Gokarna - life by the sea, part 1, India. Gokarna, India: sights, holidays, weather, reviews Gokarna India map

When it comes to beach vacations in India, only Goa comes to mind! The most advanced travelers remember Kerala. But there is another amazing place - a town that can combine all the flavor of India and beautiful beaches.

Is a small town in the state of Karnataka. It is easy to visit for all lovers of rest in Goa, because it is very easy to get to it. Why is it so interesting?

This city is a major religious center of Hindus, so thousands of pilgrims come here. A particularly large crowd of people is observed on major Hindu holidays, which occur very often. "" In translation from Sanskrit means "cow's ear", according to legend, it is in this place that Shiva emerged from the ear of the goddess Prithivi, who turned into a cow.

- the second most popular place in the state of Karnataka after the ancient city of Hampi. A few years ago, it was almost impossible to meet a white tourist there. But this is a great opportunity to break away from the bustling and idle Goa and get to know a part of the real, non-Portuguese India. Today the situation is changing and more and more people are going to Gokarna to enjoy the beautiful beaches and see one of the centers of the Hindu religion.

Outside Goa, it is worth remembering that India is a very religious and conservative country, you do not need to walk around Gokarna and other Indian cities in open clothes and behave defiantly. This is a completely different kind of vacation. In Gokarna, you can find a yoga or Sanskrit teacher, chat with the locals and see how people live at the temples.

How to get there?

Can be a transit point for those moving to or from Hampi. There is a slipper bass from Hampi to Gokarna, a bus with recumbent seats, like in a train, runs at night, so the road is easy and calm.

By bus. The easiest way to get to Gokarna will be a vacationer on the southern beaches of Goa. From Palolem, Colva, Cavelossim or Benolim, you need to get to the Karvar bus station. This can be done with a local bus or taxi. Karvar is closest to Palolem. From Karvar you need to take a bus to Ancola, and from Ancola to Gokarna.

It is not difficult for buses to travel, they all come to the same bus station (bus station) and you just need to change trains. Moreover, buses run often, you won't have to wait long. The ticket is purchased either in the window at the station or on the bus itself from the conductor.

For holidaymakers in the north of Goa, the path will be longer. First you need to get to the main southern city - Margao. It is he who is the starting point of the entire southern direction, in Margao there is a large bus station and a railway station, from them you can get anywhere. There is a direct bus from Margao to Karwar, so the further route is the same as in the previous version. This is what the path looks like for those traveling from the north of Goa: a village in the north - Mapsa - Panjim - Margao - Karwar - Ancola -. This path is quite long and tiring, you can spend almost the whole day on it.

By train. Trains run from the station in the same Margao and go to the station near Gokarna, from where you will need to take a taxi to get to the town itself.

The easiest and fastest way to get to Gokarna directly is by taxi. But it will cost more than one thousand rupees. And traveling by local transport, where tickets cost from 5 rupees per journey, will be cheaper and will be remembered forever.

Where to stay

There is not as much housing in Gokarna itself as in Goa, but it is there. You need to know in advance if there is any religious holiday on the day of arrival, if so, this will greatly complicate the search for a place to sleep. Housing prices are low - from 200 rupees per night. There are several hotels, they are more expensive. Rooms in guesthouses are standard - bed, shower, toilet, fan. It is better to settle closer to the city center.

The city has several cafes for local, familiar Goan restaurants with a huge selection of dishes you will not find here. The food is mostly vegetarian, spicy and little familiar to the mass tourist.

Food prices are very low.

- a very small town! There is a bus station, a main temple (tourists are not allowed there, but you can look outside), a shopping street, several cafes and small houses of local residents. Tourists come here for the beaches, perceiving Gokarna as a transit point. Here you can spend a pleasant couple of days immersing yourself in the atmosphere of Indian life and spirituality. And then go to the beaches of Gokarna.

Om Beach

Om Beach can be reached by rickshaw, not far away. Or you can walk. The nearest beach is Kudli Beach - the road to it starts right behind the main temple of Gokarna (there are signs). Koodley Beach is a wide and long beach, but mostly locals rest on it. All tourists make their way to the following 3 beaches: Om Beach, Half Moon Beach and Paradise Beach.

