Heritage Walks — Mangaluru · The Learning Centre
Heritage Walks of Mangaluru

Walking
the city's
memory.

Mangaluru carries Portuguese churches, Tipu Sultan's fortifications, Tulu kingdom inscriptions, ancient temples, and coastal trade routes. Most of it is invisible to those who haven't been taught to see it.

Monthly
Three walk types: Public, schools, tree heritage
Free
All public heritage walks . No registration fee
3 guides
Mervin Rosario · Dr. Michael Lobo · Dr. Smitha Hegde
Three types of walk

Every walk is a different Mangaluru.

Each guide brings a completely different lens to the same city. Walk with all three and you will know Mangaluru from three directions simultaneously.

Heritage Walk of Mangaluru
Led by Mervin Rosario
Churches, mosques, temples, and the streets of old Mangaluru. The stories these streets carry — of Portuguese arrivals, Tipu Sultan's campaigns, the coastal trade that made this city wealthy and cosmopolitan. Mervin knows what every corner remembers.
📍 Old Mangaluru · 5–6 km ⏱ 3 hours · starts at 7:00 AM 👥 Open to all · Monthly · Sunday
Mathematical Heritage Walk
Led by Dr. Michael Lobo
A mathematician and genealogist who has spent decades documenting Mangalorean community history. His walks move through the city's intellectual and cultural heritage — its scholars, its scientists, the families who built institutions, the streets that carry their names.
📍 Central Mangaluru · 4 km ⏱ 2.5 hours · by arrangement 👥 Students & researchers · small groups
Tree Heritage Walk
Led by Dr. Smitha Hegde · Research Centre
Mangaluru's oldest trees — their botanical names, their heritage status, their cultural significance, and their ecological history. Connected directly to the Trees of Mangaluru archive. Participants contribute observations to the census in real time.
📍 Varies by ward · 5 km ⏱ 2.5 hours · 7:00 AM start 👥 Families, schools, all are welcome . Monthly
Upcoming walks

The next six walks.

All public walks are free, with no registration required. Schools and groups of 15+ are requested to register in advance for planning purposes.

Sunday
20 April
Heritage Banyan Walk — Ward 7 & Ward 3
The oldest documented Banyans of Mangaluru. Their spread, root systems, and history. Led by Dr. Smitha Hegde. Meet at Ward 7 main gate, 7:00 AM.
Tree Heritage Walk
Sunday
27 April
Old Mangaluru Port Quarter — Heritage Walk
The port that connected Mangaluru to Persia, Arabia, and China. Mervin Rosario on the warehouses, the mosques, and the merchants who made this city. Meet at Mangaluru Old Port, 7:00 AM.
Heritage Walk
Sunday
11 May
Nakshatra Tree Walk — Central Mangaluru
Nine Nakshatra trees in a single walk. Vedic significance, Ayurvedic uses, ecological role. A walk for anyone curious about the relationship between ancient wisdom and living trees.
Tree Heritage Walk
Saturday
24 May
Schools Walk — TLC Student Programme
For TLC and ELC students Grades 4–10. Field notebook provided. Identify 12 species. Contribute to the archive. Led by Dr. Smitha Hegde. Registration required for schools.
Schools Programme
Sunday
1 June
Mangalorean Catholic Community — Genealogy Walk
Dr. Michael Lobo on the streets, the families, and the history of the Mangalorean Catholic community. From the Portuguese period to the Seringapatam captivity. Deep history, specific streets.
Mathematical Heritage
Sunday
15 June
Monsoon Tree Walk — Heritage Peepal Sites
Monsoon walks through heritage Peepal sites — when the canopy is at its most vivid. A walk that combines ecology, Vedic tradition, and the beauty of Mangaluru in the rains.
Tree Heritage Walk
The people who lead

The guides know this city from the inside.

Mervin Rosario
Community Historian · Heritage Walk Leader
Community historian and guide with deep knowledge of Mangaluru’s layered history — its Portuguese quarters, temples, mosques, churches, and the streets of old Mangaluru and the stories they carry. His walks are part of the TLC Heritage curriculum and are open to the public every month.
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Dr. Smitha Hegde
Research Director · Plant Scientist
Director of the CFAL Research Centre. Leads the Tree Heritage Walks — connecting the Trees of Mangaluru archive to lived experience in the city. Every tree walk she leads adds new data to the archive. Participants become citizen scientists.
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Dr. Michael Lobo
PhD Mathematics · Genealogist · Historian
A mathematician who spent decades documenting Mangalorean community history — its genealogies, its streets, its families, its intellectual traditions. Author of landmark works on the Mangalorean Catholic community. His walks move through the city's intellectual heritage with a precision that only decades of primary research can provide.
View profile →
Lead a walk.
Propose a heritage walk · Any discipline
Know Mangaluru's history, ecology, geology, or architecture deeply? The Learning Centre welcomes walk proposals from individuals who can bring a genuine, specific knowledge of the city to a public audience. We provide the logistics; you provide the knowledge.
Propose a walk →
Register for a walk

Come and walk with us.

All public walks are free, with no registration required for individuals. Schools and groups of 15+ are requested to register in advance so that numbers can be planned and the appropriate materials provided.

For private walks for corporate groups, school groups, or research teams, please write to us directly at [email protected].

Walk registration