Hundreds of tourists heading to the renowned Kollur Mookambika Temple have been mistakenly directed to Nandalike, a remote village several kilometers away, causing confusion and significant inconvenience. For the past three months, travelers using Google Maps have been misled to a small temple in Nandalike, which is incorrectly listed as Kollur Mookambika Temple.
This issue has predominantly impacted devotees from distant locations such as Hyderabad, Tirupati, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kerala, and other parts of Karnataka and India. Upon arriving in Nandalike, they quickly realize the mistake and are forced to retrace their journey, traveling hundreds of kilometers back to reach the actual temple.
The confusion arises from a small temple in Nandalike dedicated to Goddess Mookambika, which is erroneously labeled as Kollur Mookambika Temple on Google Maps. Unaware of the error, tourists follow the directions, only to find themselves far off course.
Chandan, a tourist from Hyderabad, shared his frustration, saying, “We traveled from Hyderabad to Udupi, relying on Google Maps, only to end up in Nandalike. It’s especially problematic when it happens late at night, adding to our inconvenience.”
Local residents report that daily, vehicles are directed to Nandalike, with many arriving at night, forcing them to backtrack to Kundapur before continuing their journey to Kollur. Despite numerous complaints, Google has yet to correct the listing.
Devotees have urged Google to rectify the error to ease the hardships faced by travelers. They also advised tourists to double-check their map entries to avoid unnecessary detours.