Gokarna Beach Trek and Camping

Gokarna Beach Trek and Camping – Sept 29^th and 30^th 2018

When we hear about treks, we imagine lofty mountains or lush green hills. Well, if you want to try something entirely different, then you must read this blog on Gokarna Beach Trek.

You must be speculating what is there to trek around beaches. But trust me by the end of this blog, you will add this place to your bucket list.

Gokarna is a small beach town on the coast of the Arabian sea, home to a must-visit Hindu Pilgrimage site – the Mahabaleshwar temple. This quaint little town gets equal attention for its many calm and clean beaches; tourists from across the country, as well as foreigners, are drawn to the beauty of the town. To really experience the sanctity and sight-lines of Gokarna, trekking along the coastline and exploring one striking beach after another is recommended. You are bound to be a victim of love at first (beach) sight!

As part of this trek, we covered the following beaches along the coastline

• Paradise Beach
• Half Moon Beach
• Om Beach
• Kudle Beach
• Gokarna Beach

This is the trend since last 4-5 months among the trekkers. So, I also decided to explore the same through a travel group called “Plan the Unplanned”. Let me take you all on yet another memorable trip of mine.

We began our journey from Bangalore on late Friday evening and reached Gokarna on Saturday early morning. The driving distance between Bangalore and Gokarna is 516 km if you are travelling by road. Alternate modes of reaching Gokarna -

• ·         There is also a train Karwar Express from Bangalore to Gokarna. You will need to get down at Gokarna Road Station and take an auto from there to reach your place of stay.
• ·       There is no direct connectivity of flight between Bangalore and Gokarna. You can take flight from Bangalore to Mangalore then take Matsyaganda Express from Mangalore to Gokarna. You can even take a flight from Bangalore to Goa and then take a local train from there to get down at Gokarna Road Station.

Day 1 – The Beach Trek

We reached Gokarna bus stand on Saturday morning. We were given sleeping bags by our hosts and then we started walking towards our campsite along with our bags. Walk till campsite was refreshing since we got a good view of the Temple Street, chariot, pilgrims, saints, aroma of flower offerings etc which was very reviving. Far end of the temple street is Gokarna Beach and once you reach that spot you feel like the sea is calling you. 

We started walking along the beach for some 1-2 km towards our campsite. And the first look of the campsite with tents set up along the beach side built up our excitement.

We were given changing rooms and this place has common washrooms for campers. We quickly freshened up, had light breakfast, packed our lunch for the trek and started our day.

Belekan Beach: A small mini bus was arranged from the backside of our campsite and this bus took us to the Belekan beach which was our base point of the trek. This was the starting point of trek. We clicked some pictures at this beach and started walking towards mountains to start our trek. There was a small river stream which we had to cross to make it to the mountains. It was real fun to walk making a human chain in a knee length water. After crossing the river, we put on our shoes and started our trek to Paradise beach. 

Paradise Beach: A pristine beach which is a combination of rocky terrain and clean white sand. Paradise beach is exactly what it sounds like – it is considered one of the cleanest beaches with the collective effort of tourists and the abstract paintings on the rocks add to the character of the place. We played in water for some time since it was less crowded, clicked pictures and then started our trek to Half Moon Beach.

Half Moon beach: This beach gains its name due to its resemblance to the shape of a half moon. Here’s when you get to relax and enjoy your peaceful surroundings. We had our packed lunch here so that we can build up some energy for the rest of the trek.

Ahead of the Half Moon Beach, you will find a huge rock called the Rock of Peace – it is the throne to witness one of the best sunsets, you will know why it’s named Rock of Peace only after you have experienced it. The whole world looks artistic from here, music starts playing on your mind, the color of the sky changes every minute during Sunset time. You will get a panoramic view of Arabian Sea from this place.

Om Beach: We then trek ahead to a beach shaped in the form of the Hindu “Om symbol” and hence it is called Om Beach. It is around 2.5-3 km from Half Moon Beach and the trail is a moderate one. This is called a hub for hippies and yes for a change I felt that I am in Goa. This beach is the most crowded and happening tourist spot of Gokarna.

Kudle Beach: Our last (and best) beach destination is Kudle Beach which is a popular tourist spot, well-known for authentic seafood, wood-fired pizzas and good music in the evenings. Every dish in every restaurant here is served with a view. The cool breeze, slow sound of the waves and the growing tides are a perfect finish for the day. We had dinner here and then headed back to Gokarna beach. Upon reaching our campsite, we freshened up and tents were assigned to us. We then packed our stuffs for next day, checked into our tent and quickly fell asleep with warm breeze along the beach side. This was my first experience of camping along a beach side and it was indeed remarkable.

Rejuvenated by the beautiful sights you witness at each unique beach, it will be hard to believe that you ticked off 5 beaches just in one day.

Day 2 – The Journey Back

We woke up early in the morning at 6 am since some of us had wished to visit the Mahabaleshwar temple previous day. We quickly freshened up, had breakfast and started our temple tour.

 Gokarna Temple Tour

We first visited Mahabaleshwar temple which is believed to be the original image of Lord Shiva’s Linga (Atmalinga). We have been hearing stories about this from our grandparent’s right from childhood. As per legend, Ravana was given Atmalinga by Lord Shiva and instructed that it would stay permanently where it is first placed on the land. But Lord Ganesha came in the form of a boy and planted it in Gokarna while Ravana was performing rituals (Sandhyavandana). Once placed Ravana could not remove it from ground, but he removed some pieces of the Linga and threw them in different directions.

After completing the Darshan of Shiva’s Linga, we visited the Tamra Gowri (Parvati) Temple which is hosted inside the Mahabaleshwar temple compound itself. The statue of Parvati holding flowers in devotion stands on the eastern side, behind the Atmalinga.

Right opposite to Mahabaleshwar temple is Maha Ganapathi temple. This temple is built in honor of the boy Ganapathi, who deceived the demon Ravana by keeping Atmalinga on ground before Ravana returns from Sandhyavandana. The deity here is two-armed, standing and at least 1500 years old.

 After taking blessings from all the gods, we started our return journey. Mirjan Fort and Vibhooti Falls were part of the itinerary. Our first stop was Mirjan Fort which is around 23 km from Gokarna.

 Mirjan Fort

Known for its architectural elegance, Mirjan Fort was the location of several battles in the past. The port at Mirjan was used for shipping pepper, saltpeter and betel nut to Surat. The Portuguese gave the epithet “Rani, the Pepper queen” to the Queen. This place is great for portrait pictures and wide panoramic shots.

Vibhooti falls

We then continued our journey to second stop - Vibhooti Falls. This is a small waterfall near Yana, about 50 km from Sirsi North Kanara, Western Ghats. 

The falls gets its name from the Limestone rock nearby. The picturesque drop of water amidst the lush forest leaves one in awe of the wonders of nature. Vehicles stop at the base point and from here it’s a walk of 1-2 km to make it to the waterfall. 

While walking you can enjoy the mesmerizing beauty of lush green forest around. This place is a must visit in rainy season. 

It was heavily crowded with tourists playing in water, so we didn’t get down in water. Clicked some pictures, rested our legs in river stream flowing down the waterfall and headed back to the base point.  

 We started our journey back to Bangalore with wonderful memoirs of our trip.

A journey filled with the sound of the waves, the smell of fresh seafood and the historic spectacle of a fort as you trek your way from one wonderful spot to another is an experience you must try at least once in your lifetime.