A relaxing weekend by the sandy beaches of Gokarna

Gokarna – a small town in Karnataka located on the coast of Karwar, is mostly known for its peaceful beaches and temples. This rustic little city draws a lot of foreign tourists who are majorly seen dotted along the Palm clad beaches alongside a very few Indians. Gokarna has come to be a less commercialised version of Goa having neater and tidier beaches. Lined with a stretch of coconut and palm trees, clear waters and clean sands, Gokarna sure is a beautiful place to spend a laid back calm weekend, away from the hustle bustle of the city.

Having been confined to my bed for a little over 2 months on account of a broken limb, I was more than happy and all ready to spring into action when friends brought up the idea of a trip to gokarna. It was a long pending vacation. A welcome break for all of us as this trip held a lot of value to most of us due to varied reasons. We were looking forward to a relaxed weekend unwinding by the beaches, with good food and music.

We took a 12 hour bus ride from Bangalore to Gokarna, having had our accommodations booked a week in advance. A few resorts were on our mind, however, as a result of last minute bookings, there weren’t enough vacancies.

After a busy day at work, we hopped onto the bus, late night, at our respective stops after having had a quick bite for dinner at the bus stop.

Our pre-booked accommodation let us check in at 8 am, where we freshened up, got dressed and headed out. Helping ourselves to a quick breakfast in a restaurant beneath the place we stayed, we walked to the Gokarna beach which was approximately 0.5 km from the hotel where our room was booked at. The walk to the beach was quite an interesting one, as we window shopped, at the little kitschy souvenir stores by the streets. Selling beaded jewelry, clothes, spices and other articles, the streets looked lively, colorful and so full of life! Having picked a few ornaments on the way, we reached the Gokarna beach as the streets ended and opened out to the beach.

Gokarna beach

Though beautiful, this beach seemed a little commercialised and littered. We noticed quite a few locals out here, having a good time. There were photographers who were offering to shoot pictures of the tourists visiting the place and were getting them developed in under 10 minutes for a few bucks.

Speed boating was a major attraction here and many of the youngsters looked really excited to try it out. We thought of giving it a shot and merrily leaped into the boats with life jackets on, all set to experience the thrill.

A few minutes later, we were back on the shores after a refreshing and exhilarating ride amidst the spraying salty waters of the seas.

Kudle beach

A few miles and an auto ride away from the Gokarna beach, this beach was lined with multiple shacks and cafes along the shores. A vast stretch of clear blue waters, shores laced with bubbling sea foam, rock laden sands and the laughter of people coming in bursts, is what we saw, when we got here. Munching on delicacies and gulping down chilled fizzy drinks in a quaint little cafe at the far end, we looked over the wide expanse of the beach, owing to our tables that came with this breathtaking view.

A little while later, we hopped down and walked along the sandy seaside, picking up seashells, pebbles crunching underneath our feet, watching the crabs scuttling along into their sandy abode. Stationing ourselves on a peaceful spot along the water side, ribbon of cliffs and rocks surrounding the bay, we watched as the sun’s rays peacefully floated, resting on the warm waters. The occasional sea breeze sent little tingles and the fresh salty air tickled my nose. I kept turning on my phone to snap pictures every once in while, especially as the sun took a deep plunge down the blue skies, turning it to a bright orange.

After a scrumptious dinner and having got a good nights rest, we were up on our feet the next morning, ready to take on the day!

Trek to Paradise beach

Being dropped off at the foothill of the mountain where our trek began, we started walking taking cautious steady steps. The trail passed through fringes of forests exposed on the top. As we proceeded, the path got rougher and our legs got stiff – aching from the continuous climbing for several minutes, without a break. The trail climbed into a series of long switchbacks, overlooking the beach until thirty minutes later that it dived around a ridge to move to a narrow path with thickets of trees leaving room only for one person to pass through.

There were several spots on the way where the alluring scenery took our breath away, and each time we climbed a little higher to get better panorama shots of the view that lay in front of us. As we descended lower, the climb downhill got rougher, but the views started getting all the more magnificent as they opened out to the beach.

There was a tiny stall at the bottom, which served a variety of fruit drinks and cut fruits. We quenched our parched throats by sipping on the fresh waters of the tender coconut, served to us by the beach. After making sure that we had gotten a considerable amount of fine pictures of the place, we chose to take a boat ride to the Om beach via the Half moon beach, rather than trekking there, as our energies were pretty depleted for the day. Had we chosen to trek, it would have been a good forty more minutes, going over two hillocks and deep forests.

Sailing over the tranquil waters, the boat ride was really smooth, housing over 20 odd people on the same boat alongside the person steering the vessel. It sailed over the sea for a little over fifteen minutes before finally coming to a halt on the shores of the OM beach.

Om beach

As we walked along- delicately pushing our way through the waves, balancing our slippers in our hands, we discovered that there were quite a few water rides taking place at the location. Friends chose to go for the jet ski, bumper and the banana boat ride, while I sat on the rocks along the waters documenting their adventures and misadventures. Walking around aimlessly on the scorching sands, a few of us landed at a colourful little cafe overlooking the beach, while we watched the others who continued to dabble their way around in the warm salty waters.

The sun began setting, and a few of us decided to take a stroll by the shoreline. What I saw next was something that I’d never seen before! Painted along the skies, were brush strokes of rosy tints. My gaze drifted off to the far off horizon, the flaring hues of the sun melting into the sky and ocean, like a divine painting.

We couldn’t take our eyes off the enchanting sight, so we took pictures instead! We caught silhouettes of ships and rowboats making their way through the waves, at a distance.

Feeling the soft waves gently moving past my legs, the sand tenderly whisking itself from under my feet, I could taste the salty air and feel it chill my face. I stood there soaking in the feeling, watching the waves crashing against the rocks, my ears inviting the quiet whispers of the waves, the skies turning a darker shade of pink with every passing moment, the shore fading into liquid gold and the breeze getting chillier.

I walked along the beach scrunching my toes, feeling the softness of the sand, still damp from the retreating tide, watching as each wave overlapped one another, sending white bubbling crests descending, as it masked the shore with the transparent fading water.

Breaking from the trance, we realised that we had a bus to catch and we were running horribly late! The next hour was a buzz trying to rush through freshening up and getting our dinners packed before we boarded the bus.

We thankfully managed to make it on time, taking our seats and grabbing bites from the packed food, recollecting the beautiful moments that we had lived over the last two days, adding these priceless memories in our bank of golden experiences.

Two blissful days, conquering our fears together and discovering new perspectives of life, bringing our relationships a level closer. This was going to be cherished, until the next time where we would head out to make beautiful memories together, yet again.

Maybe the best moment of your life, will be on your next big adventure.

– Siya Zarrabi