St. Mary's Island - a lovely place on earth. Review on St. Mary's Island, Malpe, Udupi

Location:

St. Mary's island is situated just off the coast of Malpe. Malpe is located at about 75 Kms from M'lore, situated along the west coast of India closer to world famous Udupi. Take a look at the map providing details of Malpe, Udupi and St. Mary's Island. https://udupipages.com/home/pages/dmap.html

How to reach Malpe:

As you travel from Udupi towards Goa on NH-17, after about 4 Kms from Udupi stop, watch out for ''Hotel Sarovar'' on the left hand side of the NH-17. Take the road located adjacent to Hotel Sarovar. There is a bus stop in front of this hotel and lot of private as well as Govt. buses do stop here. Travel 2~3 Kms to reach the dockyard entrance. Buy the entrance ticket and drive straight till you reach the HP petrol pump. Adjacent to this is the Nandhini Milk joint and behind this is the office where you can buy the tickets to go to St. Mary's island. Boarding point is just ahead of this office.

St.Mary's Island:

The first boat to leave for St. Mary's island starts off at 9.00 AM provided there are at least 30 people for the journey. The ticket cost INR 70/- for adults and INR 30/- for kids (aged between 3 and 10). It takes about less than 30 minutes to reach the island. At the island another small boat will ferry passengers back and forth from the bigger vessel.

St. Mary's Island is full of unique Columnar joints, formed during the formation of earth and it is a geological heaven for Geologists and Environmentalist. It is a pleasure to see the magic of nature with huge neatly formed columns of rocks and the different shapes of the rock formation is a pleasure to see. It is sad to note that such a unique and beautiful place has being neglected by both the public and Karnataka Govt. The island has become more famous due to the film shots - mostly song scenes been shot at this island than for its origin and geological importance.

Speaking about film shootings - it is a nuisance to visit this island when there is a film shooting in progress. The film crew wont let you in peace and constant, repeated blaring of so called ''music'' and the director's mike blaring 1 - 2 -3 .. ''cut it'' makes one feel disgusted. Worse to bare is the arrogant attitude of the film crew who keep shooing away people if they are in the line of sight of shooting .. even if you are far away from the shooting location.

December is the best time to visit St Mary's island - especially during the Christmas vacation as the weather is cool and pleasant when compared to other months. Besides, increased tourist increases the frequency of boats ferrying the passengers to St. Mary's island. The island has a small children's park. A guard is posted to make sure that people dont get into areas that are too deep. Watch out for those slippery rocks. Some parts of the island seems to be filled with broken sea shells rather than the usual sand. It is a pleasure to see the clean water splashing along the beach. Better to carry sufficient water and light snacks with you. Avoid wearing expensive footwear as you are bound to walk in sea water - sometimes knee deep as you get off the boat at the island. Please help to keep the island clean by observing all rules and regulations that helps to keep the environment clean and safe. I dont have to list them here :-).

The boat incharge who ferried you to the island will inform the time you need to come back at the embarkation point. On your return you could stop at the dockyard and see the loading and unloading of fishes from the boats. You can also see fishermen mending their nets, fishing boats filling up their boats with crushed ice etc.. beware about the strong stench of fish. Even the interior of the cars starts to stink after a visit to this dockyard. Remember to carry a bottle of car perfume. You will need it!

Accommodation:

There are no accommodation facilities in St. Mary's Island. Except for couple chairs and small cemented platforms with thatched roof - there is no shelter. Best option will be to stay in one of the hotels in Udupi or Mangalore or in the resort in Malpe in Malpe and keep minimum of half a day free for this trip. Another best option is to stay at Paradise Isle Beach Resort located along the coast of Malpe.

Note: If you fancy to stay in an Island.. try the Devbagh resort, off the coast of Karwar. More about this later.