Many of us fail to visit and appreciate places of interest around us even though it attracts tourists from far away places. I am the adventurous kind who loves to travel and discover new places in and around my homeland when I am down on vacation.
“Othinane” is one such place, which is not so very well known to people from our district.? It?s a place with a unique beauty and is located around 35km from Kundapur, the beach town on Karnataka’s Coastal area.
“Othinane” has the beach on one side called the ‘Someshwar Beach’ and the hilly area called the ‘Kshitija Dama’ on the other. The amazing view of the sunset vista on this beautiful beach stippled from many rocks is just breathtaking. This is a marvelous place with hills, sea and river-mouth view. It is the scenic beauty of this beach that has attracted many filmmakers to shoot in this place.
To get to “Othinane” you have to drive towards Shiroor or Bhatkal. After passing a small town called Byndoor, which is located about 130 kms from Mangalore on Mangalore-Goa highway, you will come across a hilly area. Driving further, you will reach a grassland with trees around which always reminds me of an oasis. A sign is posted by the Forest Department that leads to the western side of the road, where Manganese ore is said to have found. A few minutes drive ahead and on your right hand side you will find the beautiful scenic ‘Othinane’.
A remarkable sea stretches out in front of you with its calm and cool waves playing with each other. The waves are very clear and make the sea-border looks like a beautiful blue satin sari of Arabia, which is really a breathtaking scene! On the left side of the road, lies the view of river mouth; a small river joining the sea.
In the town of Byndoor, is a famous Holy Cross Hill (Kursa Gudo). It is surrounded by palm trees. There are shaded areas around the mountain, where people can spend time singing, dancing, barbecuing ?etc.? In addition to this, rest room facilities are also provided. There is also a small restaurant and a resort near the beach called Sai Vishram. It is pure vegetarian non-alcoholic beach resort with all the necessary amenities.
From the top of the hill there are steps leading down to the sea below. Walking down these steps is by itself a wonderful experience. The path taken by the steps is narrow and shaded by the dense tress. As you go down the hill its fun and exciting. There are huge rocks on which people can sit and also play in the water. The beach is very clean and safe for swimming. One can collect shellfish at the shore. It is very tasty and I can vouch for its taste, as I have tasted it!
Around 5:30 in the evening, I went to view the sunset. It looked as if a golden a sphere on the horizon was gradually sinking into the sea. The sea looks majestic and luminous with the colours. Do visit this place and don’t miss this view, it is breath taking and a moment you would treasure.
–Raymond Kundapur
Author: Raymond Dsouza- Kuwait