Kollur Mookambika - travel, accommodation, etc. Review on Kollur Mookambika

If you have arrived at this page, then I am sure that you are already aware of Kollur temple, its divine atmosphere and spiritual depth. You also can get more details about the greatness of Mookambika kshetra on the internet. What's not much available are details on accommodation, travel, places nearby, prices, feasibility, etc. so I would like to post details I gathered during my recent visit to Kollur.

Temple== timings:==

• the temple opens at 5:00 am and is open till 1:00 pm noon. In the evening, it again opens at around 3 or 4 pm, open till 9:00 or 9:30 pm night. Anna-prasadam is served free to all devotees between 12:30-2:00 noon.

• Do not miss out the kashaya theertham(prepared with black pepper, jaggery, tulasi) served at around 9 pm after the procession ceremony within the temple. This kashaya has ayurvedic importance.

• The priests(usually called Bhat) are very helpful and they can interact in Malayalam, Tamil, English apart from Kannada.

How to reach:

• Railway stations: Udupi(80 kms), Kundapura(40 kms). Devotees travelling from Mumbai can take the konkan route. Nagercoil express reaches Kundapura at around 11:15 am. Netravathi express reaches Kundapura at 3:00 am. The convenient train is Matsyagandha express that reaches kundapura at 5:10 am. Konkan route can also be easily availed by devotees travelling from Kerala.

• From Bangalore, Kollur is approx 410-420 kms via Shimoga. Its good to depend on Buses. You can get direct buses to Kollur from Majestic, operated by KSRTC. There are plenty of private operators too (like VRL, Durgamba, SRS, etc), the pick-up points are at Jayanagar 9'th block near Ragiguda, Madiwala, Navrang theatre, tumkur road, etc. Try taking a volvo bus for more comfortable journey. I have heard many times that private buses meet with accidents on this route. KSRTC though goes relatively slower at speed of 40-50 km/hr, you can be assured of safe journey.

• Plenty of buses also ply from Shimoga to Kollur. Kollur is approx 130 km from Shimoga. the roads are "OK" and it will take long time to cover this distance since there are acute turns on roads that go through forests. If you are travelling by KSRTC bus, this 130 kms will take almost 3.5 to 4 hours.

Places to visit near Kollur:

• Murudeshwara is located 75 kms away and it takes almost 1.5-2.0 hours one way. The problem is after you cross Baindoor on NH-17, the road is just pathetic, for almost 25 kms, you would travel on bumpy roads!. Though they have started to tar, it will certainly take a long time.

• Kodajadri mountain peak (about 40 kms from kollur temple) is a must visit. This is where the Moola sthana (main shrine) of goddess Mookambika was established by Sri Adi Shankaracharya. Avoid taking your own vehicle here! there are jeeps available since early morning to noon(west-side village road), they charge 200 rupees per person (they accommodate close to 7-8 people in one jeep). the journey takes 1.5 hours one way, they halt for 1.5 hours at the mountain top where you would need to go on foot for about 15-20 mins(wear good chappals). The only problem during this travel is the road, there is absolutely no road, its very muddy and you only experience the jeep jumping every second! Once you reach the mountain top, you will forget everything. I have not personally traveled to Kodajadri, but I did inquire about the details.

There are many tour operators who arrange facilities for trekking alone.

• If you are travelling towards Udupi, you can visit the Hattiangadi Ganapathi temple. Udupi is at a distance of about 80 kms (2 hours drive), road is good.

• Sowparnika river - Best to vist just after the monsoon. This river emerges from Kudajadri. It is believed that Suparna(garuda) performed penance on this river in order to save his mother and was blessed by goddess Mookamika and attained salvation.

• Marvanthe beach - its very close by(less than an hour).

Public Transport:

• Regular bus facility (mostly private only) is available for Udupi, Kundapura, Baindoor and nearby places from Kollur.

• If you are planning to go to Sringer from Kollur, there is a direct bus that leaves Mookambika bus stand at around 2:30 noon and reaches Sringeri late evening (around 7:00 pm). The best route to Sringeri is - at 06:45 am there is a bus (Nishmitha travels), go to Hebri(reaches at 09:15 am), catch a connecting bus from Hebri at 9:30 am to Sringeri(reaches at around 11:00 am). Though you have multiple options from Udupi, avoid going via Udupi to Sringeri. Kollur to Sringeri direct distance is 160-170 kms.

• You also get buses going to Mangalore(140+ kms) & Shimoga.

• Kundapura and Udupi serve as good options where its much developed and you have lot of private buses operating at these locations.

• there are plenty of taxi operators too in kollur(you can see sign-boards everywhere), but make sure you do a little bargain and compare the prices.

• Dharmasthala is 180+ kms from kollur.

Accomodation in Kollur:

You should always avoid going during peak times like Navarathri season(Oct-Nov when Ratha Yatra is arranged), Maha-shivarathri(Feb). But if you manage to arrange accommodation in advance, you will certainly enjoy the divine atmosphere.

When you search in the internet, you would always see 10-15 hotels listed, but the fact is that there are plenty of other private tourist houses available, with decent hygiene, cleanliness, rates, etc. Lalithambika and few others are run by the temple and they do not entertain phone booking. They will provide rooms if they are available. If you are looking to perform some pooja in the temple and seek an accommodation in Lalithambika, I suggest you contact any priest, tell him your pooja plans and ask him to block room for your family. this site would be useful - https://indiadivine.org/audarya/shakti-sadhana/477467-hotel-bookings-kollur.html. some of these numbers have changed, I will try and get

them in my next post.

If you have not made an advance booking, do not worry. As soon as you alight from the bus, there are chances that some of the private hoteliers send their men who try to advertise about their hotel/lodge. Just ask them the distance of their lodge from temple, facilities, you can see the rooms and if happy book them.

Few other private ones include Beena residency, Devi Krupa, Ashwathi, etc. Beena residency is the best of all if you campare in terms of hygiene, services, etc. Make sure to book in advance. But yes the rates are very high (close to 800-1000 per person for AC rooms). There are few more just opposite to the main temple entrance namely Vidharthi(which has some 20-25 rooms) and they charge 350 bucks for a double-bed single room Non-AC for 24 hours. the other similar hotels too charge in the same price range.

Food in Kollur:

Good tasty food is a big problem here, though all the hotels are vegetarian. There are hotels at the west side of the temple entrance, few of them namely Akshaya, Ambika, etc.

I would suggest that if you are too conscious about living conditions, food, etc & if you intend to spend just few hours in Kollur for darshanams only, then you can halt at Kundapura or Udupi.

Overall, its a wonderful place, very calm and a must visit.

Hope this post is helpful. Do share your valuable comments.