Thursday, 17 October 2013

St Mary's Island, the basalt wonder



We went to Udupi just for one reason... to visit St Mary's Island.
We had heard of this tiny island so much that it was on our secret self authored "10 Lakh Places to see before you Die" list for a long time.

   We started driving from Murudeshwar towards Udupi at 3:30 PM. A long stretch of the road was bad, so reaching Udupi took a lot more time than expected. When we reached Udupi it was dark. We checked in a hotel "Hotel Rukmini Residency" on Mosque Road near City busstand. The rooms were clean and the rates very much resonable.Non AC double bedrooms at Rs700 per night and checkout time is 24 hours.

   The next day we reached Malpe bus-stand at 9:00 AM. From our hotel, it was around 5 kms drive. The ferry dock is about 500 mtrs from the bus-stand.
That is where we had to go to book tickets for the ferry ride to St Mary's.
The counter opens at 9:30 AM and a minimum of 30 people are required for the ferry to start. The ferry charges Rs 100 per head that includes to and fro
journey from St Mary's Island.
Ship docked at the Malpe dock.
  We were the first to book our tickets but had to wait for a modest half an hour for a team of 30 to gather. Finally our boat set to sail on the emerald water. The ferry occasionally swayed sideways and the cool sea breeze played around. The ferry went past some very small islands formed of only rocks.
Sometimes a flock of cranes would fly past.
This is the boat that takes you to the island
  Finally we came close to the island which is about 7 kms away from the main land. We were transferred to smaller boats that finally took us to the island.
St. Mary's Island, as seen from the boat

The small boat that transfers you to the island
  The island is absolutely stunning. It is a small elongated strip of land.
The golden sand, the emerald water, the hexagonal basalt rocks, the coconut trees, the red crabs, the clear skies with white clouds and an endless view makes the island magical.
Coconut trees and shades at St. Mary's Island

Sea line at the St. Mary's Island

Hexagonal basalt rocks at St. Mary's Island

Sea Line and rock at St. Mary's Island

Crab at St. Mary's Island
  There was only one make shift shop on the island selling chips, water and fried fish. There was also water scooter for water sport enthusiasts.

   We roamed on the island for almost an hour. The Sun had become very strong by then and we were sweating, so we got up on the boat that was taking people back. As the boat started, the cool sea breeze started playing around us and we were instantly cooled off and got refreshed.

   The boat speed towards Malpe. In the next half an hour, we reached the disembarking point. As we were getting down, a couple that was waiting in the queue for thier trip asked us how the island was. We gave them a "Thumbs High" for we were very sure they too will have a wonderful island sojourn.
St. Mary's Island

Water crashing no the rocks at St. Mary's Island

Hexagonal Rocks at St. Mary's Island

And Finally, us at St. Mary's Island
Some info:
Time of visit: October, 2013
Parking facility: Yes, but not paid.
Keywords: St Mary's Island, Malpe, Udupi, Island
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Labels: , , , , ,
Location: St. Mary's Islands

33 comments:

  1. Akum17 October 2013 at 18:18

    The pictures are amazing. BTW, love your blog

    ReplyDelete
  2. Deeksha17 October 2013 at 18:38

    Nice clicks.

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  3. Ankionthemove17 October 2013 at 20:16

    Wow such great pictures.I did my college from Manipal so St. mary's we used to go v very often.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ankur and Soma18 October 2013 at 12:46

      Thank you Ankita.....indeed the island is very nice

      Delete
  4. R Niranjan Das17 October 2013 at 21:28

    Excellent images of the island. Would love to visit the place.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ankur and Soma18 October 2013 at 12:47

      Thank you so much...yes do visit the place,I am sure you will like it.

      Delete
  5. D.Nambiar18 October 2013 at 05:45

    Ah, after seeing these images, I so want to visit St. Mary's Island.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ankur and Soma18 October 2013 at 12:48

      thank you very much.....definitely do visit the island,we were also very much excited on seeing such a lovely place:)

      Delete
  6. Uma Anandane18 October 2013 at 17:20

    Beautiful Images :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Migalayte24 October 2013 at 01:54

    Hi!
    I need your help. A month later, on November 19 will be a holiday , " National Foods of the World" in Vetka . My student should go on this holiday. All schools in our district distributed regions of the world , and our school has to tell the jury about the non-European national food.
    Tell us about your national dishes and drinks , please. For example, how to cook your favorite dish and whether it can be prepared in Belarus? Of course, I can find the material in Google . But more interesting to learn about the national food of the person who eats this food every day, is not it?
    Finally, my student is 10 years old and she should talk about the national cuisine ( about the different national dishes of one of the country) for 5 minutes. By heart.
    I'm sorry I disturbed you, but I really need help .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ankur and Soma24 October 2013 at 21:08

      please mail me your mail id so that I can send you a writeup

      Delete
  8. Migalayte24 October 2013 at 01:56

    Oh, your photos are magnificent!!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Unknown3 January 2014 at 09:54

    Nice pics. Planning to go tom morning....is the place good for a full day trip? We are planning to carry our own food

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    Replies
    1. Ankur and Soma3 January 2014 at 11:30

      Thanks for stopping by,I think the island is good for a half day trip.....nothing much to do for a full day

      Delete
  10. Unknown5 January 2014 at 15:31

    Hi ankur....how frequent is the ferry service on weekday ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ankur and Soma5 January 2014 at 19:39

      the ferry service is based on the number of people. There needs to be atleast 30 people for each ferry to operate

      Delete
  11. Unknown6 March 2014 at 00:16

    hey ankur ... how much time u spent there? is food available on island?

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    Replies
    1. Ankur and Soma7 March 2014 at 10:34

      we stayed on the island for almost an hour. No food is not available, but sometimes the local boatmen sells potato chips or fish fries.
      It is best advisable that you have a heavy breakfast and then visit the place.

      Delete
  12. Unknown7 April 2014 at 22:42

    Hi.., can we stay there over night?

    ReplyDelete
  13. Shital Nemade26 September 2014 at 14:16

    Do you have any contact for advance booking of that ferry ride?

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    Replies
    1. Ankur and Soma30 September 2014 at 08:28

      As far we know there is no provision for booking advance tickets for the ferry ride.

      Delete
  14. Unknown15 April 2015 at 19:04

    fr hw amny hours we cn stay over there..??!!

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    Replies
    1. Ankur and Soma6 September 2015 at 14:25

      You can's stay there for 1 full day since there are no places for night stay.You have to return by the last boat.

      Delete
  15. Unknown29 May 2016 at 13:56

    best time to vist island..?

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    Replies
    1. Ankur and Soma30 May 2016 at 15:49

      avoid the rainy season as the ferry service will be closed. Best time to visit is during winter months.

      Delete
  16. Nishma Khetia23 May 2017 at 13:47

    Do you still write blogs?

    ReplyDelete
  17. Unknown30 January 2018 at 16:04

    Nice Pics. Planning to visit the place sometime mid March this year.

    ReplyDelete

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