There is a reason why I always prefer a destination which is less commercialized and more raw. Gokarna was one such place long due in my list. Having heard good words about it from friends, I decided to plan my first ever sibling trip of life here, with my brother coming from Hyderabad, my sister coming from Bangalore and me coming from Mumbai. It was indeed a tale of three rivers coming from three states to meet finally in the Arabian sea touching the coastline of Karnataka.
How we travelled:
From Bangalore: Take a direct bus to Gokarna
From Mumbai: Take a train to Gokarna Road railway station and then catch a local bus to reach Gokarna town. It is a 20 minutes’ ride + waiting time (around 20-30 minutes) as the buses are not very frequent.
From Hyderabad: Travelling from Hyderabad to Gokarna is a bit of task as there are no direct buses. Strangely, any bus services from Hyderabad will only drop you till a particular point, a bit more than one hour away from Gokarna, and you may have to take another bus to reach Gokarna. This may consume some good couple of hours in the morning.
The Best Part: The mere fact that it was our first ever sibling trip in the odd 30 years, made it all the more interesting with beautiful lifetime memories to take back. Having been working in different cities, how often do we meet these days? Quite rarely, in fact! That’s the irony of this modern life for those who hail from small towns and travel to big cities to make a successful career. The price we pay for a fat salary cheque is, loss of time spent together, fighting with each other, and reflecting on bigger questions of life.
Why Gokarna? For its less-crowded, exquisitely beautiful beaches.
How to plan your day?
Part I, Om Beach: Start with Om beach on your first day. You may probably reach here by early afternoon, as you cannot catch sunrise anyway due to last night’s travel. Have fun in the (extra) sandy sea water followed by lip-smacking food at Namaste Cafe. Being a connoisseur of food , I totally loved the food here. The cafe is right in front of the beach and offers a spectacular view of the sea while you satisfy your gastronomic urge.
Quick Tips: Carry enough cash, as the restaurant may not accept cards and there are no ATMs nearby.
Part II, Kudle Beach: Catch the sunset at Kudle beach. It is such a complete visual treat to the eyes; one of the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen and captured!
Part III, Om Beach and Half-moon Beach: This leg of the trip requires a bit of adventure spirit and willingness to go few extra miles in the early morning. Definitely not recommended for lazy traveler and those who cannot trek. You can start early enough from your stay to catch sunrise at Om beach as you missed it the last day.
The sea wave formation reflecting the golden light from the sunrise is a sheer visual delight from this beach.
After soaking in the spectacular sunrise and sea waves at Om beach, you can take a walk in the same direction as this gentleman, to reach this mountain from where a 30 minutes’ trekking begins to reach Half-moon beach, the most isolated one with hardly any people.
The trekking requires walking on pag-dandi uphill with lush green trees and shrubs all around.
Going uphill, you will get a bird’s-eye view of the Om beach. This hill also offers an exquisitely beautiful view of the beach on the other side of the hill.
Once you cross this hill, you will reach the untouched pristine beach of Half-moon. A very small beach giving you the feel of having your own private beach.
There are many more things that you can do in Gokarna which we could not. Try and explore, and you will be amazed!
Creative Genes 
Wonderfully captured both in visuals and words. Enjoy life to its fullest.
Thank you so much for the love and encouragement!
Loved the pictures! Lovely write-up too!
Thanks Sushil Sir 🙂