The very first and closest - Om Beach, it was named so because of its shape, reminiscent of the sign "Om". And all the names of cafes and guesthouses located on the beach have “Om” in their name. It is the largest and most populated of all three beaches. If you take a rickshaw, he will drop off at a small area, from which, going down the stairs, you can get to the beach itself. Therefore, there are the most people there. There are guesthouses on the beach - the simplest ones for unassuming travelers. Most of them are bamboo shabby huts with outdoor facilities. You don't have to ask about hot water, electricity is intermittent. Each guesthouse has its own cafe. Prices are quite reasonable, many menu items are cheaper than in Goa, and there is more choice than in the city. There are dishes familiar to Europeans - soups, sandwiches, salads. It is worth mentioning right away about alcohol in Gokarna. Since the city is sacred, alcohol is difficult to get. As you know, Goa is the only state where alcohol is not taxed. There are no such prices as in Goa anywhere else in India. And in general, so many alcoholic shops can not be found anywhere else. In Karnataka, you can find 1-2 bars for each village. Likewise, in Gokarna, alcohol is not sold openly on the beaches, and if it is in a cafe, one must be prepared for the fact that the price for it will be higher than in free Goa.

The beach itself is good, there are rocks, the nature is beautiful. The sand is coarse, yellow. There are many locals on the beach who are not yet so spoiled by white-skinned bathers and do not hesitate to look at them. You must be prepared for the fact that you can become the object of close attention and a photo session. There are no entertainments, there is nowhere to go, parties, of course, are also not held. European youth, rastamans, a new generation of hippies come to these places. During the day, people lie on the beach, sit against fishing boats, play with puppies, read or play frisbee. In the evenings, bonfires are burned and songs are sung with a guitar. The rest is absolutely relaxed and unhurried; people rarely stay here for a long time.

Half Moon Beach

The beaches following Om Beach can be reached on foot or by fishing boat. The hiking trail is quite long and arduous, but very impressive and scenic! The road passes through rocky peaks and through the jungle. Stunning views open up from above. It is best to go early in the morning, because in the heat of the day, not everyone can take such a path. Half Moon Beach is a small beach with several cafes and guesthouses, literally with a couple of them. There you can take a break, swim or drink something. Most travelers are interested in Paradise Beach.

In India, every second beach is called Paradise. The beach in Gokarna is most like this paradise. It is quite large, but smaller than Om Beach. There are cafes and bamboo huts on the beach. Electricity is even worse here. People come here only for relaxation. The atmosphere is so relaxing that you can lie in a hammock or a fishing boat all day without noticing how time passes. At the peak of the heat, people gather in a few cafes (there are 2-3 of them on the beach) and chat, drink juices, read books. In the evening you can take a fishing boat and sail back to Om Beach.

While in Gokarna, you can visit another important religious site - the city of Murudeshwar, which houses the largest statue of Shiva in the world, 37 meters high. You can get there by taxi (it takes about 2 hours) or by buses with transfers. A common option is to take a taxi for the whole day and see Murudeshwar and its surroundings, you can also stop by the Jog Falls waterfall.

So, upon arrival in Murdeshwar, you can walk a little in the area of ​​the main attraction. There is a beach nearby and even a small amusement park (very specific). On the beach you can eat ice cream and take pictures. Again, you need to be prepared for huge attention from the locals. There are always a lot of people in this part of Murudeshwar, everyone will want to take a photo or shake hands with a white man. There are also many beggars in these places.

The main attractions of Murudeshwar are the statue of Shiva and the gopuram tower - the gateway to the main temple. The statue itself is completely new - it was built in 2002, but the temple was erected back in 1542. Before entering the gopuram, it is necessary to take off your shoes; in the territory of the entire temple they walk only barefoot (as in any Hindu temple). There is an elevator inside the tower, where you can go to the very top and inspect all the surroundings from the observation deck, which is just the top floor of the tower, it is completely closed, but the view is very beautiful.

