Sanskrit village Mathur near Shimoga

Matturu (ಮತ್ತೂರು in Kannada,also spelt Mathur/Mathooru etc) is a scenic village on the outskirts of Shivamogga (Shimoga) town in Karnataka. Mattur is known for having Sanskrit language as their primary language. Villagers use Sanskrit here for their day to day conversation and not just during poojas. The town also is a hub for those aspiring to learn Vedas. If these things doesn’t interest you, Mattur is also a very scenic place from pure tourist perspective. If you’re traveling to or Via Shimoga and have couple of hours to spare, a quick visit to Mattur can be memorable.
  
One of the potential tourist interests in Mattur is a small Shiva temple built inside a nice garden (inaugurated in 2005 by the then state governor) with flowing freshwater stream nearby. Couple of other temples (Someshwara temple and Lakshmikeshava temple) on the banks of Tunga River are also good. Drive through tall Arica nut trees will be a bonus.
 
Some interesting birds were also spotted-help me with their names if you can identify them (identified as Cormorants by Ram and Mridula-thanks to them)
   
If you’re heading there early morning, you’ll also see villagers carrying on their bicycles real fresh tender coconuts, just off the tree, to be sold in town.

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Related posts: Keladi fort * Kodachadri * Skandagiri * Maravanthe * Amrithapura * * Kalhatti falls * Thyavarekere * Honnemaradu * Mullayana Giri * 


Gajanur Dam, Jog Falls, Kemmannu Gundi, Madagadde Bird Sanctuary, Tyavarekere Lion-Tiger Safari are other interesting places within short distance from Shimoga

Update: Thanks to Mridula's comment, I realized little late that Bajaj Discover advertisement has featured Mathur village
(but Mathur is about 200 kms from Mangalore and not just 100 kms as claimed in ad)

April 2012 Update: My blog reader ವಿಕಾಸ್ ಹೆಗಡೆ has following comment.

This is wrong. Our medias are also misinformed about this. The people here use 'Sanketi' language as the primary language. May be becoz Sanskrit scholars are more in this village, there is a general misimpression about the usage of Sanskrit as primary language here. U can confirm this with any Shivamogga guy or even directly with any Mattur/Hosalli guy. ! :)