Today we are off to explore the beautiful Kapu Beach Udupi !!
On our road trip to Coastal Karnataka, which circled through Mangalore, Udupi and Murudeshwar along with some other places like Bekal as well (which is technically in Kerala), we visited a lot of beaches of Karnataka. To be honest, most of the beaches of Karnataka are very clean. And that is really impressive. However, the beaches here are not as “happening” with party scenes as the beaches of Goa. And also don’t have too many beach side resorts like the ones you get along the rest of the west coast of India. Nevertheless, if you know me, I am driven to beaches for the tranquility. And not for the party scene. So, to me the beaches of Karnataka appear as really beautiful and unexplored.
However, of all the beaches that we visited on our coastal Karnataka road trip, I particularly liked the Kapu beach in Udupi. If you are looking for an uncrowded beach with basic facilities and azure blue waters then head to Kapu beach in Udupi. So, let me take you through my evening spent at Kapu beach Udupi. I am sure by the end of this journey, you would have fallen in love with Kapu Beach just like I did.
Where is Kapu beach Udupi
Kapu beach is located almost 5km before the main town of Udupi when you drive from Mangalore to Udupi. The signboards in English spell it as “Kaup beach”. But locals pronounce it as “Kapu beach”. There are several roads that diverse from the highway which lead to the Kapu beach. And each one has a large sign board on it indicating the diversion to take for the beach. So, basically it is very easy to spot the way to the Kapu beach Udupi when you are on the Mangalore – Udupi Highway.
Although we did the whole road trip from Bangalore to Coastal Karnataka driving in our own vehicle. But just for the day we were exploring around in Udupi, we hired a local taxi. To save ourselves from the hassle of finding parking spots at each of the places we were visiting today. Which definitely saved us a lot of time. After visiting some top attractions of Udupi like the Sri Krishna Temple and Math, the Malpe beach and park surrounding it, the Udupi seawalk etc. as our action packed day started to wind up, we asked our driver to take us to a serene and beautiful beach for the rest of the evening. And he immediately suggested Kapu beach. Thus we headed towards Kapu beach.
After getting off the highway, we drove through narrow beachside streets with local houses. Perhaps it was a village or an extension of the Kapu town. After a drive of almost 3-4km, we reached the Kapu beach parking lot. The drive through these lanes reminded me of our drive through the lanes of South Goa when we stayed in Benaulim and had a wonderful workcation from Goa 🙂
Parking at Kapu beach Udupi
There is ample parking space at Kapu beach Udupi. It is right besides the road. And there is a nominal parking charge of INR 30 for cars , wherein you can park for unlimited time.
Facilities at Kapu beach Udupi
As you park your vehicle and move towards the Kapu beach, you will spot a row of small shops. Most of these are shops selling evening snacks like potato fritters, pakodas, soft drinks, juices etc. Also, there are few small restaurants that offer full meals and sea food delicacies. In front of these shops is a row of trees, mostly coconut and palm trees. Below the trees, there is a platform where one can sit and snack after buying from the shops. But one must be careful of the multiple coconuts hanging from the trees which might drop down any moment 🙂
Some shops also have indoor seating. And some have tables and chairs outside of the their restaurants. When we arrived around 4:30pm at the beach, most of the shops were closed. Except for a few small restaurants. As we crossed them and walked towards the beach, we realised the ones lying near the beach offer very good view of the sea if you grab a seat near the window. I could imagine ordering a few mouthwatering delicacies and sitting in this shack for hours, enjoying the food as well as the views of the sea. But that had to wait. Since I first wanted to explore the beach. So, we walked further and reached the end of the walkway.
The Kapu beach lighthouse
At the end of the walkway, on the right side of the beach lies the Kapu beach lighthouse. It is a majestic tower standing tall on top of the large rocks on this side. To walk till the lighthouse, you need to get down the paved walkway at the end and then walk through the sand. There is a flight of stairs to take to the top, where the entry gate to the lighthosue lies. We walked towards it and climbed the steps to get to the base of the Kapu beach lighthouse. The views of the whole coastline and the sea from here are very amazing.
The main entry to the lighthouse was locked. I am not sure if this lighthouse is open to public for going inside and climbing up at any point of time. I could only imagine the mesmerising views we would good if we were able to climb to the top of this lighthouse!!
We just sat here for sometime to enjoy the views, just like few other families around. And took some wonderful shots of the sea as well as the shore for the rocks here. As the sun started to set, we vame down the lighthouse and started to move back towards the shack area.
As we came down the lighthouse, we also saw a beautiful backwater on the other side of the sea. With crystal clear waters simmering under the setting sun. And adense palm groove behind them. Which immediately brought back to me memories of our stay at Agonda Beach Goa which looked so similar with the sea on one side and the backwaters on the other.