Going downstairs, you can go to the temple itself, there are usually a lot of people, everyone undergoes traditional rituals, tourists are allowed to visit them. You can make a small cash offering and receive the traditional blessing of a red dot on your forehead.

And finally, the very statue of Shiva. She stands on a small hill, along which a staircase leads. You will also have to walk around the statue barefoot. Below Shiva is a cave, a closed corridor that depicts scenes of important religious subjects. All of them are accompanied by English commentaries.

Murdeshwar is a very small town, but there you can also find accommodation and cafes. There are several decent guesthouses on the main street, starting at Rs 300. The restaurants have a wide selection of dishes, prices are low.

And its surroundings are worth leaving serene Goa for a couple of days and plunge into the atmosphere of real India.

ANDinformation courtesy of

From Goa to Gokarna, a city in the neighboring state of Karnataka, we set off in a somewhat unusual way. Not without the help of the old manager of Morjim Sunset Guesthouse, we planned the next route to Gokarna: we took a taxi to the town of Margao, from where there was a direct bus to Gokarna, and already by bus we had to get to the town, which our friends highly recommended to us. For a taxi, we paid 400 rupees per person and drove for one hour, for a bus we paid 118 rupees and shook along bumpy and narrow roads for another 4 hours. The choice of the bus route was dictated by questions of economy - for crossing the state border, taxi drivers racked up an incredible price.

Gokarna was the only destination where we didn't book our hotel even at the last moment. The reason for such self-confident laxity was trivial - there was simply not a single hotel or guesthouse in Gokarna on booking.com.

Upon arrival, we checked into the first guesthouse we came across - not luxurious, but not exactly horror-horror, and the next day we went to look for normal accommodation for the remaining three days in the sacred city of Karnataka.

We were lucky and found accommodation close to the beach and restaurant. Unfortunately for us, the Nimmu House is mentioned in the Lonely Planet, so the owner has already doubled the prices indicated there. But the restaurant next door had obscenely low prices, a huge menu, and very funny waitresses.

Gokarna Beach deserves a separate story about it. It was here that we saw, so to speak, a classic Indian beach: a large sandy beach, cows, dogs, garbage from the sea and garbage from the city, Hindus vacationing and rare white tourists. To find a piece of the beach where it doesn't stink, you have to try very hard. To swim, we walked three hundred meters away from the main entrance to the beach. But already fifteen minutes later, groups of two or three Indians stretched in our direction, who unobtrusively walked back and forth or simply hid behind a boat on the shore to look at the naked white women. Indian women, like Arab women, bathe in clothes.

Of course, it is difficult to call it bathing. Waves near the coast cover you headlong and drag you into the sea. If you go into the water above the hip, there is already a great risk of not returning to the shore. The power of water is indescribable. Shy Indians generally splash only in shallow water, where the water is ankle-deep, and we went deeper to plunge into the wave, but also without fanaticism, so as not to be dragged away.

With Efim, we also went to the neighboring beach - Kudle Beach, to admire its even greater beauty and be horrified by even more garbage.

It makes sense to go to the state of Karnataka for a long time. Five national parks, twenty-five reserves, of which five are bird reserves, many temples, palaces and statues attract tourists both from India itself and from abroad. Unfortunately, we managed to capture all this rich variety with just the edge of our ear and eye. On the morning of the second day in Gokarna, we took a taxi along the route of the waterfalls - a large statue of Shiva. You can also get to the famous waterfalls Jog Falls by bus, but watching the next turn of the serpentine, I looked at the buses with a feeling of mild anxiety: the road is narrow, difficult to travel and it is easier to transfer an hour in a taxi than a couple of hours on a mountain serpentine in a cramped bus. Despite the fact that we formally arrived at the end of the monsoon season and could count on really powerful streams of water, the four arms of the Shiravati River didn't really want to impress anyone. However, during the tourist season, which starts in October, generally pitiful streams will remain on the walls of the rocks. The Indian authorities' approach to organizing the viewing process made a good impression. This is not just some kind of observation deck, but a whole park with stairs, fences and restaurants. But the truth is, to our regret, the stairs to the foot of the waterfall were closed.

