I heard about this place from a couple of my friends. If you want to relax on a beach doing nothing, no party, no booze, no bright lights, close to Goa in distance but far away in terms of vibes, go to Gokarna.
Located at Karnataka – Goa border, this place has a couple of small beaches where you have to trek to reach. This place is famous for its beautiful OM beach which is in the shape of OM when seen from a height from a distance. It was Feb 2017, I was struggling with my job i was frustrated, I used to work in adventure travel and it was it working out. I couldn’t do sales, could not reach my target and I was super bored with the monotony. My friend went to Gokarna a week back and did not stop telling me about that place. I too wanted to go to this place since a long time.
Taking a leave on a Friday, i booked my tickets to Gokarna. I was sceptical, i was afraid. Afraid of getting bored, afraid of getting robbed, afraid of making a fool of myself, afraid of anything and everything, but i decided – never try, never know. I sat in the bus still scared about the experience. Reaching Gokarna road at wee hours the next morning, a couple of people from the bus got down at out stop. Taking a sharing taxi we all reached Kudle beach. I was all dark till that time. I sat on the beach watching sunrise. “Om beach is the best beach to stay in Gokarna” my friend told me so i started walking towards Om beach. As i was walking i could see people doing Yoga, couples moving around holding hands, people working out. I liked the vibe of this place.
It was difficult to find a place to stay at Om beach as Gokarna is filled with majority of foreigners (Israelis and Russians mostly) who stay there for weeks and months and OM beach is one of the best places to stay. After searching for a place for almost two hours, I had to go back to Kudle to find a place to keep my luggage. I was so tired that i stayed in the first guest house as soon as i reached Kudle. I wanted to spend more time at Om beach so i chose the guest house closest to Om. The guest house was one of the oldest kind of structure i had ever seen, but it was bang opposite to the beach and i got it in 400 bucks. The washrooms were common, but who cares the place was lively, the rent was cheap and the girls were beautiful.
I roamed around Om beach on day one, read book, swam and finally started talking to people. In the evening a couple of Israelis were playing some musical instruments and a couple of then were dancing, it was amazing. Dancing in some foreign tunes under the open sky next to the sea, the experience cannot be described.
Next morning from Kudle, i trekked to Om beach, from Om beach to Paradise beach and from Paradise to Half moon beach. It was a long walk. So let me tell you some things about the beaches in Gokarna. There are four beaches :
Kudle : This is a first beach you get to when you reach Gokarna, mostly filled with Indians and family crowd. You can find hotels and guesthouses on this beach.
Om beach : One of the most beautiful beach ever. Om shaped when seen from a height. Hippie vibes, majority foreigners. You can find hotels, guesthouses, shacks and hostels on this beach.
Paradise beach : Very small beach with a small pool kind of structure before the sea. Only one cafe. Must visit place.
Half moon beach : The last beach in the area. No cafe, no shack available. Only the one’s who have their own tent can stay here. This is a paradise for Hippies and budget travellers. I met a couple of Russians on this beach who were staying here from days in their tent because they didn’t want to spend money on accommodation. You won’t miss a thing if you avoid this beach.
In the evening on both the days, Om beach which was mostly filled with foreigners, you to get extremely lively, with people playing with each other, listening to their songs and dancing to the tune of the sea. This trip taught me a couple of things like: how to take care of myself when i am alone. how to make new friends when you are bored, how to enjoy your own company, how to let go of things which are not under your control, how your worries are temporary and you are bigger than then and lastly, how travel heals everything.
I got back to Pune the next day and i over achieved my target.
If you want to experience beaches and peace or you are bored of going to Goa. Gokarna is the place for you. Go there and thank me later.
For more info on Gokarna, you can connect with me at prashant@hillsandbeyond.com
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