Udupi is known for its temples, places of worship and the beaches. It is a 15 km long town stretching from the fishing port at Malpe to the university township Manipal.

All distances shown below are from Villa Malpe

Sri Krishna Matt

Sri Krishna temple is a complex of temples around a water tank, 3 raths (wooden shariots) and several other religious buildings . surrounded by shops, flower stalls and vegetarian restaurants.  The Navagraha Kitiki is beautifully decorated window with nine holes with fine arts and carvings, coated with silver plates. Krishna Matt was founded by Shri Madhwacharya in the 13th century.  Distance approx. 11 kms

Pooja is held early in the morning 4:30 am to 8:30 pm.

Malpe Beach

The Malpe beach is where many tourist amenities are available. Restaurants, bars, food stals and more attract hordes of tourists in the afternoons and evenings. The beach is kept clean and has a plethora of things to do. Rides on camels, horses and ATVs, Parasailing, jet-skis, banana boat rides are some of the attractions at Malpe beach. The boat ride to St. Mary’s Island also starts from the beach.  Distance approx. 2 kms walking along the beach or 3 kms by road.

St.Mary’s Island

St. Mary’s islands, also called Coconut Island, comprise of four islands off Malpe beach. Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese explorer, is said to have landed here in 1498. There is no habitation on the islands. Due to the volcanic, columnar basalt rock formation and lava rocks, which are spread across the islands it is an important geological site and is protected as a  National Geological Monument by the Geological Survey of India. It takes approx. 30 minutes to get there by boat from Malpe Seawalk or from Malpe beach

Padukere – Mattu Beach

This road is one of the most picturesque roads in the area, from Malpe to Mattu beach. It is built on a 10 km long peninsula with the river Udayavara on one side and the Arabian sea on the other. Start in Malpe and drive past hundreds of colourful fishing boats, before crossing the river over a bridge to Padukere. The peninsula is so narrow in some places that you literally have the river and sea only separated by 40-50 meters of land. Sunset is beautiful from anywhere on the road. During short periods of the year, you can observe bioluminescence on the beach. Kaup is 7 kms south of Mattu beach on the same road. Distance approx. 3 kms to Padukere, 13 kms to Mattu beach

Kaup (Kapu) Light House

The Kaup Light House was built by British in 1901 on a 27.12m high rock near Kaup beach. Kaup Light House is approx. 100 ft tall, and is a great lookout point for the coast and he Arabian Sea. The lighthouse is open during the evening from 4 PM to 6 PM.  Distance approx. 19 kms

Hasta Shilpa Heritage Village Museum

Hasta shilpa heritage village at Manipal is a collection of houses and artefacts from the coastal region of Karnataka. The brainchild of Vijayanath Shenoy, a retired banker, the Heritage Village is managed by the Hasta Shilpa Trust which has relocated and restored 26 houses and other buildings of architectural merit and fine craftsmanship from all over the region. It is located by the lake in Manipal. Distance approx. 15 kms

Saligrama – mangrove forests

Mangroves are floating evergreen forests lining across the coastal areas. They act as a coastal guard between land and sea and are primarily in brackish water where rivers and sea meet. You can explore the mangrove by kayak or boat rowing through tunnels created by the trees. Boats/kayaks are only available at high tide. Distance approx. 24 kms

Karkala – Moodubidire area

St. Lawrence Church – Attur

St. Lawrence Church is located in a small village called Attur near Karkala It is more than two centuries old. There is a pond called “Pushkarini”, built in the vicinity with facility for the devotees to descend into it. The main church itself is a big hall, built in order to accommodate the large number of worshipers attending the annual feast. There is also a small shrine, where one finds the miraculous statue of St.Lawrence.  Distance approx. 48 kms

Gomateshwar Statue

Karkala is famous for the Jain statue of “Gommateshwara”. This statue is carved out of a single stone and has a height of 42 feet or 13 meter, It is situated on the top of a huge granite rock in the outskirts of Karkala,  Distance approx. 54 kms

Thousand Pillars

The Thousand Pillars Basadi or the Saavira Kambada Basadi of Moodibidiri is a Jain monument that contains a thousand pillars, each pillar intricately designed in stone. It is believed that this basadi was built in the year 1430. Distance approx. 64 kms

Chaturmukha Basadi

The Chaturmukha Basadi has 108 pillars supporting the roof of the basadi of very big granite slabs. The Jain monument houses the idols of the Yakshi Padmavati and 24th Thirthankara, in addition to the standing idols of Malli, Suryata and Ara. Distance approx. 53 kms