A heaven for sunset, seafood and sea lovers, this beach is one of the most popular beaches in Gokarna. The Om Beach traces the shape of the Hindu Symbol of Om. One can go here in the evening to enjoy the sunset by the beach followed by a delicious sea food dinner.

This beach is usually the most crowded beach in Gokarna since its the Main beach and is the closest from the Mahabaleshwar Temple. The Mahabaleshwar temple is located on the shores of the Arabian Sea in the holy town and enshrines the Atma Lingam of Lord Shiva.This place can be perfect for street shopping, and having local street food. You can try out Prema Restaurant to enjoy delicious and cheap vegetarian food.

The serenity of this place was indeed different and special. One can either reach this beach by trekking or by taking a ferry ride from the Om beach. You can stay overnight on this beach, only by pitching your own tents. No other accommodation facility is available there. The beach is extremely clean and a bunch of local vendors can be found selling tea, fruits and snacks.

Post lunch and a stroll on the beach, we went for some water sports and sat around to watch another mesmerising sunset before we headed back to Bangalore.In the days that I was here, I had encounters that were innumerably good and some not as much.Goa has just so much to offer and it is definitely beyond just alcohol and parties (if that's what you think). It depends on what you're looking for and will draw you in every single time you go.It's not just a place but an experience!

Post breakfast we decided to go back to Gokarna. My third time in the town but there's just something about the place that never ceases to amaze me. A peaceful morning ride, a break by the beaches of Karwar and by afternoon we were at my favourite place- Namaste Cafe, Om Beach. The tranquility and views of that place is unmatched. Not to forget the absolutely yum food. Golden fried prawns, lasagna and sizzlers; day=made. We decided to stay in the cottages of Namaste Cafe on the hill top. After lazing around for a while we decided to give Paradise Beach a visit. We made it just around sunset and the beach is about a 40min trek which turned out to be a night trek for us. What a trek that was! Pitch dark, no path as such and just wilderness everywhere. Not to forget, no sign of humanity anywhere in the vicinity. After what felt like eternity we realised we weren't lost! We made it. The view of the beach under the moonlight was just beautiful. After a while of debating whether the place was haunted or not we decided to trek back down towards the bikes. A long, late dinner with some alcohol and chatting to end our night in Gokarna.

I have never been to Goa, but Gokarna is known to be less commercialized Goa and untouched beach beauty. We made a sudden plan and decided to head towards Gokarna over a long weekend.We reached to Gokarna early morning by overnight bus from Bangalore. This time we planned not to book any hotels in advance and see how it goes for us.After coming out of the bus stand, we found that there are a couple of bikes renting shows at a 100mtrs distance and we got an Activa for Rs.700 for two days. Then we headed towards the Gokarna beach and also inquired for a couple of places to stay which were run by locals. We booked a place for Rs. 500 a day which was not so great but it didn't matter as we just wanted a place to spend the night.Now we had an Activa so we were free to roam around anywhere, we headed to Om Beach and came back to Gokarna Beach and had lunch at Prema Restaurant. Now we headed to go to Paradise beach which is known to be secluded and famous untouched beauty. We met a couple of folks who came back empty handed from the search of the Paradise beach. As it was drizzling a little bit, we decided not to trek down and spend the time near the trek point itself. There was hardly 5-6 people out there the hence perfect spot to enjoy the beach and photographic place.Now we again headed for Om Beach and spend the time till Sunset and had dinner at Pizzeria at Kudle Beach.

Gokarna Beach: This was one beach where I could see people actually enjoying themselves. We sat on the beach and enjoyed the waves. The only drawback was the availability of a restaurant. The highly talked about ‘Premas’, does not allow people inside if they are in wet clothes.

We literally woke up to the sound of the ocean crashing against the rocks. After a carb-filled breakfast, we walked down the hill to Om Beach. Breakfast tip : It's good to have a light breakfast with just enough carbs to get you through the day. Vegetarians can try the hash browns while eggetarians can explore omelets. P.S. Don't stuff yourself too much, you might not be able to walk downhill to the beach. There are lot of local boat vendors at Om beach who show you around all the beaches (Halfmoon beach, Paradise beach, Lighthouse and dolphin point) for INR 300 per person. So we just hopped on for some beach tripping. Around 12.30 PM, we were off to Gokarna town. After a sumptuous lunch at Prema restaurant (you can find the link here https://g.co/kgs/QvSnDX) we roamed around the streets of Gokarna town to find small time vendors selling all kinds of stuff. #shopaholicWe came back to our cottage, got enough rest for couple of hours and then headed to Kudle beach to watch the amazing sunset. Tip: You could either follow the trail via the Gokarna cliff or take the road (15 minutes walk from Om beach). That's all you need to do relaxxx and enjoy the view. ( and of course click pictures for instaspam )

