Bekal - God’s Own Country

Gopal Lahiri

- Gopal Lahiri

Bekal is a quiet town by the sea in North Kerala and is located about seventy kilometres from Mangalore city. The picturesque coast facing Laccadiv sea is scenic, with beautiful sand and with a very few people there. We had a lot of long walks on the long beaches and twilight clouds were our perfect companions.

This resort town, with its pretty back water, brightly painted boats, coconut groves, the picture-postcard fishing village, thatched cottages, banana leaves and a sprawling beach is a perfect destination for unwinding our mind and muscles. Boat cruising in the back water in the evening and Kerala Cuisine is a must for the tourist.

One of the main draws on this stretch of coastline is the Bekal fort, located beside the Pallikare Beach. It is the biggest fort in Kasaragod, spreading over forty acres land. The fort was built in 1650AD for the defensive purposes against the attack from the sea. From the Observation Tower, we could see the stunning view of the sea on one side and the sprawling green on the other side. The water tank, the magazine for keeping explosives and the secret tunnel all roll into an amazing sight inside the fort. We missed the sunset view because it was drizzling.

Thonikadavu estate is thirty kilometres away from the Bekal town and the estate in private hands. The plantation is widespread and the trekking in the wild is a riveting experience. We had a fish spa on the natural spring and bath on the water fall. We were scared to enter the magical cave to trace the source of the spring water.

Once we ambled through the Kundamkuzhy forest, Tagore’s words echoed in our head, ‘Give us back the forest, take this city away.’ The view from the top is breath-taking with Payasani River flowing through the forest green below.

The bio-diversity of the Muliyar forest is awe-inspiring with vivid flora and fauna on display with tall coconut trees, betel nut, walnut, bamboo, banana and rubber plantations were well spread over the private estate of Mr Ratnakar.

The fresh coconut water and spring water were so refreshing to drink! There is an accommodation within forest facing the green cover and the river down below. You can enjoy in this well-furnished home stay equipped with modern facilities! A must stay indeed!

We enjoyed fish spa in natural spring water and one can take a shower in the water fall as well! Rathnakar has made beautiful bags and hats on the spot from the skin of the betel nut (Areca nut) and presented us! Those were a revelation! Our 3 hours trekking ended with a delicious Sadhya Kerala lunch offered by Rathnakar and his family at their beautiful house!

On our return journey to Mangalore, we visited Ananthapura temple. One of the oldest and only lake temples in Kerala, the deity is Lord Vishnu and the temple is guarded by a crocodile who eats only prasad.

Overall a terrific escape to the nature in Bekal. The coastline was great, but nothing compares to trekking in the wild.

Setu, September 2019