Udupi is a coastal town in Karnataka, about 55 km north of Mangalore on India's Konkan coast. It is best known across India not for its beaches or temples but for its cuisine — Udupi cooking, with its emphasis on vegetable preparations, coconut, and rice, is one of the most influential regional cuisines in the country, and the "Udupi restaurant" is a standard fixture in every major Indian city.
The town centers on the Sri Krishna Temple, one of the most important Vaishnavite shrines in South India. Founded in the 13th century by the philosopher-saint Madhvacharya, it runs with a clockwork devotion that attracts pilgrims from across Karnataka and beyond. The ritual schedule is elaborate and worth timing a visit around if religion interests you; if it doesn't, the courtyard is still a pleasant place to sit for an hour.
The Mangalore coast nearby offers excellent beaches, and the Konkan railway between Mumbai and Mangalore passes through Udupi, making the train journey — cutting through Western Ghats tunnels and crossing estuary bridges — one of the more spectacular ways to arrive. Bangalore is roughly 350 km to the southeast via road or rail; direct buses run from both Bangalore and Mangalore.