Surfing in Mulki, Karnataka: All You Need to Know

Many years ago, while writing for an Indian adventure travel portal, I came across surfing in Mulki. Back then, there was very little information online about Mulki. But from what I heard through the Instagrams of India’s top surfers like Rammohan Paranjape and Ishita Malviya, I quietly put surfing in Mulki on my bucket list. And without realising, years went by and suddenly the Mulki surfing scene boomed.

My first tryst with surfing was in Sri Lanka towards the end of 2023. On my one month adventure across the country, I went to Welligama on the south coast to learn to catch waves. But the four lessons I had there did not feel enough to turn me into a confident surfer so I resolved to go back to India and continue my training in Mulki before the basics evaded me. I wanted to get to surfing in Mulki as soon as possible so that the skills that were fresh in my mind could be harnessed further and I did not have to start from scratch again.

And I’m so glad I made that decision!

Surfing in Mulki: What is it Really Like?

The location of surfing in Mulki is magical in itself. The surf school are located on one side of the Shambhavi River. To go surfing at Sashihithlu Beach, you take a boat journey through the Shambhavi River, passing by deltas with birds flocking around, to reach a part of the beach which is right next to the estuary where the river meets the Arabian Sea.

Surfing in Mulki, or anywhere for that matter is a patience game. Surfing truly teaches you the art of patience, of trusting the process, of falling down uncountable times and still getting back up again.

I think it’s important for beginner surfers to be mentally prepared to struggle for the first three days on average. To fail miserably and to get frustrated to the point of quitting and letting yourself believe “surfing is just not made for me”.

I was on the brink of giving up when I finally caught my first full wave during my last lesson in Sri Lanka and that’s what made me realise that I might just have it in me if I kept going at it.

So after booking your surfing in Mulki package, the first thing to do should be to remind yourself that it’s okay to fail and to allow yourself the time needed to understand the game.

Surfing in Mulki can also be a bit out of your comfort zone, physically. (At least it was for me). Before each lesson, you need to carry your surfboards to the beach which is 500 meters away and get it back to the storage space after the lesson. While 500 meters one way might not sound like much, carrying that heavyweight surfboard will make you REALLY feel that distance.

For the first three days, it would take me a solid 10 minutes to cover the short distance because I had to take such frequent breaks. But soon, that became easier as well.

Overall, surfing in Mulki is as incredible as it can be. I haven’t felt that pure, unadulterated joy in a long time and I am itching to go back and continue catching more waves!

Best Surfing Schools in Mulki

There are three surfing schools in Mulki. Two of these have been around for a long time, and one is a recent addition:

Mantra Surf Club

Mantra Surf School is India’s first surf school and was founded in 2004 by Jack Hebner, an American man also fondly known as Surfing Swami. He came to India in the 70s in search of epic surf breaks along India’s enormous coastline until he fell in love with Mulki. Surfing Swami is no more now but his legacy lives on with Mantra and with Rammohan, one of Hebner’s very first students and now one of India’s top surfers.

Mantra Surf School now also has locations in Goa, Udupi and Sri Lanka.

Mantra might be the first name you hear when someone mentions surfing in Mulki but their prices were a bit out of my range so I decided to go with the next best option:

Aquatic Indica Surf School

Aquatic Indica has also been around for a fairly long time. For me, their biggest selling point was the cheaper prices as compared to Mantra. It also has rave reviews on Google and that’s what made me complete my booking for Indica Surf School. I was a bit apprehensive since a lot of times cheaper also means compromising on quality but I soon learned that’s not the case at Aquatic Indica at all.

The surfing lessons were incredible at Aquatic Indica. My instructors Jay, Chandru and Akash really helped me better my skills and from day three onwards, I was able to independently recognise a good wave, paddle and surf it all by myself. Which was pretty spectacular!

(But remember my day 3 progress was in addition to what I had already learned in Sri Lanka over 4 lessons. Don’t compare my progress with yours, we’re all different learners!)

