Boarded a VRL sleeper bus from bangalore a day before, reached Gokarna main bus stand around 7.30 am. There is an autorickshaw stand nearby who offer rides based on the hotels , they charge a fixed price. Reached the hotel , he charged around 100rs for a 3 km ride. Stayed at MG rooms, Gokarna. The place is closeby to zostel. No restaurants nearby so had to go to mantra cafe, thats inside zostel. The view of gokarna beach from zostel is amazing. Breakfast was on the costly side, not much varieties. We hired a bike , costing around 600 per day , better to bargain before you can hire. One original id proof to be submitted before taking the bike out. The nearest petrol bunk is 2kms from the main bus stop.
Headed to the Mahabaleshwar temple which is just 5mins from the room and the main bus stop. It's a beautiful temple, for more information on the temple please read https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahabaleshwar_Temple,_Gokarna. Just a few metres from the exit of the temple there is a place where free food is given to all devotees and another few metres is the main Gokarna beach.
The beach is usually crowded and some rituals are also performed along the beach. It was too hot some refreshments are also available at affordable rates along the beach. Saw some people also going for camel and horse rides on the beach, the animals were too weak to walk on their own in the first place. There is also ramaTheertha along the way to the beach which is of religious importance.
Om beach , the place was quite famous for the nice beach , it's around 6kms from the main bus stand. Autos also ply to om beach , just before om beach there is also a route to kudle beach . We reached Om beach and the view was awesome, there is Namaste cafe along the beach. The food was not so good and was pricey. The beach is also not so good to play , oil spills everywhere , some beautiful rocks to take some pictures. There is also a boat service which takes you to paradise and half moon beach from om beach. The view of OM beach from the starting point is awesome.
Kudle beach, peaceful beach just before gokarna. This beach is ideal to play, beach is clean. Many hotels along the beach to grab a snack. The view of om beach from kudle beach road is awesome. There is also a sunset point along the way which is a must visit.
Vibhuti falls, an awesome place around 1 hour from gokarna. Left around 9am and headed towards Vibhuti falls, there is also a diversion along the way which also leads to murudeshwara. The ride to Vibhuti falls was just awesome, the road passes through a reserve forest area. There were almost no vehicles or people around for a few kilometers, the phone signal is lost and the road is quite bad for few kilometers. There are also few signboards that leads to yana or vibhuti falls. Finally reached Vibhuti falls and we were the only people around there, the entry is around 10rs, parked our bikes near the gate, and it was a 1km walk to the falls. The walk to the falls was also amazing, there is one shop along the way that offers light refreshments/snacks. Finally the breathtaking falls right in front of our eyes, it was an amazing sight to behold. Played in the water for sometime and just sat watching the beautiful waterfalls.
Yana, there is a diversion that leads to yana while returning from vibhuti falls. The ride to yana is again awesome, there are signboards to guide further. The huge entrance gate welcomes you to yana. This is again a 1km walk to the caves, huge trees surround the place, the walk itself is so refreshing. There is a shop at the entrance where some refreshments or snacks are available. The view of the rocks are breathtaking , Huge rocks welcome you along the path. There is a temple below the cave, the entrance to the cave is from the temple, footwear needs to be kept outside the temple. Lots of honeycombs on the rock faces, so lots of bees. There is also a warning sign not to use Flash during photography as this would trigger the bees. The entrance to the caves is breathtaking, huge rocks and beautiful works of nature. An awesome place to relax and explore.
Murudeshwara, it's around 70kms from yana. Better to reach the gokarna bypass route as the roads are awesome. There is also a Hotel along the bypass which serves good food. We did reach Murudeshwara, lots of eateries and shops along the road leading to murudeshwara. There is also a luggage room where you can leave your bags. The Temple has a rich history, Famous for the huge Shiva statue. There is a temple below the Shiva statue which explains the story of how the place is of importance. There is also a huge gopura at the entrance of the main temple, which offers awesome view of the gokarna beach and the huge shiva statue. Lots of rooms available near Murudeshwara if you're planning to stay there.
We headed back to Gokarna, Sea Land hotel near gokarna bus stand is a must visit for sea food lovers.
Koti Theertha, it is walkable distance from the Main temple. A man made tank, Koti Tirtha is considered to be extremely sacred and is used for ritual bathing and immersing idols. The tank is surrounded by temples on all sides. It's a huge tank, but very dirty. Rituals are perfomed along the tank , the steps are very slippery because of the oil that was used for the rituals, many people do bathe here. We bid goodbye to Gokarna after some shopping near the market around the temple.
Koti Theertha, it is walkable distance from the Main temple. A man made tank, Koti Tirtha is considered to be extremely sacred and is used for ritual bathing and immersing idols. The tank is surrounded by temples on all sides. It's a huge tank, but very dirty. Rituals are perfomed along the tank , the steps are very slippery because of the oil that was used for the rituals, many people do bathe here. We bid goodbye to Gokarna after some shopping near the market around the temple.
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