Karnataka’s Kuthlur village wins the award for Best Adventure Tourism Village in India

A view of Kuthlur village, Belthangady Taluk in Dakshina Kannada which won the Best Tourism Village award. File

Once called a village full of Maoist activities, Kuthlur village in Dakshina Kannada is now recognized as a tourist destination by the Union Tourism Department.

The village under Naravi Gram Panchayat in Belthangady Taluk has been awarded as one of the Best Tourism Villages in the field of tourism in the series of Best Tourism Village Competition organized by the Union Tourism Department.

Three youths from Kuthlur village under Naravi Gram Panchayat had prepared a documentary about the village and submitted the same to the government along with other necessary documents, as part of the competition. Their proposal had been successful in district and regional competitions and finally they were selected for the national level competition.

The youngsters are Harish Dakayya Poojary, a software engineer now working in Bengaluru, Sandeep Kutlur who works in Qatar and Shivaraj Anchan who works from the same location.

To them Mr. Poojary, Mr. Anchan and Mr. Srinivas, Joint Director, Department of Tourism, Karnataka received the award on behalf of the village from Union Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat at the World Tourism Day event at Vigyan Bhavwan in New York. Delhi on Friday (September 27, 2024). Vice President of India Jagadeep Dhankar and Minister of State for Tourism Suresh Gopi were also present.

The Ministry said the competition was organized to recognize a village that is a good example of a tourism destination that preserves cultural and natural assets, promotes community-based values ​​and lifestyles and is clearly committed to sustainability in all its aspects – economic, social and environmental.

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The town is located at the foot of the Western Ghats. It has beautiful Arbi waterfalls. It also has a walking area. Recreational activities take place in the upper reaches of the village. Tourist places like Dharmasthala, Moodbidri, Karkala, Mangaluru are within 50 km from the village.

Mr. Poojary said that earlier Kuthlur village was in the headlines for wrong reasons as it was a village that was attacked by Maoist activities. Now by winning a national level award this town has been identified as the Best Town in tourism. The house needed this mark and not the previous one. “It is a source of pride for all the people of the village,” he added.