Having made a dizzying journey by taxi to the foot of the mountain, we drove towards the largest statue of Shiva, built in the early 2000s. And almost suffocated.

If we thought that we were already accustomed to the eternal stench of India, then we were deeply mistaken. After an hour and a half of repeated patches of unbearable rotten smell, we came to the conclusion that it was still a matter of some fertilizer plant and the trucks that were transporting rotten raw materials to this plant. And at the entrance to the temple complex in Murudeshwar, I had to stop breathing altogether and in short dashes to get to the entrance. The smell of rotten fish was unbearably beautiful.

The entrance to the temple itself was closed, but in our tourist opinion, this was not a big deal. Gopuram - the tower above the gate - 75 meters high, satisfied the craving for beautiful Indian architecture. True, they had to take off their slippers in order to trample the dusty floor around this very gopuram together with all the Indians. In India, by the way, shoes are unacceptable in most temples. You should have seen the torment of our friends about walking or not walking barefoot on the floor with all the Indians!

To get to the huge statue of Shiva, the slippers were found and shod. The sun was hot already mercilessly and I longingly recalled gloomy, but just warm Goa.

I cannot say for all Hindus, but the joy with which they relate to religious holidays, I think, speaks in favor of the fact that Hindus are a religious people. They were lucky: no one canceled Shiva and Ganesha for them. These deities were always with them. And around the statue in Murdeshwar there were many local tourists who came to see their shrines. We also walked around the statue, marveled at the size, fought off beggars and obsessive sellers.

On the way back to Gokarna enjoyed the views of the rainforest with palm trees and again practicing prolonged breath-holdings as the taxi drove behind the rotten fish trucks.

But, as they say, a holiday happened on our street. The truck with the cookies did not roll over, but due to the proximity to the beach, we could repeatedly observe the solemn processions of carrying the Ganesha statues into the sea. The last days of a great holiday - the Ganesha Festival - were passing. In Goa, we were invited to his house by the hotel manager to celebrate the beginning of the holiday, and in Karnataka we already saw the end of the festival. Moreover, if on the penultimate day it was still somehow quiet, then on the last night of the festival we heard very loud music and Efim, unable to bear it, ran to watch. Indians performed on the shore with a fire show in a circle of drummers, and the statue of Ganesha, brought on a trailer, was the largest and most beautiful of all those that we have seen in the previous days.

And the next day we had a long way back home. We selected the flight from Goa airport to Delhi in such a way as not to enter the hustle and bustle of the Indian capital, but after waiting 3-4 hours in the terminal, just transfer to the plane to Moscow. From Gokarna we took a taxi to the Dabolim airport in Goa. Without incident, but with a slight delay, we flew to Delhi. There, for a long time, they translated the printouts of tickets from Russian to the security guard on their fingers (it is impossible to enter the terminal if you do not have a ticket), stood in several lines, barely managed to have a bite to eat and run into the shop before departure.

We flew the way I like: in a half-empty plane. Having slept most of the flight in a wide row of empty seats, we had breakfast with coffee and cookies and landed safely in morning Moscow. The customs officer at passport control looked for a long time at Yefim's passport and at Yefim himself. Then he looked at the passport again. Having received the answer that we are from India, he aptly noticed that such as in the photo in the passport (smooth-shaven) fly out there, and those who are like Yefim now come back - overgrown to the very eyebrows.

And then there were meat burgers in FARSH and delicious coffee, conversations with friends and a flight to Dahab.

Heat greeted us in Dahab.

! For 365 days, multi!
For citizens of the Russian Federation and Ukraine, the full cost with all fees = 8200 rbl.
For citizens of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia = 6900 rbl

- a magical mystical and psychedelic village on the shores of the Arabian Sea, a center of Hindu pilgrimage, which harmoniously combines ancient temples, Hindu rituals, colorful tall chariots, a temple elephant painted with Shaivite symbols, a medieval lifestyle and the soulful surrounding beaches.
Gokarna is located south of Karwar in the state of Karnataka.
The state capital is Bangalore, the official language is Kannada.

