Dharmasthala is very famous place for Hindus, thousands of Devotees visiting to Manjunatha Temple in Dharmasthala. Dharmasthala is 75 km Mangalore City and within green hilly location.
Dharmasthala, a sacred place, as its name indicates, is a place of the Truth, Faith, Communal harmony and spiritual experience in the Holy Land. Here, everyone enjoyes the generous hospitality, irrespective of caste, creed or class whatsoever. Dharmasthala pilgrim center located on the banks of river Nethravathi in Beltangady Taluk of Dakshina Kannada (South Canara) District.
Originally known as Kuduma, Dharmasthala nurtures a history of over 800 years. According to myth, angels in guise of men came to the house of Barmana Heggade. Convinced with the generosity of Heggade and his family, the angels came in their dreams, promising to reside at Kuduma.
To fulfil the wish of the angels, Barmana built shrines for Kalarkai, Kalarahu, Kanyaumari and Kumarswamy. Afterwards Heggade constructed the Manjunatha Swamy temple in Dharmasthala and placed the Shivalingam, brought by Annappa Swamy, a representative of the angels. Soon, Kuduma became Dharmasthala and lately it has emerged as a city, dotted with buildings, tourist bungalows and a number of temples.
The major temples of Dharmasthala are Shri Manjunatheshwara, Shri Ammanavaru, Four Dharma Daivas and Shrine of Shri Chandranatha Swamy. The other popular destinations are Manjusha vastu sangrahalaya (museum), Vasantha Mahal, Pushpa vatika and Vintage car museum.
The nearby attractions of Dharmasthala are Kukke Subrahmanya, which is around 60 kms from Dharmasthala, Kateel Durga Parameshwari Temple at Kateel near Mangalore, Udupi Sri Krishna Temple in Udupi) and Horanaadu Annapoorneshwari Temple in the Chikamagalur District.