Std code: 0821
Traversing the western ghats and skirting the beautiful kodagu area, along national highway 48, west of bangalore, one reaches the arabian sea coast at mangalore. An important shipbuilding centre under hyder ali and a strategic port that remained a bone of contention in every conflict over its long history, the city is a blend of the old and new.
The early morning hours resound to the melody of church and temple bells and the call of the muezzin, bringing forth yet another aspect of the varied character of the city. Mangalore, at the southern edge of the region known as karavalli, a tropical coastal paradise which also forms an excellent base from where to set out on excursions. Pristine and unexplored beaches around mangalore are a delight.
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Mangalore is also an important station on the railway network with connections to all parts of the country. A convenient con¬nection from chennai is the west coast ex¬press. With the konkan railway project op¬erational, the goa-mangalore journey through the western ghats is an experience.
Indian airlines and jet air¬ways connect mangalore with bangalore, chennai and mumbai. Indian airlines, poonja arcade, k.s. Road
At the southeastern extremity of kar¬nataka, mysore is linked by a good net¬work of roads to bangalore and other ma¬jor centres in the region. Road distances to some of the important places in the area are: bangalore 140 km, madikeri 136 km, hassan 130 km, bandipur national park 90 km, udhagamandalam (ooty) 150 km.
Bus services are the mainstay of the com¬munications network of mysore. Karnataka state road transport corporation connects the city with all the important centres in south india and the state. Bus services of kerala, tamil nadu also service mysore. De¬luxe buses are available to/from bangalore, madurai, trichur,
Udupi, 60 km from mangalore, is an important vaishnavite centre with a krish¬na temple and a gold chariot, also the birthplace of the masala dosa.
Dharmasthala, 35 km on the manga-lore-belur road, has the famous man-juratha temple and a 14-metre-high statue of bahubali. Nearby are the jain temple colonies of venur, moodabidri and karka-la. During the annual laksha deepotsav festival, the dharmasthala temple is illumi¬nated with 100,000 lamps.
Sringeri, charmingly unspoilt, is located amidst the lush coffee hills of chikmagalur. Near harihar is the southern seat of the or¬thodox hindu hierarchy, home of the fourth sri sankaracharya math. The vidyasankar temple has
Try taj manjarun lunch buffet, or "the galley" restaurant for a mangalorean clas¬sic dish, or the safa dine, near roopa ho¬tel for excellent biryani.
