Gokarna – Part 1 - Explore offbeat places beyond beaches
Gokarna which was once a center of pilgrimage has been off late famous for its beach treks and Yoga relaxation centers as well. In this blog, I will take you through some of the offbeat and less crowded places if you are looking for a relaxing and peaceful getaway.
We booked our stay at Kudle Ocean front resort this time since most of the places I had listed down were closer to this resort(Kudle Beach road) and also after a day long of tiredness in the evenings we could just take a relaxing stroll along the Kudle beach. We asked at the resort front desk to arrange for a vehicle and a knowledgeable driver who is well versed with all the routes and can take us to all these places around.
Mallikarjuna Temple at Ashoke
This temple is the first spot we visited. AS you start driving on the Kudle beach road towards Gokarna town, you just need to take a right towards Ramachandrapura Matha side. Keep driving along this road and then you will see signboard of this temple with a gate which is closed with a rope. This is to prevent cows from entering. But you can open it and walk along the muddy path till the temple entrance.
We quickly offered prayers and took a round around the temple admiring the beautiful architecture and truly untouched beauty of this place.
Vishnugupta Vishwa Vidyapeetha
This is a unique school set up on the lines of the ancient university of Takshashila by the Seer of Ramachandrapura Mutt. This is also located in Ashoke around 50 meters from Mallikarjuna temple.
We thought of taking a tour of this university since the buildings were very impressive from the outside. Luckily we found one person from admin helpdesk who was more than happy to take us around.
Here you will find that the classrooms are designed in typical gurukul style and students wear traditional uniforms. We were allowed to click pictures from inside since classes were going on.
Here students would be taught vedas, upavedas, epics along with agriculture and horse riding also. Main focus of this institute is on giving integrated Indian education with a modern touch. Admission would be based on an entrance test, open to people of all age, caste and religion. Sanskrit is the primary medium of instruction, but other languages also will be taught to them.
The administrative building cum library is still under construction. But you will be amazed to see the marvelous piece that’s getting built.
We also went to the Gaushala situated in the same area across the road on the hill-top. You will find interesting cattle breed here.
We were told that higher primary school, another branch from the same institution is set up on the Kudle beach road and if you watch it from top you will see that the campus is in the shape of a swasthik. So, we decided to visit this next. This was comparatively a small campus housing just few students and classes ranging from 4th to 8th.
We took a quick tour of this campus but were not allowed to click pictures. We were advised to take a walk upto the viewpoint. It was very sunny and hence the walk till this viewpoint was tiresome. But when we reached there, the panoramic view of the sea was rejuvenating from this hill-top.
Shiva cave
This was our second stop since this was located on the Kudle beach road right opposite to Kudle Beach View resort. Surprisingly no sign boards. So better to ask a localite to accompany you to this place. The flag next to the cave is the landmark to remember here.
You need to bend down and watch your steps as you get inside the cave. Please use a torch since there is no light inside and you might see lot of bats around.
Jatayu Teertha
This spot is closeby Shiva cave. So our guide took us next to this spot. Vehicle Stops at one point on hill-top. There is a flag which is supposed to indicate the starting point of this trek. Unfortunately the sign post has been destroyed completely.
From here starts your incredible journey to the base of the hill amidst rocky terrain. It was one of my most thrilling and adventurous treks till date. One piece of advice – please don’t go without a local guide who knows exactly where this is located since there are no signposts or directions towards this place. We really had a hard time reaching the actual spot. Hence I don't have much pictures to show since my focus was to maintain my balance on the rocky terrain. But the view of the Arabian sea alongside is amazing.
Finally, once you reach the spot wading through the rocky patches you will find this mythological place where in you will find a small stream flows to the sea.
The legend behind this place is based on the Hindu epic Ramayana: when Ravana the demon king of Lanka had kidnapped Sita and was flying back to his Kingdom Lanka, Jatayu (the legend bird), tried to stop Ravana. One of Jatayu’s wings was cut by Ravana and this is the place where the wings fell down.
Ram Teertha
This is located very closer to Mahableshwar temple. You can visit this immediately after visiting the main temple on the way to Gokarna beach. You will need to take a left towards this temple which is on hilltop.
At the entrance you will see a small pond also called Ram teertha which is formed by stream flowing down from the mountain. People find this auspicious, and they wash their hands/legs here first before taking the steps upto the temple. This water is believed to have medicinal properties and can cure skin diseases. So, people bring bottles to fill in with this sacred water.
Few steps you need to take to reach to the temple. The temple has idols of Lord Rama, Lakshmana and Sita.
When you start taking parikrama of the temple, you will find one of the best serene views of the whole sea towards Gokarna main beach from here.
Once you take a full parikrama of the temple, you will find some steps which will take you uphill on the right.
Our tour guide told us that this is Bharath Teertha (Bharath was Lord Ram’s brother). But the steep climb was looking little risky with lot of bushes covering the steps and couldn’t see anybody walking that way. So, we decided to move ahead to our next stop.
With this we completed the places we had planned to cover today. The next two spots are a bonus shown to us by our auto driver cum tour guide seeing our enthusiasm😊.
Mani Kantha temple
This is another temple which locals believe that Naga protects Shiva Linga here. So its considered very auspicious. This is very close to Ram Teertha at around 100 meters distance. Vehicle will stop at the base of the temple. From here you need to take few steps to make it to the temple.
The temple was closed. But there are interesting paintings of various gods on the walls of the temple. Needless to say, since its closer to Gokarna beach, while doing parikrama you will get to see amazing sea from here. This temple was not crowded since not many people know about this place.
Smashana Kali temple
This temple is situated again near to Mahableshwar temple towards Gokarna beach, but you will need to take a right now on the Gokarna beach road and follow signposts to reach this temple.
This is one of the Holiest places to cremate dead people. So, at the temple entrance you will find wooden logs and ashes from cremation.
By now we were starving so we requested our tour guide to take us to some nice restaurant for lunch. This place is heaven for sea food lovers. So, don’t hesitate to try out sea food delicacies in local restaurants here.
Thus, we ended our day by exploring these offbeat places of Gokarna which took us through some isolated cliffs offering spectacular views of the sea below and also helping us to soak into divinity.
Gokarna - Part 2 - Street Walking : Photographer's Delight
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