For the longest time, we were planning a Bangalore to Bekal Road Trip. First when we planned our week long Kerala road trip from Bangalore last year. But then we dropped Bekal from the plan due to lack of time.
Then, during our marriage anniversary in June first week, we were contemplating to visit Bekal. But due to the monsoons striking strong in the western ghats, we instead ended up enjoying a staycation at the Taj Fisherman’s Cove in Chennai on the Kovalam Beach Chennai. The next attempt to travel to Bekal was again cancelled last moment due to the monsoon furry at the end of June. And instead, we visited Badami, Pattadakal group of temples and the temples of Aihole. (Which by the way, turned out to be an absolutely wonderful trip).
Read : A cultural trip exploring the birth of temple architecture in India at Badami Pattadakal and Aihole
Finally, during the long weekend around 15th of August, we made a very impromptu road trip to coastal Karnataka. And extended the trip to Bekal as well. Thus, finally materialised our Bangalore to Bekal Road Trip. Let me give you a little introduction to Bekal before we get started on this virtual trip.
Interested to find out more about our Coastal Karnataka Road Trip? Read out about how we had a wonderful time at Tannirbhavi Beach, Mangalore. And how we further explored Udupi, visiting Sri Krishna Temple and Math, Kapu Beach, Malpe Beach Udupi, and further had a wonderful drive to Marvante Beach and Murudeshwara Temple as a part of this trip.
Table of Contents
An introduction to Bekal
Bekal is a coastal town in North Kerala in the Kasargod district, that has some very pristine unexplored beaches, beautiful forts built during the 14th – 18th century and serene backwater canals. It has a plethora of things to do and places to see. Some most famous ones include the Bekal Fort, Bekal beach, backwater lakes and natural caves. People enjoy spending calm time at the uncrowded beaches here, kayaking and boating in the backwaters, exploring the ancient forts and the fishing harbours and bird watching in the dense coconut grooves that surround the backwaters. And for a slice of luxury there are some top end resorts and hotels in the town as well. Overall, it is a perfect place for a short staycation from Bangalore – unexplored and beautiful.
Bangalore to Bekal Road Trip
Bekal is well connected via road to Mangalore in Karnataka and Kasargod town in Kerala. The NH 66 that runs through major part of the west coast of India passes through Bekal as well. As such, when we planned our Bangalore to Bekal road trip, for the major part, we drove through the road that leads from Bangalore to Mangalore. And finally, almost 60km before Bekal, took a diversion from the Bangalore – Mangalore highway. So, our Bangalore to Bekal Road trip followed this route :
Bangalore -> Mysore -> Kushalnagar -> Madikeri -> Sullia -> Kolathur -> Bekal
From Bangalore all the way till Sullia we drove on NH275.
Near Sullia we took a left diversion from the NH275 and continued to drive through Pushpagiri Reserve, Munnad, kolathur and Chattanchal to finally reach Bekal.
The start of our Bangalore to Bekal Road Trip
As always we started very early from our home in Bangalore, around 5:00am. And reached Mysore road by 6:00am. From here, it was a very smooth drive on the Bangalore – Mysore expressway. And by 8:30am we had already crossed Mysore bypass. And taken the route towards Madikeri. This is when we stopped for breakfast.
Post breakfast , around 9:00am, we started further.
Crossing Madikeri on our Bangalore to Bekal Road Trip
Soon we reached Kushalnagar. The road from Mysore to Madikeri is also in excellent condition. Only the highway gets narrower here. At some places it is 4 lane and at some stretches even an undivided two lane road. So, we couldn’t maintain the same speed as we did on the Bangalore – Mysore highway. However, the beautiful scene all around the highway more than made up for that.
We soon crossed some famous places to see in Coorg including the Abby Falls, the Madikeri Fort, Nisargadhama etc. bringing back memories from the past when we have explored these places on our trip to Coorg.
Since it was the monsoons season, the whole region was covered in a new blanket of green and thickly dense forests and plantations.
