Visit to Marvelous City of Mangalore in India

India is a country having all types of site seeing attractions like large cities, beautiful sea beaches, lovely hill stations, thick forests and historical monuments. I had an opportunity recently to visit city of Mangalore during my last visit to India during March 2010. I am sharing my experience of visiting this lovely city of Mangalore with all my AC friends and readers so as to also motivate them to visit India to see such exotic cities of India.

The city of Mangalore, situated in the State of Karnataka, is one of the most visited cities in South India. Mangalore is well connected by air from Chennai, Bangalore, and Mumbai. The daily flights are available for Mangalore from all these cities. Over and above this option of traveling by air, Mangalore is also well connected by train and road from most of the major cities of India. We travlled to Mangalore by Spice Jet flight from Mumbai. Mangalore is the Ninth largest port of India, even today. It was a very big commercial center during the rule of famous King Hyder Ali during Seventeenth century. There are many site seeing places at Mangalore. The most important of all is the ancient temple of Mangala Devi. The name Mangala Devi has come from the name of the princess of Malabar King, Mangala. This temple has very attractive architectural design and is spread in large area. Its dome is having 200 feet diameter and the painting sculptures made on it are simply out of this world. The condition of paints have remained fresh and shining, even after around 400 years of its use. The next place is the famous temple of Manjunath. This temple was built before around 1000 years and is one of the most ancient temples of South India. The statue of God Lokeshwar, made from top quality bronze, is established here at the temple. The statue is around 5 feet high and is in standing posture. The large eyes and the facial expressions of this beautiful statue simply pierce through your mind and heart. The next spot to be visited at Mangalore is the famous light house, made by King Hyder Ali, in the eighteenth century. This light house is around 200 feet high and is used even today. The Kadari Mountains range, situated at the distance of around 4 miles from the city of Mangalore, also attracts many tourists. There are many long narrow caves and the special walking trail on these Mountains range. The other places like King Tipu's historical palace and the famous mosque made by King Tipu are also worth seeing places here at Mangalore. The city park and the Botanical Garden are the most recently added attractions here for the tourists.

There are many excursions also available near the city of Mangalore like Dharmasthal, Venur, Karkala, Moodbidri, and Udipi. The famous Manipal University is situated in the outskirt of the city, only at the distance of 4 miles from Mangalore city. The St. Mary's Island is also worth visiting place. The famous historical traveler, Vasco De Gama had entered India through this Island during the fifteenth century. The boating facility in the open sea is available here for the tourists. There are many lavish hotels available for the visitors in the city of Mangalore. Hotel Ganesh Mahal, Hotel Ayodhya, Hotel Kaveri, Hotel Mayoor, Hotel Puja International are some of the most wellknown hotels of Mangalore. We had stayed at Hotel Puja International as it offers excellent three star facilities at the rate of around Rs.2500 ($55) per day for a nice double room and is located in the heart of the city. It also has three lovely vegetarian restaurants serving delicious local food varieties.

We really enjoyed our stay of three days at the city of Mangalore and that is why suggest all our AC friends and readers to visit this beautiful city of Mangalore during their next visit to India.