Mahe (India)
Mahe is a little beach town near Kannur in Kerala state. For administrative purpose, Mahe is part of Pondicherry in India.
Understand
[edit]Mahe can easily disappoint visitors because the whole area is less than 4 km2 and an extremely crowded National Highway intersects the village. The French character of the village has almost vanished and it looks like any other plain vanilla Kerala village.
Get in
[edit]Mahe is easily accessible from Kannur airport and by railway. Buses are available in plenty from Thalassery and Kannur.
- 1 Mahe railway station (മയ്യഴി തീവണ്ടി നിലയം).
Get around
[edit]
Mahe cannot be explored in a vehicle because the total area is only four square kilometers. Walking is also impossible because of heavy highway traffic and too many noisy motorcycles. No visitor is likely to want to spend more than one day in Mahe because it has been overdeveloped into another Kerala town without a character (in spite of being officially not part of Kerala).
See
[edit]Mahe is a former French colony, so there are many French-style buildings and place names. The people of Mahe are all Indians who speak Malayalam.
- 1 Boat House, Manjakkal.
- 2 Fishing Harbour, At the end of Mahe walkway with provision for walking into the sea..
- 3 Kallappalli Mosque (Kalla Palli), New Mahe. Very photogenic steps
- 4 Koyyodan Koroth Temple, Palloor.
- 5 Light House, Near the beach.
- 6 Mahe Walkway, Starts from the National Highway. One km long. Near Riverside Walkway.
- Pandokooloth Temple, Pandakkal.
- Sree Krishna Temple, Choodikotta..
- Sree Kurumba Bagavathi Temple, Parakkal.
- Tagore Park, Near the river.
Do
[edit]- Find the French Buildings. There are a small number of government offices that occupy colonial buildings. Visitors are not entertained.
Buy
[edit]- Tax free shopping. All consumer goods and alcoholic beverages are cheaper in Mahe because it is not part of Kerala state.
- Ammayi Snack Shop, Kunhipally. Unnakkaya, Filled Bananas, Bread Pocket, Kaypola, Chattipathiri, Kumbalanga Pathil and Kilikkood.
Eat
[edit]
- Azadi Restaurant, Opp. Indian Bank ATM, Maidhan Road.
- Dhanya Hotel, Mukkali, Mahe Vadagara Road. Ethnic lunch with fried mussels.
- New Plaza Restaurant, New Mahe.
- Riverview Restaurant, New Mahe..
- Sas Restaurant, New Mahe.
- Seagull Restaurant, Near St. Teresas Church.
Drink
[edit]- . Alcohol is cheaper in Mahe than Kerala because of a different tax structure.
Sleep
[edit]- Ashwathy Guest House, Near Hospital, ☏ +91 4902334475. Good rooms ₹700.
- Hotel Arena, Near Sports Ground, ☏ +91 4902337084, hotelarena@hotmail.com. ₹500.
- Hotel French Avenue, Near Mahe Walk, ☏ +91 9895155028, +91 4902334330. Good ambience, boutique hotel, spacious ground in front. Steps on the back of the hotel lead to the beach. ₹2,000.
- Mahe Residency, Near Sports Ground, ☏ +91 490 233 6838. ₹800.
- Athithi Lodge, Near Sports Ground, ☏ +91 94950 67819.
- Hotel Jaypees, New Mahe, across the bridge. ₹700.
- Riverview Lodge, New Mahe, across the bridge. ₹600.