We headed to our first destination the most famous beach. Its name comes from the symbol Om which the beach looks like. The crowd here in mostly foreigners and their are a number of cafes to eat. you can even for a Banana ride and jet-ski ride for around 300 per head. You can even go to half-moon beach which is a small trek from Om beach you will find it even more peaceful as everyone dont go for a trek and rather prefer staying on Om beach Itself

Well, if they say, leave the best thing for the end, we wholeheartedly complied with it. Huge rocks and uneven patches is what the path to Paradise is made of. You know what they say, to experience paradise, one does have to cross the difficult path. Couldn’t be truer. We stopped a couple of times as we were in awe of the view and of course we could not shut the camera on the phone. (We needed this for our Instagram)Once you get here, you will take a while to believe that you’re not dreaming. You can almost count the people on the tip of your fingers here. A hipster’s haven, you could call this one! We spend a good 2 hours on this beach playing beach games before heading back.So, this is when I realized I made a terrible mistake with the choice of my footwear. On our way back, I happened to trip really bad and fall off a rock. My friends did come to my rescue but there was very little that could’ve been done as damage control. I realized that if I let the pain settle, I wouldn’t be able to walk. Walking slowly, rather limping I made my way back. Somehow the beautiful view more than made up for the pain that was to follow.

‘Gokarna wale utron’ yelled the bus supervisor at 6.40 AM in the morning. I was already up as soon as the sun rose. My friends still sleeping as if they’ve had the most comforting sleep of their lives. A hit on their shoulders was their wake up call for the day. We boarded a local bus from the bus depot and post that you either walk it up to OM beach or hire an auto. As enervated as we were, my friend who was not a Gokarna virgin managed to convince us that the 6km long walk with heavy bag packs was worth it. After a long yet interesting walk comprising few encounters with langoors (wild monkeys) and a very interesting pole dance by the boys on a random pole. The view of the magnificent sea with blue water glittering under the 10 AM sun and the smell of sand and I knew I was home. Throwing in a few facts here – The beach gets its name from the ‘Om’ symbol that is formed by the shore.

After crossing the river, We started walking again. Landscape started changing from Villages to city. Gokarna has become alternate for Goa these days. It was around 4 in the evening when we reached Paradise beach. Didnt get proper place here for camping since there were already so many people. We decide to carry on . Finally we found a proper place near Half Moon beach.Prepared Maggi for dinner. As it was full moon night, Night was lit up from Shining moon and sea was roaring.Just sat on the cliff hearing that sound till mid night. Peace..!

Heart Says:Sometimes when you travel in ​the ​direction of your fears, you get to know where you're heading in life!I marched ahead and after ​a ​few hundred steps, I saw the most beautiful beach ever of my life. Right down a 100 ft cliff, a neat and clean beach with golden sand, tremendous waves coming in their fullest might and a stormy sky! They call it ​the ​Shiva's own beach. And by principle he is the God of Destruction. The deadly sights and experiences this beach gave me, I truly felt like having found ​the ​abode of Shiva! I would recommend camping overnight here, the clear skies will give you ​the ​starry experience of ​ a ​lifetime.

If you wish to immerse yourself in the true hippie culture, then Paradise Beach is just the place for you. Since this beach is only accessible via either a trek or a boat ride, the population here comprises of people seeking solace from the crowd. Before you jump at the thought of going to this beach, I must tell you that only a few basic amenities are available here – this means there is no electricity and only a handful of shacks selling bags of chips and pakodas. If you are not bothered by such inconveniences, this white sand beach is totally worth your time.

