Tourist places › River & Lake
Mattur
The “Sanskrit village” on the Tunga River, a few km from Shivamogga
Mattur is best known for its Sanskrit — a 1981 workshop by Sanskrit Bharati, followed by the Pejawar Mutt seer's public blessing of the effort, helped turn the language into the village's everyday speech, and it's still taught as a required subject in the local school for around 5,000 residents. Its twin village Hosahalli sits directly across the Tunga, reachable by a small bridge, and the two are shaped like joined hands when seen from above.
TripAdvisor's listing for this spot calls it “Mattur Lake,” though it's really just a wide, calm stretch of the Tunga River rather than a separate body of water — visitors note you can't swim in it and that the approach road is an unpaved mud track, so it's more of a photo stop than a full destination.
Highlights
- One of India's few villages where residents converse daily in Sanskrit
- Twin village Hosahalli sits directly across the Tunga River
- Listed on TripAdvisor as “Mattur Lake” — really the wide, calm Tunga riverside here, not a separate lake
Getting there
The Thirthahalli to Shivamogga route passes close to Shivamogga; Mattur is a short local trip (~4–5 km) from there.