The state of Karnataka is marked in green. I highlighted Delhi in red for orientation, and the red star on the southwest coast is Gokarna.

Location of Gokarna

I scanned a map of Karnataka from my favorite India Road Atlas, which I bought in Hampi on my very, very first trip to India!
The map has a size of 2075 * 2773, so you can open it in a new tab and greatly enlarge it to see all the roads.
Here you can see that from Gokarna it is a stone's throw from the highway, which can take you to Hampi.

Gokarna Map (excluding surrounding beaches)

The map can be enlarged

A piece of the map with the main temples

How to get to Gokarna

• From Goa to Gokarna can be reached by bus from the Canacona bus station. Canacona has a pretty decent orderly bus station, from where buses go in many directions. You can sit on benches in the shade. Everything is clear, everything is signed - where to board which bus.
  Drive through Karwar:
  1) Canacona - Karwar = local bass = 25 Rs
  2) Karwar - Gokarna (via Ankola) = local-bass = 39 Rs
  Buses run from Canacona to Carvar about once an hour (or even more often). There, change to Ankola, and in Ancola, change to Gokarna. But our bus, for example, went immediately Karvar - Ankola - Gokarna, we did not have to change.
  If you need not to Gokarna itself, but to Kudli beach, then you can get to Kudli from the Gokarna bus station by tuk-tuk. In order to save a tuk-tuk, it is better to take not at the bus station itself, but to walk a little further, there you can bargain much cheaper.
  For reference in time. We traveled from Agonda to Kudley Beach. The whole journey (door to door) took us a little over 4 hours.
• You can also get from Goa by train from Margao (on the maps, Margao railway station is called Madgaon).
  For example, the Margao - Mangalore train also passes through Kanakona.
• You can get from Hampi to Gokarna by sleeping bus (you sit down in the evening, you arrive in the morning) or by local buses to Hubli, from there to Gokarna.
• From Mangalore. Kumta station is 25 km from Gokarna, where trains from Mangalore stop. From Kumta station to Gokarna can be reached by bus (15 Rs) or tuk-tuk (250 Rs).

When is the best time to go to Gokarna

The best time to visit the coast of the Arabian Sea is from late October / early November to March.
April-May is an eerie scorching heat, then the rainy season begins.

Gokarna is an ideal place for spiritual development and second popularity after Hampi. The village was founded in the fifteenth century, and many tourists still come here to make a pilgrimage and cleanse themselves from sins in the sacred reservoir of Kotirte. Among modern travelers, the village is famous for its beaches and religious monuments. Spontaneous parties with drums and dancing around the fire are often organized on the beaches.
If you want to go to religious monuments, you should know in advance that foreigners are often not allowed into churches, and in this case it is worth paying tribute to the culture. It's best not to walk around town in the outfits you wear to the beach. You will be lucky if you get to Gokarna on Shivaratri holiday- Shiva's birthday, which is usually celebrated on the February full moon. On this day, in the streets of the village, the Brahmins carry a sacred fire between processions with wooden chariots.

Gokarna beaches

Gokarna has several magnificent sandy beaches, which are often visited by tourists from Goa. The most popular of these are the beach Kudle beach, Crescent Beach (Half-Moon Beach, Half Moon Beach), Paradise Beach (Paradise Beach) and Om Beach... All of these beaches are practically deserted and are perfect for a secluded getaway.

Book an excursion to Gokarna online!

Gokarna location on the map

How to get to Gokarna from Goa

You can get to Gokarna by intercity bus, which departs from the city of Morgao. The bus takes about 4 hours depending on the traffic situation. The ticket price is 65 rupees.

Gokarna is a small village in the state of Karnataka near Goa. This is an important pilgrimage site for Hindus, there are many Hindu temples, and if you believe the legend, it was in this place that Shiva was born from the ear of a cow. Translated from Sanskrit "gokarna" means "cow's ear".