Lessons usually start with a short warm up including some stretched and a quick jog before entering the water. Each lesson can go anywhere between 1.5 hours to 3 hours. Usually, they only have morning sessions which begin at 6:30 am. But because I went during peak season during the Christmas – New Year’s time, they had three slots: morning, afternoon and evening you could choose from every day. My personal favourite has been the evening session because surfing, while the sun sets on you, is beyond spectacular!

Mambo Jambo Surf

This is the newest surf school in Mulki, and I don’t have much information on this apart from the fact that it was started by one of Mantra’s students turned professional surf instructor.

Surfing Course in Mulki

All Mulki surfing schools have a similar structure of surf lessons. These include Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced:

Beginner

There are three types of beginner courses one can choose from: 3 day, 5 day and 10 day. In my personal opinion, seeing my progress and of those around me, I would highly recommend a minimum of 5 day course. Anything below that, and I feel you would not be allowing yourself enough time and patience to not only learn the skills but also commit them to muscle memory before even thinking of getting better at it.

And to have the most comfortable experience which can turn you into a confident surfer, I would highly recommend the 10 day surf course. The course fees also include two days worth of board rental for free so you can practice for an extra two days!

Intermediate and Advanced

After the beginner course, intermediate and advanced training is available on a per lesson basis. The intermediate lessons focus mainly on different types of turning. Whereas, the advanced training lessons help surfers go beyond and surf more dynamically through advanced techniques and manoeuvres like re-entries, cut backs, snaps and more.

Where to Stay in Mulki

All three surf schools in Mulki: Aquatic Indica, Mantra and Mambo Jambo provide accommodation to their surfers. These accommodations are not available for non-surfers to book. Each school has options for dorm rooms and private rooms with AC and non AC options too.

The Aquatic Indica is a beautiful property located right by a massive paddy field where cows come to graze often and so many birds can be seen coming in and out. Their hostel is absolutely massive and they also have a spacious open air common area. Though their 8 bed bunk with three berths put me off a bit, so I would advise to book the “superior” dormitory which is a spacious 4 bed dorm with an attached bathroom.

Where to Eat in Mulki

All three surf school in Mulki provide meals along with their accommodation and surf course packages.

At Aquatic Indica, all three meals are laid buffet style and are super wholesome and filling. Breakfast is usually alloo poori/ pongal/ puliyograh/ vade/ sambar and the like. Lunch and dinner have curries, vegetables, sambar, different types of rice and sometimes even meat preparations of fish, chicken or mutton. Dinner also has chapati which was a huge win for me!

I heard Mantra only provides two meals: brunch and dinner. And non vegetarian food is not served at the property.

Mantra Cafe: Apart from the regular meals, Mantra also has a cafe located right by the River Shambhavi. It has pizzas, sandwiches, fries, rolls, shakes and more on offer and is delicious and not too pricey.

Right opposite Aquatic Indica’s board storage room at Sashihithlu Beach, is a small shack owned by an ageing couple which serves snacks like Maggi, bread omelette, cold drinks etc. It’s the hostpost for quenching post surf munchies and the cheese Maggi is really good here!

In main Mulki town, by the highway, you can also find more eateries including two bakeries, one shawarma place, a pizza place and more restaurants. However, to get here, it is a 1.5 kilometer distance from Aquatic Indica.

Other Things to Do in Mulki

If you’re planning to visit Mulki to just chill and not surf, you’ll be setting yourself up for disappointment. Being quite literally the birthplace of surfing in India, you would think it’s a busy tourist town. At least, that’s what I thought. I couldn’t have been further from the truth.

Mulki is, in fact, JUST a surfing village and nothing more. And that’s what makes it truly special. There are no cafés, no “things to do”. It’s not a vacation spot where you can tick off a list. The only thing you can do is surf. And when surf’s out, you eat by the plateful and then plant yourself in a corner overlooking endless paddy fields and grazing cows, and bury yourself in a book until it’s time to eat again.

