After a tiring work week an impromptu plan turned out to be one of the best weekend in a long time.
Started for Gokarna in the evening by bus from pune and reached early morning.
If you are travelling from Mumbai/pune by bus you will be dropped at Madangeri which is 10 km from Gokarna bus stand. I got dropped at 5 in the morning It was still dark, so I sat at the petrol pump waiting for my friend as she was travelling from Bangalore. Once the sun was up I started checking for auto to reach Gokarna bus stand. From madangeri you can either take an auto which will charge you 200(fixed price) or hop into a bus going towards gokarna. I was lucky to get a share auto and paid 100 bucks.
After having a scrumptious breakfast near the bus stand we started walking towards the beach hunting for a homestay. Since it was a weekend most of the homestay in the vicinity were already full and the ones that werent booked were pricey. Finally we found an unnamed homestay at 5 mins walk from Gokarna beach. It was a very basic accommodation however we were going to spend most of our time outdoors and wanted a room to freshen up and crash in the night. We quickly freshened up and started our trek at 10.
The moment we sat our foot on the beach I was in awe. The blue water was clear. We started clicking selfies, some crazy pics, boomerang. The beach was crowded at the entrance however once you reach the end it's solace.
Once you enter the beach you need to keep left if you are planning to trek to other beaches. At the end of gokarna beach you need to get onto the road and go right following the shore. Here you will come across a temple, you need to get on the temple premises(we kept going back and forth as we were uncertain of the route and we did not see any one around.we entered the temple and asked the first person we met for the route). We then climbed the steps towards the left turning every few steps to check on the view behind. Once on the top we reached the grassland and then followed the tar road to kudle beach. It was already noon so we broke for lunch. We were a lil tired due to scorching January heat however our tiredness was going to be washed away by the surprise awaiting us ahead. We took a table facing the sea..we were lost watching the waves from far off. The restaurant owner suddenly comes to us and points at the sea. We were confused as to what he was doing and then there we saw it one figure rose out of the water and jumped back in and then another. He was pointing towards dolphins moving in rhythmic motions. One would jump and the other would follow. We were literally staring at the sea until they disappeared it was such a pleasant surprise. We had read about dolphins while researching about Gokarna however had long forgotten as soon as we saw the blue sea. After lunch we got on the beach and clicked some snaps and moved towards Om beach.
This was the most spoken about beaches in all the blogs I had read and we found mostly foreigners here and it felt like a diff country. It has good restaurants and stay in the vicinity. We tried our hands on kayak it was a 30 min of pure rowing fun. We were recharged to carry on with our trek towards half moon beach.
To get to half moon beach we had to cross a dense forest patch and we did miss our trail twice as there were multiple however missed trail led us to the edge of the patch and the view of Om beach from there was spectacular. We had to get back on the correct trail as it was already 4 and we wanted to reach paradise beach before sunrise. We finally found the correct trail and came across some solo female travellers. We then reached half moon beach it was a small beach however there was no soul around. This beach didn't have any accommodation unlike the 1st 3 beaches. Without spending much time we quickly made our way towards paradise beach.
This last beach was a little tricky. We had to cross over big rocks lil steep ascent and narrow path we saw a few travellers ahead of us and tried to follow their path. we made it just before the sunset and that feeling of accomplishment was at another level. We settled our selves to enjoy the sunset. We were lost having no thoughts at all and in our own dreamworld and then a voice from a lil far away shook us up. It was the last ferry from paradise beach and the boat men was calling us to check if we wanted to board. Thankfully my friend knows the language so she spoke to guy and asked for alternate options. Since it was getting darker and the road transport was not very reliable we decided to board the ferry till om beach. The ride was nice and airy soothing our souls and we could see the lights glittering on the beach and its reflection dancing in the water. It was such a beautiful view.
We followed the exit out to Om beach and then boarded an auto back to gokarna. We strolled around gokarna city for a few hours then had our dinner and headed back to our homestay. Our body was exhausted from the long hours of bus travel and then the trek. It was time to hit the bed and get into another dreamworld after an exhausting yet refreshing day.
It was now time to wash away our tiredness from the trek and relax so post breakfast we left for the beach. We wanted to get away from the crowd so we walked towards the end of the beach. We clicked some crazy pics splashed water like lil kids and enjoyed the view. This portion of the beach was fairly empty and it was nice to have the beach to ourself. Watching the waves crash, staring into the sea enjoying the golden sand and blue sky. It was best of both world trek and beach. I could stay here forever, it is now my go to place. However it was time to bring our journey to an end but I promised myself to return to this place again with more days in hand. My mind and soul was now refreshed with a pleasant trip. We bid our goodbye for a short time to meet again soon for another adventure / travel and I then took an auto back to Madangeri and boarded my bus to pune with happy memories
Trip cost
Madangeri to gokarna bus stand - 100 rs
Breakfast 70 rs
Gokarna homestay 250 rs pp
Lunch 210
Kayak 300
Ferry ride fron paradise to om beach 250 pp
Auto from on beach to gokarna 150
Dinner 150
Breakfast 80
Auto to madangeri 200
Cheers!