On the way, we stopped at a pit stop. I am sure it must be a viewpoint with a designated name. For, there was a beautiful gushing waterfall here. Some shops selling snacks and tea. And a breathtaking view of the mountains across the road. We stopped for around 20 minutes here. As the journey through the winding roads had started making the kids little dizzy. Although we had traveled to Madikeri couple of years back in October, the region looked completely different during the monsoons. With clouds hanging low and mystic mountains looking green as ever!! For once I felt to halt for the day in Coorg only 🙂 !!
After enjoying the fresh air and the beautiful surroundings and having some tea and coffee, we started further on our trip through NH275 on our Bangalore to Bekal Road Trip.
Leaving the highway for the winding Kerala roads to Bekal
Around 11:30am, we left the highway near Sullia and started on the way to Bekal. The road got narrow here. And a lot more winding. It passed through thick and dense forest area. Where at places the leaves of the trees were so dense that the sunlight was not even reaching the ground through them!! Perhaps this was the Greater Thalakaveri National Park and later the Pushpagiri reserve forest area, that I later recognised by looking at the google maps that we followed.
Along side the road here, there was a river flowing. It felt like driving inside a dense rainforest, besides a river like the Nile or Amazon!! Also, along the path here, there were many pit-stops from where one can get better view of the river and the surroundings. There are a lot of unofficial and some official viewpoints on the route. But the road is very winding and two lane undivided road.
Due to the road condition and the hilly terrain, it took us 2+ hours to cover this stretch of around 45-50km. But the surroundings were very beautiful.
Hitting NH66 on the Bangalore to Bekal Road Trip
Finally, around 1:00pm, we came out of the winding hill-forest and hit NH66. The highway that runs through most of west coast of India. And within half and hour, we reached our resort – the Lalit Resort and Spa Bekal. Read here our complete experience staying at the Lalit Resort and Spa Bekal.
Lunch options on the Bangalore to Bekal road trip
There are plenty of Lunch options all the way from Bangalore till Madikeri. But we crossed these regions pretty early for lunch. After Madikeri, once you take the mountain road to Kerala border, there are no lunch options on this road. Again, once you hit NH66, there are plenty of food outlets. The junction where we left NH66 to enter our resort had a lot of food joints on the NH itself. However, since we reached our resort by 1:30pm, we had lunch at the premises itself.
But, if for some reason you are reaching your accommodation late, you plan to have lunch either on the Madikeri stretch or at NH66.
Conclusion on our Bangalore to Bekal Road Trip
All in all, we had a wonderful road trip driving from Bangalore to Bekal. It was part expressway, part decent highway and part narrow and winding hilly road. But through and through it was very scenic. So much that I have decided to give it a place in my list of most beautiful road trips that we have taken in India. So, I will really encourage you to take this Bangalore to Bekal road trip if you are a road trip enthusiast like us.
If you plan a trip to Bekal, here’s our complete list of places to visit and things to do in Bekal. Also, you can embark with us today on this virtual trip to Bekal Fort. Which will definitely help you decide if it is worth visiting Bekal.
General information on visiting Bekal
- This is our complete guide to visit Bekal, a small coastal town in Kerala
- If you are in to pamper yourself on your Bekal trip, there are a few luxury resorts where you can stay. Like the Lalit Bekal Resort and Spa or the Taj Bekal. However, there are plenty of mid budget and low budget accommodations as well. Malabar Ocean Resort and Spa is a mid budget accommodation here which has very strong reviews. In case you want to browse further, you can explore this list of accommodation in Bekal  and choose one suitable for you.
- If you have more time at hand, take a day trip from Bekal to Kannur. Kannur is another small town on the coast of Kerala. Which is particularly famous for it’s drive in beach – the only beach in India where you can drive your four wheeler on the beach right through the waves !!
- In case you will like to break your Bangalore to Bekal Road Trip, you can stay for the first night in Madikeri. And then continue your drive from Madikeri to Bekal the next day.
- Although the best time to visit Bekal is in winter season from November till February, but we found the monsoon season to be very pleasant as well, as long as there are no predictions of heavy rain or storm in the region.
- The beaches in Bekal are calm and peaceful. There’s not too much of buzz or night party kind of scene like Goa. So, do bear that in mind. It is more suitable for a laid back, relaxing holiday like what we experience in south Goa on beaches like the Agonda Beach or in extreme north like the Arambol beach in North Goa.
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