And in between, you go on long walks around the village, sometimes even to the noisy highway in search of a sweet treat. Or, you can rent a kayak or a paddle board and spend some quiet evenings cruising down the River.

Even with such little to do, you’ll find that time passes here in the blink of an eye and before you know it, you’ve learned to recognise a wave, paddle for it, pop up on your surfboard and ride it to the shore. And now it’s time to say goodbye and head home.

There’s nothing in Mulki, and that’s what makes it everything.

Kayaking

Kayaking is a fun activity that can be done through the Shambhavi River to observe the deltas near the estuary, or to access the beach for sunset. Aquatic Indicia and Mantra both have single person and two person kayaks to rent.

Stand Up Paddling

I have never tried SUP and have been really intrigued by it. You can either cruise down the Shambhavi River aboard a stand up paddleboard or take it to sea and get thrashed by waves (or even ride waves while SUPing!). While Aquatic Indica doesn’t have SUP boards, you can get them at Mantra.

Village Walks

In between surfing, eating and napping to recover, if you find the time, go and walk around the Mulki village. It’s quite laid back with beautiful old school homes, stray cats every where and the simple coastal Karnataka charm!

Best Time to Learn Surfing in Mulki

Surfing in Mulki runs almost all year round apart from the two main monsoon months of July and August. However, I would say the months of October through February would be the most perfect given the warm weather conditions. September would possibly be too humid due to the receding rains and Match until June the heat would be too strong to take.

How to Reach Mulki

Mulki is a town located in the South Indian state of Karnataka, near the city of Mangalore. Here’s how you can reach Mulki:

By Air: The nearest airport to Mulki is Mangalore International Airport (IXE). From there, you can hire a taxi or scooter or hop on to a bus to reach Mulki, which is approximately 24 kilometers away.

By Bus: There are overnight AC sleeper buses from major nearby cities like Mumbai, Goa, and Bangalore. The journey takes 7-14 hours depending on where you are arriving from.

By Train: Mulki has its own railway station, known as Mulki Railway Station (MULK). You can take a train to this station from major cities like Mangalore, Bangalore, Mumbai, Goa and others.

Once you reach Mulki, you can use, auto-rickshaws to get around the town. Aquatic Indica also has cycle, scooter, bike and car rentals available to go to nearby places.

Surfing in Mulki – FAQs

Do you need to know swimming for surfing?

Knowing how to swim is recommended for surfing, although it’s not always an absolute requirement. Surfing involves being in the ocean, where you may encounter waves, currents, and various other water conditions. If you’re able to swim, it can significantly enhance your safety and confidence in the water while surfing. However, if you can’t and are comfortable being in waist deep water, you should get by just fine. School like Manta and Indica even offer surf lessons with life jackets for non swimmers!

Where can I learn surfing in India?

Apart from Mulki, Varkala, Mahabalipuram, Goa, Pondicherry, Dapoli and Udupi are some of India’s surfing hotspots which are worth checking out.

Is there surfing in Goa?

Yes, there is surfing in Goa. Mantra Surf School has a branch in Goa. Some of the popular surfing spots in Goa include Ashwem Beach, Arambol Beach, Morjim Beach, Palolem Beach and Agonda Beach. However, surfing conditions in Goa can vary depending on the time of year and weather patterns.

Does Pondicherry have surfing?

Yes, Pondicherry does offer opportunities for surfing. While it may not be as famous for surfing as some other coastal destinations in India, Pondicherry has gained recognition among surfers in recent years due to its consistent waves and growing surf culture. The main surfing spot in Pondicherry is Serenity Beach, located about 10 kilometers north of the main town. Other nearby beaches such as Paradise Beach and Auroville Beach may also offer surfing opportunities depending on the swell conditions.