Swimming at Kapu Beach
Kapu beach Udupi is not a perfect beach for swimming. Since there are big rocks under the water here. And the waves are also pretty rough. Or, could be they were particularly rough because we were visiting in the monsoons season. Also there were no lifeguards around. And I didn’t see anyone getting into the water. So, all of this together, it didn’t appear to be a popular beach for swimming. Also, there were no beach activities here like any adventure sports etc. So, if you are looking for those options, it will be better to head to Malpe beach which I found to be the most action packed beaches of Udupi.
Our evening at Kapu Beach Udupi
After sitting at the lighthouse base and watching the sun almost set across the sea, we headed back towards the shacks. Here, we had some water, some snacks etc. before we called it a day and headed back to our accommodation. Overall for us it was an evening well spent. Because after roaming around and hopping between places whole day, we wanted to spend a tranquil time at a clean and beautiful beach. And Kapu beach turned out to be exactly the place. Thanks to our cab driver for taking us here instead of one of the more commercialised beaches.
Other beaches in Udupi
Udupi has a coastline full of wonderful beaches. I wish we had enough time on our trip to explore all of them. Hopefully in some future trip! Let me list here for you the other famous and beautiful beaches of Udupi so that based on the time you have got you can choose some of them –
- Malpe Beach Udupi – Malpe beach is the most famous beach of Udupi. Also, it is one of the most happening beaches of Udupi. On Malpe beach you can indulge in a lot of water sports like banana boat ride, zorbing, take boat to explore nearby islands like St. Mary’s Island, enjoy the beachside park and kid’s play area, have some evening snacks, walk on the sea-walk besides the beach etc. One can easily spend almost a day on Malpe beach itself. There are also some nice beachside properties available near Malpe Beach
- Padubidri Beach and view point – one of the less explored beaches of Udupi is Padubidri Beach. The shore and water here is similar to Malpe beach. And one can swim in the waters or just watch a beautiful sunset sitting on the shore. However, there are not many water sports and activities on this beach.
- Delta beach and view point – Another less explored beach of Udupi which lies in a secluded stretch with beautiful backwaters on one side and the sea on the other side. The Delta view point at one end of the beach is at the tip of the land where the backwaters meet the sea. Thus, surrounded by water on all three sides. And with thick coconut and palm plantations in the backdrop, I would recommend visiting Delta beach and view point for the unique landscape experience that it offers.
- Marvante Beach – Technically, Marvante beach is almost halfway between Udupi and Murudeshwar town. And it is famous for it’s unique stretch of sand with intermittent boulders deposited on one side and a river on the other side of the highway. It’s arial shots are particularly famous as they come out incredibly awesome. We did visit Marvante beach and I will write separately about my experience visiting here. Water is shallow but rough here. Not fully idle for swimming. But makes for the most perfect Instagram spots.
General tips on visiting Kapu Beach
- Carry umbrella, sunglasses and sunscreen with you.
- There’s a public washroom available near the lighthouse but I doubt the hygiene level here. Better to not rely on it.
- Visit in the evening hours to capture beautiful sunset views alongside some snacks and drinks.
- The stairs to the lighthouse base are steep and the rocks are very smooth. So, be careful when you navigate them.
- Don’t litter around. The beach was pretty clean when I visited. And that was really impressive and satisfying.
- Since it lies around 5 km from the main town, booking a round trip vehicle from the town will be helpful.
- There is an autorickshaw stand as well besides the beach, near the parking lot. So, you can use their service as well.
General tips on visiting Udupi
Udupi is better known as a religious place, most famous for it’s Sri Krishna Math & temple. To visit the temple, you should target early morning hours as the rush increases many fold as the day progresses. When in Udupi don’t forget to try out some of it’s mouth watering delicacies like local rasam, dosa, Bisi belle bath, paysam, murukku, rava dosa and rava upma. You can indulge in water sports, visit the ancient temples, ports and even trek to some of the waterfalls in the nearby hills when in Udupi. There is a plethora of things to do and places to see in Udupi.
I personally feel, during the beginning of monsoons and towards the end of monsoons makes for a perfect time to explore Udupi. As the cloud cover and cold winds make the weather pleasant. However, in general, winter is considered as the best time to visit Udupi. You can plan as per your preference. Book your accommodation in advance to grab good deals. You can fly into Mangalore airport and take a taxi from there to Udupi or take a train to Udupi. Or, you can as well self drive through the coastal Karnataka stretch like we did.
Where to stay in Udupi
There are several stay options in Udupi, both on the beach and in the town. Some of the ones we can recommend include –
Tents in between ocean and river
Click here to browse through the complete list of places to stay in Udupi.
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