'Some beautiful paths can't be discovered without getting lost.'
Going on a random roadtrip is always fun. So when my friend suggested we hit the road one Sunday afternoon, I was pretty much ready. We were a bunch of excited girls trying to have fun. We had no clue what we were upto, where we were headed or what to expect. All we knew was, it was a pleasant Sunday, and we had to make the most of it. Not every July Sunday is this favourable for a road trip, but this particular Sunday was. The sun was playing hide and seek with the clouds, a slight drizzle every now and then to cool off the city situated on the South-Western coast of India and good company. Yes, I was in Mangalore, and off we went on a little adventure.
So we got on the highway towards Goa - NH 66. Apparently it connects Panvel to Kanyakumari crossing through five states - Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Broad roads, zooming heavy vehicles, clouds skies... And us! We went all the way to Mulki until we reached a place called Hejamadi. It's a little village along the northern coast of River Shambhavi, in Udupi district of South Karnataka.
What is a roadtrip without gorging on some scrumptious dhaba food? So we had to stop at the all so popular Bittu Da Dhaba across the highway. Not very crowded at this time of the day, we were welcomed and made to sit before a menu was placed in front of us. A quick glance through the menu made me realise that it's a totally vegan place and served a variety of North Indian delicacies. They had paneer and mushroom, so that was an obvious choice. Soon we were served tall bottles of thick lassi, mushroom pepper fry, paneer masala, chana masala and freshly made rotis. A truly satisfying experience indeed. After enjoying our fingerlicious dhaba meal, we were ready to hit the road again.
We headed to the nearby beach town - Mukka. It houses a really unique virgin beach called Sashihitlu. Once we took a left on NH 66 at Mukka, and after around a 6 km drive through the less trodden road, we reached a place that looks like it is almost cut-off from the external world. The road led us to verdant heaps of sand abutting the Arabian Sea adjacent to the scenic backwaters of Nandini and Shambhavi rivers.
The place, Sasihithlu, appears less known to the people and thus has remained virgin so far. The confluence of the two rivers with the sea has created an entirely different world with its own enchanting beauty. From Sasihithlu village, one has to take the kutcha road passing amidst an acacia grove to reach the beach. Palm trees, little houses with titled roofs and symmetric colourful little wells lined both sides of the road.
The beach itself is made of white sand and is shallow, thus making it ideal for surfing and other water sports activities. We were told the beach conducted water sports activities during the summers, when the sea was clearer. After spending a good part of our evening at this wonderful place, refreshed and smiling, we headed back to Mangalore by dusk.
Text & Photography : Flexcia D'souza | Travel Blogger India
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