Looking for an alternative to frenzied Goa? Gokarna maybe your answer. Gokarna offers a much more laid back almost hidden beach experience. On the hippie trail, the tiny temple town has at least two pristine beaches that makes for a holiday where time slows down almost to a standstill. There is nothing much to do here except for wandering from beach to beach, trekking in narrow paths in the woods between beaches, sitting on warm rocks and gazing into the wide blue ocean. Almost nobody ever tires of it. Even if you do, you can always pop into the nearest shack on some of the beaches for an incredible variety of cheap eats.
The teeny town of Gokarna itself is ensconced in myth and mythology. Gokarna meaning cow’s ear is supposedly called that because it is believed that the Indian God Shiva emerged from the ear of a cow. It is also speculated that it might be a moniker for the town also because it is located in the ear shaped confluence of two rivers. Holy men in saffron wander around the temple vicinity and it is not unusual to watch them perform their daily ablutions in the main beach of the town which is also called as the Gokarna beach. Local tribal women in colorful clothes sell flowers and other trinkets around the fourth century Dravidian style temple. Be aware that foreigners are not allowed into the inner sanctum sanctorum of the temple.
The town is small and laidback with tiny bookstores and thrift shops selling inexpensive hippie clothing and jewelry. There is also an ancient local bath with stone steps surrounding a mossy green water tank, a few blocks away from the temple. Old style houses stand wall to wall and walking past them to reach the open bath takes you into a different time altogether. After you have had your fill of rustic charm, hop over to either Kudle beach or Om beach which is where most travelers find inexpensive yet fairly good accommodation. Fringed by lush forests, the beaches are so calming that a slew of yoga retreats have cropped up in and around the two beaches.
You can either take an auto (tuk-tuk) or alternately walk to the top of Kudle beach from where you can hike down to this less populated beach where most of the hippies find a temporary home. Kudle used to also be destination go to for drugs such as marijuana and charas. These are easily accessible by the hippie crowd that have made especially Kudle an occasional clandestine rave destination. But more recently there have been police crackdowns on the local drug rings. We had a fairly interesting encounter with a resident drug lord who demanded to know if we were spies for the Indian police and wanted to check if we had Western passports.
A more legit way get high is to sip on Kingfisher beer, the most popular brew in the country at little thatched sometimes makeshift restaurants. Be prepared to say Namaste a whole lot while here. It is the equivalent of hello in Hindi and most travelers take to greeting each other and the locals alike with this greeting. Namaste is also an iconic lodge in the next beach, Om beach one of the first establishments which cropped up in the then little known seaside beach mostly popular with Israeli tourists. Today Om beach is more popular with Indian tourists.
Om beach is shaped like the Indian Om in Sanskrit and though you can’t see it while there, you can if you climb up towards the secluded Half-moon beach. It is easy to find many vantage points on the Cliffside to gaze back at the double crescent beach. Saving the best for last…Half-moon beach and Paradise beaches are the two incredibly beautiful and isolated beaches of Gokarna. With absolutely no road access, the only way to get to these beaches is to hike for over an hour or two between beaches. The only other alternative is to pay a local fisherman to take you over by boat. It has a single farmer family living on it. They own a fairly small tract of land next to the secluded beach. The stunning Half-moon beach is perfect for sleeping under the stars away from light pollution on balmy full moon nights. Take a warm sleeping bag. And of course food and other supplies.
A word of warning. The locals advise travelers to hike in groups of three or more as there have been instances of mugging in the little used trails to Half-moon and Paradise. The beach after is the virgin Paradise beach. Though worth every sore muscle, it is long and arduous trek to this one. The few who venture as far as Half-moon rarely make it even further to the tucked away Paradise. Perhaps it is called Paradise for good reason. There are no autos to Paradise.
Feature image- Violet sunset, Om beach, Gokarna. Image courtesy- Pikozo.kz / Shutterstock.com.
How to get here-
Gokarna is on the Konkan coast but in the state of Karnataka. It is a stop on the Konkan rail line. Buses run frequently from Bangalore and Mangalore. There are indirect connections to and from Goa.
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