Parashurama Theme Park, Karkala

The story of Parashurama Theme Park, Karkala

Parashurama Theme Park, Karkala is an amusement park built on Ummikkal hill in Bailur near Karkala in Udupi district. Its defining feature is a 33 feet tall bronze statue of Lord Vishnu’s sixth avatar, Parashurama, placed on top of the building on the hill. The statue shows him holding an axe in his right hand, a bow in his left hand, and with his left leg raised.

The idea of constructing a Parashurama theme park in Karkala was mooted in 2017, after a tradition that links the creation of Parashurama to this place. The park project began at an estimated cost of Rs 10 core, in collaboration with the Department of Tourism, Kannada and Cultural and other departments.

Today the theme park includes a Bhajana Mandir, a modern audio-visual museum, a 509-seater amphitheatre, a viewpoint on a 450 feet hill, a hallway with mural painting of Parashurama, and a restaurant. Together, these features make it more than a single monument: it is a visitor site built around a religious figure, with spaces for viewing, performance, display, and worship. When visited, the bronze figure on the hilltop is the most immediate landmark to look for.