Gokarna - a paradise for beach lovers #southindiaitinerary

So after enjoying the view for a while, me and my friends went to have breakfast from Mantra Cafe. The food was delicious, but a little overpriced. The first beach we visited was the Kudle beach. The beach was moderately clean and have a lot of restaurants nearby facing the sea.

It was a nice stroll on the beach, if we ignore the scorching heat during daytime. After Kudle, we walked to the Gokarna main beach. This beach was not as clean as the Kudle beach and was much more crowded as well. But the cool breeze and the beautiful sunset overtops these minor things.

The next day, we woke up early morning and set out to start our trek to Paradise beach from Om beach. We took a rickshaw from near our hostel to Om beach for which the driver charged a hefty amount of Rs 250, for a distance of hardly 3 kms. So if you want to explore Gokarna without burning a hole in your pocket, rent a scooter!

After some quality time at Om beach, we began our trek to a beach called 'Half Moon' beach which comes midway on the trek route to Paradise beach.

Half Moon beach was one of the most calm and serene beaches in Gokarna. There is no road access to Half Moon beach. So, the only way to reach there would be by hiking or by making use of a boat. The water is more blue and the beach is unpolluted since very less people visit this gorgeous beach. The trek to the beach though, is a tricky one. The path is through a forest and there are pretty much no sign boards to show us the right route. There were situations where we almost got lost and had to find our way back and then again find the right route. We got lucky to meet few people on the way after sometime and they helped us with the route. There is a lot of tough rock climbing, and forest hiking involved to reach this beach, but the view and the experience was so much worth it!

The best idea would be to grab something to eat from any of the cafes close to this beach, since there is no other provision for food or water throughout the trek. After approximately 30 mins of hiking which started from Half moon beach, we finally reached the Paradise beach. It was a yet another fascinating beach! We relaxed there for sometime and enjoyed the evening there.

Later that evening, we wandered the streets of the town and did some shopping. We were thrilled about the camping in a private island that we had booked for the next day.

The next day arrived, and we headed to the Gokarna port where we met the organizer for the island stay. He showed us to the houseboat and soon enough we were on our way to the island. They made sure all of us mandatorily wore the life jackets. Once we were close to the island, they made us jump into the water! I freaked out initially, but I floated because of the life jackets and my friends were around to make sure I was okay. The joy I felt by floating on the water with the wide blue sky above me is beyond words!

They had arranged many activities like Kayaking, Beach volleyball etc which added more to the fun. We camped there that night with some good music,campfire and DJ. Next day, we explored some places near the island and then set out to do some Dolphin watching while on the way back to the port. Overall, it was an amazing experience.

After reaching back, we walked around Gokarna again for a sometime and visited Kudle beach for the one last time. This time, to see a heavenly sunset.

This vacation to Gokarna has been an incredible experience that I will never forget. Thanks to my friends for making it so memorable and thanks to Gokarna, for being so magnificent.