Mangalore

With a population of about 900,000, mellow Mangalore is a good place to sample Karnataka's largely untouched beaches, eat some delicious seafood, or jump on and off the scenic Konkan Railway, which runs north along the coast all the way to Mumbai. Once acclaimed as Karnataka's port city and pepper center, Mangalore has ceded the pepper honor to Kochi, in Kerala. Still a major port and a producer of iron ore and South India's ubiquitous red roof tiles, Mangalore retains has the low-pressure feel of a breezy seaside town, with many more bungalows and charming old buildings still standing in the town's center. Signs of its Portuguese past, including surnames such as D'Sousa and Cunha as well a large number of Roman Catholic churches and schools, are still visible.

Most travelers reach Mangalore from points north and south along the coast rather than from the Bangalore and other points west. Until east-west passenger train service is restored, an airplane is the best way to reach Mangalore from the interior of Karnataka. Although it's possible to make the trip via bus or car and driver, the roads over the Western Ghats are poor, making the route perilous, occasionally scary, and long (7-10 hours from Bangalore). But in compensaion, that trip takes you through beautiful plantations of coffee, pepper, and betel palms.