Beach bath – awesome experience

Location: Bekal fort shores, Kerala

On our visit to the Bekal fort, we were captivated by the shores on the far end, never ending Arabian sea till your eyes can see, the lone ship in the middle of nowhere, the dark clouds hovering threatening to open up anytime, the mighty sea eagle swooning over for a prey, lovely couples posing for the shutters, little kids playing around, a lone man sitting on the rocks and drenching in the waves, fishermen and their huts on the far end, it just goes on and on… you just can’t describe all you see and feel in words, you have to be there for that experience, for that awesome feel.

(the bathing waves, photo by the author)

I rarely visit sea shores and if done avoid the salty waters, it sticks and the after cleansing and changing is a lot of worry for me. I stand at a distance, watch those mighty waves crashing on to the rocks and the shore, enjoy the beautiful sunset over the horizon, watch the birds hurrying home, envy/pity the sailors who live on the waters; I ‘feel’ every moment of being there, I ‘get lost’ in that feel that makes me happy and alive.

As always, we were on the rocks at the shore, off the fort watching those incredibly mighty waves crashing on and retreating back, coming again and hitting, coming and going; they never give up, they keep coming and going tirelessly be it day or night and once they get wild, tsunami’s happen J The waves hitting our feet was cool and so relaxing that we forgot that those were salty waters. Whenever you are in good waters, the feet come alive and glow after being cleansed by them and it’s so soothing and healing. As we were busy shooting, the fun moments started with huge wave after waves rising up, up and in an instant showering upon us mercilessly, leaving us zombied and yelling at each other, a moment of fear, a moment of awesomeness, a moment of happiness, a moment of being alive, the alive is awesome moments.

The waves rose so high and came on us unexpectedly that we had no option but to get drenched along with our cameras (see the video to feel it…), we started enjoying the moments, the feel of goodness and freshness engulfing us, I would have shrieked aloud awesome, alive is awesome!

Bekal fort - Kasargod

Well, it was a quick fire visit to the ancient Bekal fort in Kasargod, Kerala merely 50kms away from the port town of Mangalore. Bekal fort is the largest and best preserved fort in Kerala currently in the hands of the ASI.
Bekal fort was constructed during the period of Shivappa Nayaka and it later fell into the hands of the Mysore Maharajas and subsequently the British Raj. History says, Bekal was a fort used for the military and defense purposes and it became an important trade route during the Mysore and then the British empire.

How to reach: Nearest towns are Kanhagad (8kms) and Kasargod (18kms). Kasargod is connected to all major ciities by road and through the Konkan railway. Volvo's and Rajahamsa services are operated by KSRTC from Bangalore daily.

As this was planned last minute, we got the last 2 seats in a Volvo bus to Kasargod from Bangalore. It was a roller coaster ride and with every bump you get a feeling of floating in air (just as you feel if you are sitting in the giant wheel). Hopefully we don't end up in the last seats of an Volvo again. It was quite surprising for me to digest the fact that Volvo covered 260 kms to Sakleshpur in flat 4 hours and we never realized it! 

Next, I was back in my senses only when we were in the Kasargod town at around 6am. Looking for an accommodation, we roamed around the streets near to the bus stand only to realize the town was sleepy and would be awake after 8am. Found a decent accommodation at State Lodge located in the MG road that has a history of 60 years. It was raining all through and a small nap for a couple of hours and later we were ready to go.

Finishing our work near Bekal, we moved further towards Bekal fort with the weather being cloudy and sunny. The massive fort is now under the watchful care of the ASI and they are doing a good job in maintaining the premises in spite of the huge crowds that converge here during the weekends.

We spent close to 3 hours here roaming around the huge complex, photographing, watching the waves hit the shore and we got drenched too in the salt waters of the Arabian sea. A lone White bellied Sea Eagle kept us occupied for close to half an hour with its antics hovering around the shore and the sea.

We had lunch at the Kia-Ora restaurant at the Nirvana resort located just outside the fort, the food was great but a tad expensive on the pockets, nevertheless it's expected at a tourist location. From here back to Kasargod town and a little rest later, we were on the streets of the town roaming around each and every street. 

Every street here is filled with shops of electronics, dresses, automobile parts, gadgets and imported stuff. The roads are all lit up with bright lights and designer lamps. Past 8pm, half the town was shut down for the day as we had some light dinner stuff and headed towards the bus stop where the Airavat was waiting for us.


A short trip but nevertheless very exciting and entertaining for me and Raja.

Bekal fort videos

Few videos taken at the Bekal fort. The Bekal fort overlooks the Arabian sea and is spread around 40 acres. The setting sun, long beaches, splashing waves are the highlights here. On a clear day, the sun setting against the Arabian sea is a sight worth to be enjoyed...


the video tour begins...

the Arabian sea from the Bekal fort...

Waves at Bekal

Bekal fort wave shower