National Highway – 66 connects Kanyakumari to Panvel, near Mumbai. It is more popularly known as Kochi-Panvel Highway possibly because its earlier avatar NH-17 started from Kochi to Panvel. With construction of new roads and bridges, NH-66 largely runs close to the sea coast in Kerala, Karnataka and partly in Goa before going fully inland in Maharashtra. It is over 1600 kms long of which little less than 300 kms is in Karnataka.
About 20% of NH-66 is in Karnataka
In Karnataka, the highway runs from south of Mangaluru to north of Karwar before entering Goa. It is largely 4 lanes in Karnataka but only 2 lanes in most of Goa till Madgaon. Parts of the highway are still in the process of being widened.
The entire coastal region receives heavy rainfall during the monsoon season. While we have all heard of Udupi and Mangaluru, have you heard of Shirali, Kumta, Bhatkal….? All these places receive heavy rainfall and lie along NH-66.
Sights on the way between Udupi and Madgaon
A drive on NH-66 in Karnataka is among the most scenic drives that I have undertaken. There are innumerable options to halt and absorb the natural beauty. Great beaches with rocks formations and lighthouses, sea walks, boating to nearby islands, water sport at select locations, historic temples, amazing river crossings and more – all these without deviating more than 5-15kms from the highway.
I have listed few of the attractions one encounters while driving from Udupi to Madgaon.
Udupi – Malpe beach with sea walk, Kapu(Kaup) beach with lighthouse, Kodi Bengre beach(Delta beach) which is a narrow strip of land surrounded by water on 3 sides, St. Mary’s Island off Malpe beach
Sita river crossing
Kundapur – Kodi beach with lighthouse and Delta point near Kundapura
Maravanthe beach
Tenginagundi fishing port and sea walk
Murudeshwar temple and beach, Netrani Island
Honnavar –Apsarakonda beach and Eco beach, Sharavathy Kandla Mangrove Boardwalk
Sharavathy river crossing
Gokarna – main beach, OM beach, Kudlu beach, Mahabaleshwar temple, Koti Thirtha(Holy Pond)
Karwar – warship museum, Rabondranath Tagore beach, Karwar beach
Kali river crossing
Goa – Galgibaga beach
Goa – Talpona river crossing
I halted at Manipal, next to Udupi and decided to skip the sights in Udupi as I wanted to get to Madgaon by evening. The entire drive of ~280 kms took close to 10 hours, with numerous halts. Some of the attractions may be visited on the return journey as well like I visited Gokarna while returning.
Maravanthe beach
It took about an hour to reach Maravanthe from Udupi(~60kms). Maravanthe is uniquely positioned between Arabian sea on one side and Souparnika river on the other. But at ground level, the river is just not visible, the view being blocked by vegetation. Don’t go by the pictures on the internet that indicates the river running right next to the highway. A great view point and there are stalls here selling juices, fruits and other stuff.
Maravanthe beach, Karnataka National Highway – 66 next to Maravanthe beach, Karnataka
River crossings(Sita, Sharavathy, Panchagangavali, Kali, Talpona)
All the river crossings, most of them close to the mouths of the rivers where the rivers merge into the sea, are extremely picturesque. In the interior regions, these rivers may not catch our fancy but with the backwaters, the scenario changes dramatically. The huge catchment area, with its unique ecosystem and presence of few islands here and there, makes for a compulsive view. And the sunset time only accentuates the beauty of these locations. Some of the bridges have pedestrian crossings(Sharavathy, Kali, Talpona) making it safe to walk across while some don’t. In few cases, parking was not available just before or after the bridge. The bridges by themselves are not really attractive designed.
Boating options are available near Kali and Sharavathy river crossings.
Sunset views are exhilarating
I reached Kali river little before 6pm, just in time to view the sunset. Luckily, I had another great view of the setting sun when the highway passed very close to the Galgibaga beach in Goa, about 30 minutes later.
Kali river bridge, Karwar, Karnataka View from Kali river bridge, Karwar, Karnataka View from Kali river bridge, Karwar, Karnataka Sunset view from Kali river bridge, Karwar, Karnataka
The Sharavathy crossing is just before Honnavar and the Kali crossing just after Karwar. Sita river is less than 30 minutes drive from Udupi. Talpona crossing is in Goa, about 20 minutes drive from the border check post.
View from Talpona bridge, Goa View from Talpona bridge, Goa Sharavathy river bridge, Honnavar, Karnataka View from Sharavathy river bridge, Honnavar, Karnataka
Tenginagundi fishing port
I landed here because ‘google’ guided me to this place instead of Murudeshwar beach! But it turned out to be a nice place. One needs to take a left turn just before crossing the Venkatapur river to Shirali. I reached here around noon when most of the fishing boats had unloaded their catch which were being packed. Few boats were still streaming in. Fairly picturesque area. On the beach, there were 2 sea walks, on either side of Venkatapur river that went a fair distance into the sea, easily more than half a km. One is called the Tenginagundi sea walk and the other across the river is Alvekodi sea walk. Though it was a bit hot there was a pleasant wind was blowing and so I walked up till the end. The Murudeshwar Shiva statue was just about visible from here. It would actually be very nice in the evenings when the temperature comes down.
