Day 21: Mangalore – Kanhangad

We set off at 7:30am, aiming for Kasargod (50km) by lunchtime. The highway was not as good nor as flat as it was yesterday, and there were innumerable ups and downs. Not an easy 50km, but we had the enthusiasm of crossing the state border today. 17km from Mangalore, the border is an innocuous signboard. A pleasant surprise was a milestone with “Kanyakumari 734km” on it.

We had our breakfast 33km from Mangalore in the shade of a banyan tree. There were no noticeable effects of crossing into Kerala – in fact, Kannada was prominent well into Kasargod district.


Reaching Kasargod by noon, we had cheap lunch near the bus stand. From Kasargod, the national highway takes a longer inland route to go south, while the state highway is a more direct route to Hosdurg. We followed this road a few km and then rested in a palm grove for the afternoon.

I removed and unpacked my bag to write this report to find – jam! Never had I thought jam could get into so many places so fast. Luckily, most of my stuff was packed individually in plastic bags, but cleaning all of them and washing a blanket and t-shirt was a trying experience. Most of the jam was salvaged in the end but it remains a problem what to do with it.

I sprained my ankle sometime during the afternoon halt. To top it all, my goggles went missing, possibly flicked. Today is just not my day.

Thankfully, the road in the evening was a joy to cycle on. It goes beside the railway tracks all the way and at times gives a good view of the sea. At Bekal (14km), there is a stretch parallel to the beach on one side and the rail lines on the other. Not quite like Maravanthe, since the beach is lined with traditional houses.

The Bekal fort is half a km from the highway and worth a visit. It was once a Tipu Sultan fort and has the sea on two sides. A smallish fort, the caretaker let us take our cycles in and waived our entrance fees. A nice English-speaking chap.

I met a guy called Vinod who was doing his 2nd year Computer Science in Manipal Institute of Technology. A friendly guy, he told me a little about the area. Finally, we left the fort to reach Kanhangad at dusk. What is given as Hosdurg on the map is actually Kanhangad. Hosdurg is the fort in the city.

At Kanhangad, the police surprised us by refusing us accomodation, albeit politely. One policeman recommended an ashram half a km away.

The Sadguru Nithyananda Ashram is a memorial to a holy man of that name who attained Samadhi in 1961. It has volunteers and a trust and seems quite popular and well off. The people in charge allowed us to sleep the night. They are very kind and courteous, unlike some temple priests I remember from the trip. (The ashram is not a temple) They even gave us dinner of rice and sambar, which we ate indoors in the light of a petromax.

It is 9:15pm and a cool breeze is blowing in the courtyard of the ashram. After finishing this report, I’ll have a bath and then a well-earned sleep to rest my ankle.

Estimate of distance covered today: 76km