Gokarna

Day 1

Had been in Sahyadri's many times by car, because of that I had started Loving Driving and had wish of Long Drive

As Long Drive Road Trip was wish from heart, now it was time to use brain to fulfill the wish from heart.
It was Month of April, bday of my Love and also from long time I was in Search of Long Drive Road trip (more than 500km)
I started zooming Google map, got many options Like Hampi - Hospet and Badami, felt it's not good to visit in Month of April, Goa - already been there many times, so kept on thinking.
One day saw a pic of cave in FB, it was Yana Cave, the pic and name was very different due to which I got attracted and then started collecting info, came to know the Cave is in Gokarna.
Googled Gokarna, saw pics and then immediately at the same time my heart and mind said Gokarna should be Go Kar Na (Go do it).
Now the destination was Final, the mode of transport was my 1st Love (Car) with my 2nd Love, i was very excited as I had both Love together.

I had many ways to reach Gokarna, but I had to make correct use of time and money
My Final Route and Schedule from Pune to Gokarna is Given below

Pune - Kolhapur - Belgaon - South Goa - Karwar - Gokarna - Dudhsagar Waterfalls - Pune

Day 1 - Reach Gokarna Via Canacona (South Goa)

Day 2 - Yana Caves, Vibhuti Waterfalls and Temples in Gokarna

Day 3 - Beaches of Gokarna

Day 4 - Murdeshwar

Day 5 - Back to Pune via visit to Dudhsagar Waterfalls

Day 2

Day 1
Left Pune early morning at 6am.
The road was smooth and amazing, reached Kolhapur before 10am and within no time around 12pm reached Belgaon, at the entrance of Belgaon we had pineapple juice, which was not from mixer and was from crusher which was just amazing, I had 2 glass, the cost was very very cheap, then I realized I am out of Pune..
After this Short break reach Canacona via Bhagwan Mahavir wild Life Sanctuary by 2 to 3pm.
You must be wondering, was there any need to go to South Goa ?
My answer is Yesss, as I had my car and I had wish to have Lunch @ Hotel Blue Lagoon, Cola beach (Just search Blue Lagoon Cola beach, you may also put it in your Bucket list)
We ordered our Favorite, Prawns Biryani and Pasta, had rest till 6pm and then Left to Gokarna Via Karwar and reached Gokarna by 9pm.
Distance covered on day 1 was around 650kms..

Day 3

Gokarna Day 1

Today's target was to cover
Yana Caves
Vibhuti Waterfalls
Temples of Gokarna

Yana Caves - it's 50 km from Gokarna, as I told in start, it's very different and attractive, the mountain the cave is of Black Crystalline Karst Limestone which makes it outstanding/different from others attractions.
We left Gokarna early morning, it was month of April, i was expecting very hot atmosphere, but the forest was very dense and atmosphere was very Cool which was beyond imagination.
From parking there is a trail of around 1km to reach Yana Caves.

Vibhuti/Vibhooti Waterfalls..

Best time to Visit Vibhuti Waterfalls is from Sept to Feb.. there may be restrictions to visit in Monsoon
I was there in month of April, I was not expecting waterfall to be there. But still I made my mind to go there, when I reached there, I saw there was no vehicle around, there is nominal entrance charge, but nobody was present, there's 10-15 mins forest trail to reach the falls. This forest trail attracted me and I was on my way.
As we was moving ahead, forest was getting more dense and more beautiful. When I was nearby I heard the sound of water which gave me confirmation of waterfall and I was damn happy as I was the only person with my sweetheart to reach the waterfall, was very excited to click pics.
We enjoyed the Vibuthi falls as much as we enjoyed the walk to and from the falls. Keep about half a day to peacefully enjoy Vibhuti Falls.

Shree Mahabaleshwar Temple.
This temple is in exact center of Gokarna.
Just hardly few meters from Main Gokarna Beach.
This temple is most important pilgrimage place in Southern part of India, the temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva.
This temple is significantly considered as the one of the 7 Mukti Sthala temples in Karnataka.

Day 4

Beaches of Gokarna

There are many beaches in Gokarna, out of which only few are Commercialized.
I have been to below beaches

Kudle Beach
Kudle Beach is one of the many beaches of Gokarna, situated only a few minutes' walk from Gokarna.
The beach is a paradise for those who love peace and silent atmosphere while they travel.
This beach offers the most silent and serene atmosphere to enjoy a sunset, a walk along the shore or simply sit and observe the tides. Many local people prefer this beach for a morning or evening walk or practising yoga.

Om Beach
Om Beach has derived its name from it's shape. It has fine sand and Lovely Rock creations which has attracted lot of Tourists. There are small cafes lined up with Shacks, the food and stay is quite reasonable. Watersports also available on this Beach.
There is a trail from Om beach which takes you to Paradise beach, it will take around 1.5 hrs to reach Paradise beach.
We celebrated my Sweetheart Trishas bday on Om beach, we ourselves prepared Fruit cake and it was very unique. Enjoyed a lott.

Paradise Beach
This is one of the most isolated and most beautiful beach in Gokarna.
You cannot reach here directly by your vehicle, then how to reach here ?

i) By boat from Om beach

ii) Trail from Om beach
Trail from Om beach is one of the best trail, and we missed it.

iii) Trail from Belekan Beach
Later we came and parked our car at the Belekan beach and started trail to Paradise beach.
It took just 30 mins to reach there, on the way there is dense forest, we came across King Cobra, we were bit worried and started sweating when we saw it, but it was on its way and we were safe.
During the night time, you can often spot small troops of foreign travellers staying here, camping and cooking their meals. Availability of fresh water well on the beach makes it an ideal spot for camping.

God's Own Beach
This beach is just besides Belekan beach.
We were present here during the time of Sunset. The beach small and beautiful.

Day 5

Murdeshwar

Huge Lord Shiva Statue, Beautiful temple, I always had dream to visit this Temple. This place is just 80km from Gokarna.
There is a lift in temple which takes you to 18th Floor, from there you get the amazing view of Murdeshwar Beach.
From Murdeshwar there is a ferry which takes you to Netrani island, scuba diving facility available in Netrani island and it is considered as one of the best place for Scuba diving. We were bit unlucky, because that day enough members were not present.

Day 6

Gokarna to Pune via Dudhsagar Waterfalls

I had been twice to Dudhsagar Waterfalls, but Trisha had not visited.
We had our car and we were nearby, so it was the nice opportunity to visit Waterfalls.
Dudhsagar Waterfalls is called as sea of Milk, it present on Madovi in Bhagwan Mahavir wild Life Sanctuary, the forest is very dense and beautiful.
It's just 150km from Gokarna, to reach Dudhsagar we reached Sonaulim, cars are not aloud further, we had to park our car there, and hire a jeep for further journey of 14km.
The further journey was on Bumpy roads and Jeep is the correct option.
The Jeep drops you at a particular point, from there, it's 1km trail through dense forest to reach the waterfall.
It was Month of April, but still it had enough water in which we enjoyed, Dudhsagar is Dangerous in Monsoon and can only be viewed, entry inside waterfall is not allowed in Monsoon.
We were back to our car by 4pm, it was already late and we started our journey to Pune.
Finished the Long Drive Road Trip with lots of Memories.

I would like to end with below Words...

“Live with no excuses and travel with no regrets”

“Don't listen to what they say, go see”