Travelogue: A refreshing visit to the Kaup beach and light house

By Victor DSouza, Doha
Bellevision Media Network

Doha, 19 June 2011: I had the opportunity to make a short visit to Kaup beach and light house along with my family during my one week long vacation last month. Kaup, pronounced as Kapu in the local Tulu language, is a small town in Udupi district, lies on the way between Udupi and Mangalore beside National highway 66 (17), it is about 10 km south of Udupi.

 

There is a beach on the shore of the Arabian Sea and a lighthouse. Many films have been shot at this location. The coast near to Kaup is formed by basalt rocks starting from multi river in south extending up in the northern direction. Presence of rocks in the coastline makes the sea rough and one can get a good feel of the power of Arabian sea in its crushing waves.

 

The Kaup beach is breathtaking scenic delight with the white sand and cool blue waters of the Arabian sea. The spot refreshes and soothes as the beach is a serene place with natures beauty in abundance.

 

The sound of waves caresses the breeze sensuously and the panoramic view offered is magnificent. There is boating and camel riding facility available at the beach.

 

The lighthouse is not just another structure by the beach. It has for these many years stood on the rocks guiding thousands of sailors and warning the presence of dangerous rocks. The Lighthouse tower was built in 1901 on a 12 m high rock and it stands 27.12 m above the base. The inside masonry lining of the tower has been raised up, while the outside masonry lining projects out to form a platform around at height.

 

 

The tower is painted with black and white bands. The lighthouse is open for visitors during day with a entry ticket and additional ticket for the camera. The spiral stairs with handrail inside the tower are steep and as we climb we can see the view outside through the small windows. The stair leads to the top external platform and the arial view from there is spectacular. We can see quite a distance, even the Power Plant of UPCL is visible from there.

 

India has 7517 km of coastline, which has played a crucial role in our country’s history. Until the invention and the viability of aeroplanes for commercial purposes, trading with foreign countries and ports within India remained largely by sea. Even today over 90 per cent of India’s international trade in terms of volume is by sea.

 

So quite a number of ships afloat on the sea and these curiously tall and stripy buildings called lighthouses show the way to the ships. Each lighthouse is either constructed or painted differently to enable identification by just looking at it. This type of identification is only possibly during the day. By night sailors use the light intervals from the lighthouse to identify the ports.

 

Kaup beach and light house is a beautiful place, it is clean, peaceful and a perfect place for relaxing. We enjoyed the visit and I have decided to visit this place every time I go home.