Travelling the world has always been my strong passion. One of the holidays which has a lasting memory on my mind relates to our visit to Bekal.  Leaving Mumbai the 27^th December, 2017 it took us 1 and a half hours to fly to Manglore and from there another 2 hours by car to reach Bekal. We stayed at Taj hotel for 4 days. It was a beautiful property located right in the middle of natural surroundings.

On the first day of our stay we visited the Bekal Fort. The 400 year old historical fort provides a captivating view of the Arabian sea. The fort has observation towers, armories, sculptures and murals. After going around different parts of the forts interior, we went to the top of the fort to get a glimpse of the sunset, which was truly mesmerizing. The Bekal Beach below had a row of tall palm trees, golden sand and the waves rising in the tidal sea. This beach attracts tourists from all over the world for its beauty and serenity.

The next evening we went to the Ananthapura Temple. It was built on an exquisite lake. The temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The most interesting thing about the trip was that there was a vegetarian crocodile, that guarded the temple. It is the only vegetarian crocodile in the world and only ate what is offered by the devotes.

On the last day we booked a house boat for the entire day. On the boat we experienced the tranquil backwaters and stunning view. We spotted a lot of hornbills, storks and other migratory birds. I relished the local cuisine of Bekal which is puttu, payasam and idiyappam.

I would rate this as one of my most memorable visits to a place which had sea, beaches, forts and a beautiful temple.