I love Gokarna!
Located on the western coast of Karnatka,
Gokarna means Cow's Ear. It is believed that Lord Shiva emerged from the ear of a cow (the Mother Earth) here. It is at the ear-shaped confluence of two rivers Gangavali
and Aghanashini
. Gokarna is a temple town and a holiday destination. Gokarna is full of coconut, banana and other trees, blue seas and relatively clean sands. It is a laid-back town with two main streets lined with shops and traditional tile-roofed brick houses. The beaches near Gokarna have shacks (huts) for rent.
We took an overnight bus from Bangalore. There are many options available. You can choose your options at
redbus.in or
http://www.ksrtc.in/oprs-web/
#Stay and Food
There are many places where you can stay in Gokarna.
You could stay in the town. I wouldn't recommend this because then you are at this beach destination but away from the beach. This could be a good option if you are looking for some cheap rooms. You can get rooms within 400-500 INR.
You get really good Masala chai all over Gokarna and it's a must try if you are a chaiholic like me! Annapoorna hotel: 200 meters from the main bus stand, this restaurant has very nice tea. In case you want less sugar, let them know in advance :)
In case you want to stay in a place in front of the beach. There are few cafes and small resorts available.
Namaste cafe: Right in front of Om Beach. This is a nice location to stay at albeit the rooms are small, dingy and pricy. But you can get good food right where you stay and you can have all your meals sitting right in front of the beach. The rooms vary from 800 INR to 1500 INR. You might have to bargain or ask for a room for lesser price as they didn't show us the room for lesser price until we asked them.
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| Rooms in Namaste Cage |
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| Get Inked |
Zostel: This is definitely my recommendation. Its not right in front of the beach but you can see the Gokarna beach from the cafe. The cottages are for 1500 INR and mostly booked so you might have to plan in advance. You can get dormitories for 500 INR per day.
http://www.zostel.com/zostel/Gokarna/
The food at zostel is good and the crew is friendly and well mannered.
Places to Visit
Kudle beach: Located on the other side from where all other beaches are located. Kudle beach can be reached from the town easily. The autos take around 100 INR to drop you at Kudle beach. If you are the kinds who like walking, Kudle beach isn't really very far from the town. 2-3 km of walk on a green path can make you reach Kudle beach. There are few places to stay at Kudle beach but somehow the water doesn't seem very clean at this beach may be due to the hotels and locals around this beach.
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| Route to Kudle beach |
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| Kudle beach |
Om beach: The Om beach is called so because when you look at it from top it's in the shape of 'OM'. There is Namaste cafe right at the beginning but many more smaller cafes if you walk further. Namaste cafe is open through out the year though other smaller places are closed during off season. This is a really nice beach. You could also get really nice shots if you get up early in the morning as many fishermen go fishing early in the morning. In case, you are in for some adventure, you can become friends with fishermen, pay them and go for a real fishing with them in their boat.
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| From Kudle to Om beach, you can walk |
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| Om Beach |
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| Om to Half moon beach |
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| The trail to half moon beach |
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| Voila , Mr. Sting |
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| View enroute |
Half moon beach: Half moon beach is a 1-2 km walk from Om beach. Part of the walk is uphill , part of it is rocky. If you loose track, you might even reach to some scary patches. We reached to one of the dead ends where government had put a board " This is not the right path. This is dangerous and many people have died here". Once you reach Half moon beach, it's a treat. You might not find many people around. The beach is quite clean and the tides are not very high ( depends on the season though)
Paradise beach: Paradise beach could really be the paradise, if you make an effort to walk all the way there. Very few people go there and once you cross the arduous rocky track, when you finally reach at the beach, it's a delight as it's almost like a private beach to yourself away from the world.
We planned to barbecue by the beach so we carried vegetables, vessels, papers etc. to light the fire. This could have been fun had rain not spoiled our plans :).
If its raining you can't really find a shelter in Paradise beach so it would be a good idea to carry your
own tent.
Paradise beach is a must go if you are travelling to Gokarna and you can trek over some bumpy, slippery stones in midst of crabs and fishes and some strong waves!
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| en route to paradise beach |
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| From half moon to paradise beach |
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| That small private beach in vision finally! |
Mahabaleshwar Temple: is a famous Shiva Temple and it houses the 'Atmalinga'. It was named after Ravana referred to the linga's great strength.It is at the western end of the main street. Only Hindu's and Indians are allowed inside the temple
Maha Ganapathi Temple: built in honour of the boy Ganapathi, who deceived the demon Ravana by keeping Atmalinga on ground before Ravana returns from sandyavandanam. The deity here is two-armed, standing and at least 1500 years old. Yet again only Hindu's and Indians are allowed inside the temple
Before I close, I must say this. In case you are looking for some adventure, you must take an auto ride at Gokarna in those small thin roads. It definitely will give you the rush!
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| I don't know, how we crossed it! |
