One of my first Lighthouse visits was the Kaup Beach Lighthouse near Udupi in Konkan Karnataka. I took a local bus from Udupi going towards Mangalore and got down at the small town. There was this Mariamma temple opposite the bus stand,

From here I took an auto to Kaup Lighthouse. (Kaup also called Kapu).

On the way there were some interesting bungalows and residential places there, so I think some homestays maybe available in this region, which is so lush green and near many lovely and unknown beaches! It is potential a lovely place to stay and do some deeper Karnataka exploration. And also very close to NH7 highway where buses and transport options are umpteen. Since this place isn’t on tourist charts, it should be inexpensive too.

Kaup LightHouse

The auto dropped me a few minutes from the lighthouse. I could see the authorities had made an entrance area where people could sit and relax, but it looked incomplete. Ahead there was a very small shack that serves some food but nothing much for a vegetarian person like me.

the view of the sea totally made the trip worth it, strong and fierce. I felt like I was looking into an ocean and not really a Sea. (maybe it is true) Being from Mumbai I am used to a more placid sea typical of a Bay. But here the sea was roaring and raging and so strong. I loved it.

Then stood the magnificent lighthouse – I don’t know why it is such an object of mystery and intrigue for me. Something about Lighthouses make me happy. I don’t know if it is all the pirate stories I read as a kid or just the charm of climbing all the way to the top and getting an awesome Ocean view!

Sadly this Lighthouse was closed. It was only open from 4 to 6pm! Duh! I don’t know why they keep such a timing!

Anyway I could climb up onto the Lighthouse rock. From the rock we got a view of the whole konkan stretch on both the sides.

If I had more time that day (I had to catch a bus to Mangalore and then to Bangalore) I would have explored the beaches there. They really looked uncharted…..

I could also see the backwaters going inland. So lovely, calm and green – just looking at it made me feel cooler 🙂

Backwater cruise is possible here through some operators it seems. Fellow travellers @shadowsgalore mentioned it to me when I met them at Dandeli.

As you can see in the picture there were many people there. Even though the lighthouse was closed it is a popular place for the local public. There were some youngster groups I guess from nearby colleges with many girls in it so that was good, otherwise as a solo girl traveling I would have felt weird with just men and couples sitting around. 🙂

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Places to See Around Kaup

Shakarapura: Jasmine town of Karnataka. An unique trade happens here – Jasmine flower cultivation. These flowers are flown down to Mumbai, exported to Dubai and so on. It is an interesting town I want to visit and take a look at the Jasmine farms.

Moodbidri: Ancient Jain temples.

Udupi Town: As I have written earlier Udupi town is a good place to see an ancient Krishna temple. It has a quaint ambiance with the temple area being a very different structure altogether.

Malpe Beach: The Malpe beach is close to Udupi. From here you can also go to the St Mary’s islands which has some interesting rock formations.