Everything To Know About Murudeshwar, A Famous Scuba Diving Destination In Karnataka

Murudeshwar is known mostly for its gigantic Shiva Statue and is very much popular for its beautiful beaches. It is situated in a small town in Bhatkala Taluk of Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka, India.

How to reach Murudeshwar: Located on the coast of the Arabian Seas one can reach Gokarna to Murudeshwar easily, while the distance between Bangalore to Murudeshwar is 464 km.

It gives a wonderful view and attracts tourists which makes it an amazing tourist spot. You must visit this place at least once if you haven’t visited Murudeshwar before. Let’s walk you through some facts and the history of this place.

Here are some interesting and amazing facts about Murudeshwar that you must know:

The Gigantic Shiva Statue

Lord Shiva Statue is absolutely a breathtaking image, which is said to be Shiva’s tallest statue followed by Nepal’s Kailashnath Mahadev statue and Coimbatore’s Adi Yogi. It stands at a height of 123 feet and was made by over 200 skilled laborers. The construction took a span of 2 years and is done in such a way that the statue literally sparkles when sunlight falls on the statue.

Hollow shaped Linga

In Yogic culture, it is said that the infinite energy source has taken the shape of Linga and so is worshipped and cherished. Murudeshwar temple is one of the abodes of Shiva to have a hollow linga. The one in Murudeshwar is denoted as Aatma linga which has a story behind it, back to the times of Ramayana.

The story behind Murudeshwar shiva temple

There is a very interesting story behind Murudeshwar Temple. We all have known the story of Aatma Linga. So, king Ravana’s mother wanted Aatma Linga (which is the ultimate form of Shiva) and to get that, Ravana went to Kailash to get linga. With his penance, Ravana gets the linga from Shiva only on the condition that he won’t put the linga on the ground until he reaches Lanka.

Narada realized that if Ravana obtains the Aatma Linga he would attain immortality and it would make it very difficult to stop Ravana and he would continue to destroy lives on the earth. All Devas planned to stop Linga from reaching Lanka and approached Ganesha to help them in this.

Ravana was a Brahmin and a great devotee as well. He never missed any rituals or practices, even for a single day.

So, Ganesha thought of tricking him this way and he came to him in the form of a Brahmin boy. It was evening and Ravana was supposed to perform his evening rituals as usual but as he had linga in his hand he was quite concerned because he can’t keep it on the ground. Meanwhile, Ganesha entered and accosted Ravana, Ravana gave him the linga and asked him not to put it down.

Ganesha made a deal telling him that he will call his name thrice and if he doesn’t come back he would put the linga on the ground.

This was just a trick played by Ganesha and he put the Linga down on the ground and disappeared from there. Realizing that it was all a trick played by devas Ravana got angry and out of anger, he shattered the linga into pieces. Different pieces fell in different places but the cloth covering Aatma Linga fell in Mrideshwara (Kanduka Giri). And Mrideshwara was renamed later to Murudeshwar.

Murudeshwar temple timings: 3:00 AM – 1:00 PM, 3:00 PM – 8:00 PM

The Arabian Sea on three sides

The temple is located in Kanduka Hill which is surrounded by the Arabian Sea on three sides. So the temple attracts more tourists making it a popular tourist place. The view of the temple just looks amazing.

Raja Gopura

As the name explains “King of Towers”, is one of the major attractions of Murudeshwar. It has 20 floors and stands tall and you can literally have a perfect view from the top and see the entire Murudeshwar.

They are provided with steps and if you cannot climb, there is even a swift elevator that charges you only Rs. 10 and you get to experience a wonderful view.

Murudeshwar Fort

The Murudeshwar fort is not a major tourist attraction, but if we see it from a historical point of view, it stands out. The fort was built by Vijayanagara Kings and later over a period of time, it is said to have been renovated by Tipu Sultan and other Mysuru kings.

Murudeshwar beach

Who doesn’t like beaches? Spending time with oneself on the beach shore is something that is unbeatable no matter what. The amazing view of the Arabian Seas makes it even more gorgeous with clear blue water. There are tonnes of water sports you can try out and indulge in, like parasailing, speed boating, snorkeling, etc.

The Sensuous Netrani Island

This is one of the major attractions and trust us, this is worth exploring. Known as “pigeon Island” it is considered the best for scuba diving in Murudeshwar. This is a heart-shaped island that is filled with silver sand. It takes around an hour to reach an island through a boat ride.

The Arabian Sea is all around you and you can literally relax here watching fishes like- butterflyfish, parrotfish, and obviously never-ending clear blue water. The Netrani island scuba diving is very popular among tourists.

Murudeshwar scuba diving

You didn’t see that coming right? Yes, people from different places come here, especially for Scuba Diving. Clear blue water makes their experience more amazing. Witness exotic underwater species like corals, fishes of various kinds, whales, dolphins, and sharks too. And all this would be a lifetime experience.