Om Beach is even calmer than Kudle Beach, and hence it's a great place to end your day. There are plenty of rock pools here to sit at and enjoy. And many boats for hire that can help you explore the sea for as cheap as 100 bucks an hour during off-season. This place is a favourite with Israelis and Russians, who have made this a permanent retreat away from the hustle and bustle of Goa. The beach is named after its actual shape – the word 'Om'.Dinner

We already had made a booking for accommodation in "Namaste Cafe" (one of the best spots )at Om Beach for next two days. There are some other small shacks offering lodging facility & I'll try them if I visit Gokarna again. My first experience after stepping on the beach was mesmerizing , it was serene , I felt like , we have got our own private beach , the view was spectacular , the waves were high & it was perfect day to spent some time with this amazing subset of Arabian Sea . The good part was because it was an off season , there was not much of local crowd. If I didn't know where I am, anyone could have stated me that I am in some European country & I would have agreed to that. Everywhere I can see these tourists having fun & taking Sunbath "Basking”. This was a great feeling!! . We scrolled along the beach & tried to cover the whole stretch, trust me nothing can beat this feeling of solitude. I tried to communicate with some of these people & understand their experience about India. I would like to mention about Meow (Poland) . We got to know of him over a mug of beer. He is an entrepreneur, running a website, where international travelers can communicate with each other, if someone has seen this movie "The Holiday" starring Kate Winslet & Cameron Diaz, they would understand how these websites work .He is in India from last six months & covered almost all regions. Isn't it amazing ? people like him know more about our country than us & is passionate to travel & see this world, he also offered us a bit of grass, which made rest of our day as well. After some basking, a lot of swimming & ample pints of beer, we came back to our shack.

One of the best beaches I have ever visited. You can either reach by a boat or can trek. You won't be disappointed.

I miss you Gokarna and I'll definitely come back :) 

To encounter a more isolated and solitary experience, walk along to the further corners of the beach because the central part is generally covered with the bigger section of visitors. You might be able to find a peaceful corner for yourself to lie down, read or just have your own little picnic. Do not enter the zones marked by flags because then you might be charged with some amount of fee. There is also a longer route to reach this beach, by road but the ferry will take you there more swiftly. The best feature of this beach is that it is quite clean and thus you don’t have to feel disgusted while walking around. So do not miss this opportunity of sinking in nature’s eternal beauty, go skin dipping in the backwaters and rejuvenate yourself.

It’s a calm and peaceful place to spend time with no crowd. If planning to stay over, good option would be the half moon beach which has a couple of shacks where people sunbathe and chill with no many tourists around compared to OM beach or Kudle beach. Returning from the paradise beach we choose the boat as we were almost exhausted by now and need to quickly find some place to have some food and crash. It is difficult to find place for Indians in the shacks along OM beach. Got some shelter in the pretty decent Namasthe café, a quite popular place with the Russians tourists. That evening we spent some time loafing around the beautiful beaches and enjoying some delicious food at namasthe café. The walk from OM beach to Kudle beach is an other trek if you wish to, but we kept it aside for our next visit.

It's a calm and peaceful place to spend time with no crowd. If planning to stay over, good option would be the half moon beach which has a couple of shacks where people sunbathe and chill with no many tourists around compared to OM beach or Kudle beach. Returning from the paradise beach we choose the boat as we were almost exhausted by now and need to quickly find some place to have some food and crash. It is difficult to find place for Indians in the shacks along OM beach. Got some shelter in the pretty decent Namasthe café, a quite popular place with the Russians tourists. That evening we spent some time loafing around the beautiful beaches and enjoying some delicious food at namasthe café. The walk from OM beach to Kudle beach is an other trek if you wish to, but we kept it aside for our next visit.

Now Gokarna is known for its religious attractions (which we decided to put for the later part of the trip) and its multitude of beaches. The most famous one of course is the Om Beach, which is well as the name suggests shaped like an Om! Being the most famous, it also is the most crowded of them all. Especially if you end up going on a weekend (which most people do) the beach is thronged by families and kids running all over and ladies washing their scarves, sarees et all in the waters.

Half Moon to ParadiseI still regret it; not going to the Paradise beach. Just push yourself a bit more through humidity (which I couldn't, under a scorching March Sun) and you would be there.

Kudle to OmIf you are starting from Kudle, go to the far end towards Om Beach side (a li'l bit of asking around would do) and climb up the rocky trail on to the next trail and it will lead you to a proper road tat leads your next destination. Here, this route wouldn't go side by side the sea, so don't get confused like me. Take the 'only wide route you see and follow. I wasted almost 10-15 minutes there being a bit confused, as to whether or not I should take that trail, as you won't get a sign board directing you at this point! :D

You get autos and taxis easily; I had booked my place at Om beach. The way to the beach is around 30 minutes and very scenic. On reaching my guest house, I settled in my room and then headed to the beach, it was peaceful morning with people doing yoga and running by the shore, along with the fishermen getting ready for their days job.