Gokarna - a budding tourist spot

 It was during the 2021 Diwali holidays and the covid situation was within the control; the initial thought was to go to Goa but it will be overcrowded during the Nov and Dec month and when thought about the alternative we decided to go to Gokarna.

Gokarna beach view from one
of the restaurant in Kudlu beach road

Once Gokarna was mainly the place for workship and performing last rites but in recent few years, it started attracting tourists who like adventures, trekking, water activities, a weekend stay apart from the pilgrimage visit. Gokarna has numerous beaches and each has its own beauty, history, purpose; for example, the main Gokarna beach is used as a pilgrimage site for performing pooja and taking a spiritual bath, the Kudle beach is used for water sport activities, the paradise, and Halfmoon beach hosts tent stay.

Tent stays in Paradise beach

Halfmoon beach where we took bath

All the beaches are well maintained but accessibility wise except Gokarna beach all others require a trek or a boat to reach. The water on the beaches is so clear and transparent, in almost all beaches they have a warning sign of sea vortex. However, than the vortex, the real danger we experienced is by the jellyfishes. It is good to see and observe the jellyfish when we are in the boat but it is really very dangerous when they hit us. Even the slightest touch by the jellyfish will cause skin allergy and will cause pain for a minimum of 30 mins. 

Ferry from Kumta to Gokarna

Jellyfish seen from the ferry

Now coming to the stay, the Kumta is known for lots of private beach resorts and is located 30 km from Gokarna. One such resort is the Silver Sand Beach resort and we stayed there, it is located on the beach so anytime we can go to the beach and take bath, play. If looking to stay closer to Gokarna then there are lots of good stays available on the Kudlu beach road.

The water activities include Banana rides, bumper rides, kayaking, JetSki. There is only one organizer Mystic Gokarna and the prices are a little expensive. Since there is no competitor, bargaining doesn't help. On their website, they mentioned lots of activities but most of them are not available or will be under maintenance. Also, we noticed there was a lack of coordination between the booking counter and the ride conductor. We can take bath on any of the beaches, the beaches like Halfmoon, paradise will be less crowded whereas Om beach and Kudlu beach will be very crowded. The Om beach got its name because of the shape of the beach resembling the Sanskrit Om. 

Water activities in Kudlu beach

Apart from water activities, Gokarna is famous for trekking. It has lots of trekking sites and caves. It has one such cave called Gogarbha and history says that it contains a tunnel to reach Kashi.

Definitely, we should not miss the Maha Ganapati and Mahabaleswar temple; I have never seen a standing Ganapati so far, and here is the first time I saw Ganapati in a standing position in Maha Ganapati temple. Just a few steps away is the famous Mahabaleswar Shiva temple and the temple complex has a shrine for Athmalinga, Devi, and other Gods. There is a strict dress code for men and women to enter the Mahabaleswar temple.

If traveling to Gokarna from Bangalore via road then a short diversion to Jog falls is something not to miss and plan to spend at least 2-3 hours in the Jog to enjoy the complete view and to connect with nature.

The shortcomings of Gokarna are, it is not a mature tourist-friendly place. Getting food of choice is very limited and tastes average, accessibility from one place to another is not so easy. Not all local people are friendly enough for approaching.

Goa in the Monsoon

We went to Goa, India in the monsoon season. Initially, we thought will it be the right time or we should change but it seems to be a good time to visit as we get good discounts in stay, car rentals and water sports. Yes, water sports are there even in monsoon; I think not all are available but they have a good water sports package for monsoon.

Even we should be a little lucky when visiting in monsoon, if there are unfrequent showers then it will be good but if it is a non-stop rain then we will be forced to stay in the room. 

Car/Bike Rentals:

When it comes to car rentals, I would say in my experience that Goa is one the cheapest. The least it comes for Rs 1000 per day. There are plenty of providers, I went with https://saiyuri-travel-solutions.business.site/. If we want them to deliver the car to our preferred location, for example, like from Airport/RailwayStation then they have a fixed delivery/pick-up charge of Rs 300. You can book over the phone before you arrive but you will be paying only when you take the car.

Stay:

When we talk about Goa actually we refer/imagine to Beaches, shacks, night-life etc., and all these are very far away from the capital Panaji. So it is good if we book a stay near Baga or Calangute, from these places the beaches are walkable and we can come out at any time of the day and chill. Based on the budget and preference they are plenty of lodges, home-stay, serviced apartments are available. We preferred serviced apartment and booked in https://www.eternalwave.in/. They have very well maintained rooms but they do not have a good restaurant inside

Beaches and Shacks:

Beaches are open 24 hours and we can play, take a bath, dip the leg any time of the day. There are very good paid bathrooms and change rooms available at a very nominal cost. Parking is also available on almost all the beaches, but the parking near the Tito club is very expensive and it is Rs100 for 4 hours in other areas it would be just Rs20 for 4 hours. Shacks are the awesome experience in Goa, they just don't provide drinks they serve tasty, yummy, mouth-watering and delicious foods. We went almost every day to Shacks for food and relaxation. 

Baga beach has shallow water where kids can sit and enjoy the waves hitting them.

Water Sports:

We wanted to try something adventurous and not tried before sports and chose "Fly Board", the experience cannot be explained in words. It is a joy when we fly but a pain when we fell in the water. This is not in the sea but in the Chapora river. Definitely difficult for first-timer but we shouldn't give up and try the next time. In India, Goa is the only place where they have "Flyboard" activity.

Souvenirs:

We can buy cashews, dresses etc when we come back as a memory of the visit