Tenginagundi fishing pier, Karnataka Tenginagundi sea walkway, Karnataka
Murudeshwar temple and beach
Located on a peninsula, this famous temple, with its 237ft high Gopuram and 120 ft tall Shiva statue nearby on a hill is a must visit. The Gopuram is said to be the second tallest in India, just a couple of feet lower than that of Ranganathaswamy Temple at Srirangam, Trichy. The temple was closed when I visited but I was told there is a elevator inside that takes devotees to the 20th floor. The hill nearby, where Shiva’s statue is housed, also provides a great panoramic view of the surrounding areas, including the Murudeshwar beach.
Limited paid parking is available next to the temple as well on the hill. If you don’t find parking here, either park on the main road or near the beach. Water sport facilities, including snorkeling/scuba diving near Netrani island, are offered here.
Murudeshwar is located about 100kms from Udupi and can be reached within 2 hours. If travelling from Udupi, there are two approaches, after crossing Shirali. The first deviation leads to Murudeshwar town. The second one, a bit ahead and opposite Kamat restaurant on the right side of the highway, is the temple road. There is a big arch at the entry and hence easy to find. The temple is a 5 minutes drive away from this point.
Murudeshwar beach, Karnataka Murudeshwar temple, Karnataka Murudeshwar temple and beach, Karnataka
Gokarna temple and beach
About 80 kms from Murdeshwar and ~180kms from Udupi, is Gokarna, famous for Mahabaleshwar Swamy temple and OM beach. The road to the temple is very narrow and crowded and the main beach is just behind the temple. From the highway, OM beach is ~15kms away and there are two deviations-one well before Gokarna and another in Gokarna. Take the first one if you do not wish to visit the temple. This road too is very narrow and goes over a hill. There are two approaches to OM beach, one is towards Namaste Café where I went and the other bit further down. After parking, there is a bit of a descent required to get to the beach.
I was quite impressed with OM beach, with lush green hill on one side leading to 2 crescent shaped beaches with rock formations. Not a very long beach, looked like one can walk across. And it appeared clean from a distance. I was told there are quite a few options to indulge in water sport. The location of Namaste Cafe is ideal for a leisurely meal or a drink. There are more restaurants further down. Don’t know if decent change rooms with shower facilities are available at the beach but the Namaste cafe had toilets.
The two adjoining beaches are Kudle and Paradise.
OM beach, Gokarna, Karnataka Namaste Cafe, OM beach, Gokarna, Karnataka
Karwar museum and beach
The location of Karwar is like a picture postcard, in between the hills and the Arabian sea, with Kali river flowing on the northern side. Unfortunately, the naval base was not visible from the highway, even from top of a nearby hill. The beaches are visible from the road and I stopped by at the warship museum which is nothing but decommissioned warship that took part in the 1971 war. Located next to the highway and quite convenient to visit but the warship is surely an antique.
Fair bit of construction was happening in Karwar when I passed by. Apart from road widening, a tunnel is being built through the hill with flyover at the other end.
Karwar warship museum, Karnataka Karwar beach, Karnataka
Goa
The initial drive through Goa has some amazing views. The highway runs close to Galgibaga beach. The views from Talpona bridge are fabulous and there is pedestrian walkway on both the sides. After this bridge, the highway moves away from the sea. I crossed couple of lush green hills before reaching Madgaon.
Sunset at Golgibaga beach, Goa
Road condition and traffic
On NH-66, I drove from Mangaluru to Madgaon, a total distance of ~330kms. The condition of road was excellent throughout, except perhaps the portions where widening work was happening and I had to take minor deviations.
National Highway – 66, Karnataka National Highway – 66, Karnataka National Highway – 66, Goa
In Karnataka
Progress was quick in Karnataka with 4 lanes throughout. There was heavy traffic between Mangaluru and Udupi but that only slowed me down marginally. Near Karwar, progress as slow as widening work was on.
In Goa
Except for few stretches which was 4 laned, most of the highway till Madgaon had 2 lanes. The highway passes through few small towns where traffic jams are common. Traffic was very heavy as I approached Madgaon. Twilight and late evening hours also meant vehicles switching on headlights and that in turn led to very slow progress. While the road condition was excellent, with fresh topping of asphalt, traffic and 2 lanes made my drive painfully slow.
But on the return, in the morning hours, there was limited traffic and I could cover the entire distance to the border check post in 30 minutes less time. The distance between check post and Madgaon is little over 50 kms.
Downside of the drive – mid mornings are hot
It gets fairly warm/hot from 11am to about 4pm. Even during the winter months. Summers would be worse. That limits the extent of sightseeing one can do during those hours.
Vegetarian restaurants
There are not too many ‘vegetarian only’ restaurants/cafes on the highway. But I did not deviate from the highway for food and beverages, stopping for refreshments at Maravanthe beach, lunch at Kamat near Murudeshwar, afternoon tea at the food court just after the Warship museum in Karwar.
If one heads into towns such as Murudeshwar, Kundapura and Gokarna, there will be few more options, including restaurants at hotels/resorts.
So is NH-66 a must do drive?
Yes. Overall a very enjoyable experience. The good condition of the road combined with amazing scenery makes the coastal drive on NH 66 a must do drive. Halting overnight at one or two places on the way would be ideal. Udupi, Gokarna and Karwar would be my preferences. In Udupi, Kodi Bengre may be a good option. I have not been there but the pictures look fabulous.
So next time you intend to travel to South Goa, driving down is a good option. Or if driving to Kerala, why not make a slightly longer drive in one direction by driving via Udupi/Mangaluru? Even better, why not just stick to exploring coastal Karnataka?