South Canara is always a beach destination for lot of tourists. You have the best of beaches in Southcanara. We divide the beaches into the most beautiful one, the most peaceful one, the most crowded one, the cleanest one and many more. So, last weekend, I planned to visit the Light house at Surathkal.

Surathkal is 12 km from Mangalore. I was in my bike asking the way to the Surathkal Light house. The person near the Surathkal birdge showed me the direction to the light house. A left turn near the old temple and then a right turn. I reached the beach to see the beautiful light house and the calm beach shore.

The light house was open to the public only after 0330. I reached the place by 0300 PM. Hence, waited near a local shop sipping a juice and trying out the famous “Charamburi” snack. The shopkeeper gave some insights about the light house and the crowd during weekends. At 0330 PM, I entered the light house, paid Rs 5 at the entry.

The gaurd took me to the top floor of the light house. We had to climb atleast 6-7 floors (Caution for elderly people: No elevators). And then we reached the top. The bird’s eye view of the beach, air view of the Ganesh Temple, the beautiful Greenery was mind-freshening. I stayed at the top for atleast 60 min trying to feel and understand each minute parts visible in the ground.

The gaurd explain a story about the Ganesh Temple at the right side of the light house. He said that, the temple has an underground floor for meditation and that floor is closed in recent years. The temple is located in the sea shore since more than 600-800 years.  The famous Sadashiva temple on the shores of Arabian Sea ( Lakshadweepa samudra )is said to be built around the linga that a rakshasa by name Kharasura carried on his head. Took some selfies and then went back to the ground floor of the light house.

Air view from the light house

Had a chit-chat with the light house Engineer, who was from Mumbai. He asked to enjoy the beach shore in the evening, before I leave. I went to the shore, took some photos and waited the sea tides to increase.

A beautiful evening spent in and around light house of Surathkal. I would say this is a must-visit place for every tourist visiting Mangalore.