A week in Coastal Karnataka
When we think of beaches in India, Goa is the first thing that comes to mind isn't it? Of course, the beaches in Goa are beautiful, the crowd makes it look international and quite happening indeed!
But, keep in mind that the Arabin sea coast is pretty long and further south are the beautiful and less crowded beaches of Karnataka and Kerala. We had been to the beaches in Kerala in 2018 and decided to explore coastal Karnataka this time around.
As I have been doing for a long time now, I hopped on a plane from Delhi to Bangalore and from there we left for Mangalore in the Dakshin Kannada district. Mangalore is a town which is quite famous due to educational institutions around it and a lot of students from the various parts of the country visit this place. We did not have a language problem, as Hindi is spoken and understood widely in the entire state of Karnataka.
We spent a couple of days in Mangalore, explored the beaches in the city, and went to some of the famous spots there. From Mangalore, we, took a bus to Udupi which is famous for the Sri Krishna temple and some water sports.
In Udupi, we saw the Krishna temple. It is one of the most famous ‘mutts’ of Southern India and the place is visited by people from all over the country. Due to the COVID-related restrictions, the crowd there was limited. We spent almost an hour in the temple.
After visiting the Krishna temple, and the beach on the first day, we reserved the second day for the adventure sports there. We went parasailing there at the ‘Malpe beach’. Since I had never done this before, I was a bit nervous but all the nervousness turned into excitement we got into the boat and as I was launched in the air tied with a string to the boat, it was quite an experience.
From Udupi, we got on to a local bus to Gokarna. Gokarna is a really beautiful place. We booked a homestay using Airbnb there and the place was really awesome. Actually, Gokarna is basically a village with beautiful beaches. There is nothing else there and it really makes the place very very special. The entire village is based on tourism, which started only a few years back.
Coming to the beaches of Gokarna, it is like Goa in every aspect except the crowds. The beaches in Gokarna are less crowded, and one can relax for a long time there. Another thing that attracted me the most was that the long walks on the beach there. One can walk for kilometers in the evening with the sea breeze around. The experience is serene indeed.
Gokarna has an ancient Shiva temple as well, which is around 1000 years old. However, the crowds there are quite thin, quite unexpected from an ancient Shiva temple. Apart from that, there is a small market in Gokarna which is all that is there to see.
From Gokarna, we boarded a train. The station is known as Gokarna road, around 10km away from the city. It is quite a clean and well-maintained station operated by the Konkan railway corporation. The route is quite scenic, although we were unlucky to witness its beauty as we were on an overnight train. Anyways, we reached Yesvantpur (in Bangalore) the next morning. and after having a good south Indian Breakfast, w left for the airport. By evening I was in Delhi rejoicing the memories.
Gokarna was the highlight of this trip, which attracted us the most. We are looking forward to visiting this place again.
