A Bike Ride To GOKARNA

DAY 1: We left early morning at around 3 am from Nagpur and took our first major halt at Hyderabad. The distance from Nagpur to Hyderabad by road is around 500km(approximately) and it took us 8-9 hours to reach till the border of Hyderabad. And another 1:30 mins to reach Serilingampally because of the city traffic.

The road till Pandharkavada, a town located on the border of Maharashtra and Telangana is quite ok, but from there till Hyderabad the road is as smooth as silk. One can easily maintain an average speed of 80-90 km/ph.

DAY 2: After the much-needed sleep we started our journey towards Gokarna and left Hyderabad at around 4 am. The distance till Gokarna is 650 km by road. We reached Zostel around 7:30 in the evening. Our route was somewhat like this (see the screenshot of the map)

We were tired after reaching but couldn’t hold the excitement to go a night trek with the fellow Zostellers. So we did go on a trek to paradise beach to see Phytoplankton and it was an amazing experience. Some amazing things cannot be captured with camera and phytoplankton is one of those amazing things. ( Raat ke jugnoo, Par paani waale)DAY 3: The third day of our journey was the first day in Gokarna. On this day we decided to travel to a nearby place called Yana Caves and also thought of covering any beach. Yana is approximately 50 km from Gokarna. The time taken on a bike is usually around and 1:30 hour or so and it is the same by car.

To actually the see the caves one has to walk for like 30-40mins from the Parking lot. The walk reminds of all the junk one has consumed.

Just after exiting the caves it started raining cats and dogs. And the view was breathtaking. There was only a small temple for shelter, under which sat for like 30 mins or so enjoying the wonders of nature.

After leaving Yana Caves we planned on going to the Half Moon beach but instead, the path led us to the paradise beach. The thing is one has to trek to go to the Half Moon beach, but if someone (who knows where the beach is) is not accompanying you then the path gets a little confusing, at least for us, it was. So, we crossed the Half Moon beach not knowing that it was, and straightaway went to the Paradise beach. It was almost evening when we reached. The return from the beach to our bikes was a challenge as we didn't know the path that well, and it was getting dark. Somehow, we managed to walk thinking about every damn thing we did in the past. The path was amidst dense trees, which was a little scary but hell adventurous.

DAY 4: On the Fourth day we visited the Vibhuti Falls which is at a distance of 50-55 km from Gokarna. We left at around 11 am. It is on the same route as the Yana Caves you just have to take a right turn towards the Vibhuti Falls and left towards the Yana Caves. And we came to know this the day we were going to the Vibhuti Falls. Otherwise, both the destinations can be covered on the same day if you start your day a little early.

Having a good bath at the Vibhuti falls, we decided of enjoying the Sunset at the Om Beach, which is one of the major beaches in Gokarna. The distance till the Om Beach from the market area is around 6.5 km and usually takes 15 mins of drive time. The sunset looks beautiful from this beach. Having a sip of coffee at the Namaste Cafe we went to our Zostel to rest. This was our last evening in Gokarna.

We thought of Going to our hometown via Pune, as the roads were pretty familiar and we had some friends to visit in Pune. The road distance from Gokarna to Pune is 550 km and it took us 10-11 hours to reach. The road conditions are damn good. It’s a 6 lane highway from Belgaum till Pune.

After taking rest for a full night and a full day, we started riding towards Nagpur on 10 Dec 2018. The distance from Pune To Nagpur is around 720 km and the roads conditions are pretty ok till Amravati. From Amravati to Nagpur the roads are amazing. It was indeed an adventurous ride. The things one learns on such journeys cannot be learned in comfort zone.