🔔 |
Day 4: Sirsi - Unchalli falls - Sirsi - Banavasi - Bangalore (500+ km)
I decided to go for an early morning drive to Unchalli falls, and to then decide the course of this trip later. The ride to Unchalli forest was exciting and even more due to the chilling cold and the thick fog that occupied the road through the villages filled with greenery all around. Due to lack of adequate gears, at times I had to stop my bike and warm my hands by keeping them my hot engine.READ ALSO: Dream ride to Leh Ladakh
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| Sunrise! 🔆 |
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| Those small village roads..😍 |
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| Morning glares 💥 |
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| Just another view on the way |
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| Bliss! |
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| Welcome to Unchalli Falls |
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| Had to walk about half a km from the entrance |
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| At Unchalli falls, finally! |
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| Happy me! |
The ride from Sirsi to Banavasi was rather a pleasant one, with trees on either side of the road extending their shadows even when the sun was over my head. The trees seemed to form a barricade and obstructed the view of farms at times.
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| Village life-1 |
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| Village life-2 |
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| Village life-3 |
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| Also visited Madhukeshwara temple, Banavasi! |
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| Peaceful temple! Much needed break! |
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| Village interior roads! |
Bangalore was still a long way to go! Just 400+ kms away! I already knew its gonna be one hell of a journey, so why not enjoy the uncertainty rather than worrying about it? Isn't it?
As I was going via Shimoga, I met my friend on my way home. Soon after, I left for Bangalore. It was already past 8 PM, I was only hoping to reach home before the New Year hits!
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| Meeting her after 1 year, on another solo trip! Our little ritual! 😅 |
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| Guess what, its the moon hidden behind the clouds! 🌜 |
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| I did it! Yay! Final count -1232 kms !! 😇 |
If you found this interesting, or if you have any questions or feedback, please drop a comment below. Until next time, keep watching - keep traveling!
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