Gokarna has many beautiful beaches and other natural attractions, it is quiet and peaceful here, and tourists from Goa love to come here to take a break from parties and in search of a real authentic India.

Keep in mind that if you applied for a visa at the border - TLF (Temporary Landing Facility) / TLP (Temporary Landing Permit) upon arrival at Dabolim airport, then traveling between states without a passport can be problematic.

How to get there

From Goa

Most tourists come to Gokarna from Goa. From the Margao bus station, a bus leaves once a day, on the way 4 hours, the fare is from 116 INR. You can also get there by train, it's faster - there is a train that leaves at noon, it runs for two hours (the fare is from 170 INR), and another train that leaves at 14:30 and goes to Gokarna for 1.5 hours. Prices on the page are for April 2019.

In addition to these direct trains, you can take trains to Mangalore or Cochin. The fastest way to get from Goa is to take a train to Kumta or Ankola, from where you can take a bus to Gokarna or a rickshaw (150 INR).

From Karnataka

The largest airport in Karnataka is Bangalore Airport. There are no direct flights from Russia to Bangalore, so you will have to fly through Delhi. Gokarna is about 450 km from here, first you need to get to the city bus station (shuttles go there around the clock - about INR 180 per passenger), and quite comfortable sleeper buses (buses with berths) go from Bangalore to Gokarna. You will have to spend the night on the way, the fare is about 500 INR.

You should be prepared for the fact that, as elsewhere in India, the timetable in Margao is quite often followed approximately.

Find flights to Gokarna

Weather in Gokarna

It is best to go to Gokarna from late October to early March. At this time, the weather is dry, sunny and calm, and at the beginning of November the colorful festival "Diwali" (one of the main Hindu holidays) is also taking place, and life begins to seethe. Air temperature - +27 ... + 29 ° С.

In April, the heat and the rainy season begin, the humid air warms up to +31 ... + 33 ° С. In June, strong waves in the Arabian Sea are added to this heat, but surfers don't come here - it's too stuffy.

Gokarna Hotels

In Gokarna, you can live right on the beach or in the village. Distances here are quite short, so even living in a village, the beach can be reached in a few minutes by bike or rickshaw for about 100 INR. In the village, the main tourist accommodation is a room in a guesthouse. Most often these are residential houses of ordinary Indian families who rent out temporarily empty rooms to tourists. It is usually quite clean, comfortable, home comforts, and also an opportunity to see the non-tourist Gokarna.

Accommodation on the beach is 20-30% more expensive than in the countryside. Basically, they offer bamboo beach houses with an outdoor toilet, but there are also more comfortable options - concrete bungalows with amenities inside. Accommodation booking sites on request "Gokarna" give out few options - mostly expensive hotels (there are not many of them here) and only a few guesthouses. There will be much more choice on the spot, but it is worth remembering that Gokarna is more a place for unassuming tourists.

A room in the village can be found for 100-200 INR per day, for this money you will get a very ascetic room and not the fact that it is clean. Prices for more comfortable options with a fan and shower in the room start at INR 400.

A palm tree bungalow on the beach with outdoor amenities will cost from 300 INR per day for two, a concrete bungalow with a personal shower - from 600 INR. A room in a 3 * hotel costs INR 2000-3000, a room in the most luxurious hotel in the Kahani Paradise resort will cost at least INR 12,000 per day for a double room. For this money, you get a huge room with a seating area, a balcony or terrace overlooking the sea, and a continental breakfast.

Gokarna beaches

There are several beaches in Gokarna, each with its own characteristics.

Central Beach - Gokarna Beach- wide, sandy, popular with locals. It is rather dirty, and it is not particularly comfortable to swim there, as it is not customary to undress here either. Pilgrims usually come here - men sit in the water right in their clothes, women are also dressed and stand knee-deep in water, only children run naked. You can swim here only in the northern part of the beach, where there are no people; you can get there on foot or by boat for about INR 100.

Closest to Gokarna village - Kudley Beach, it is here that most tourists settle. Here you can safely undress, swim, sunbathe, there is a cafe on the shore (for example, pizzerias - the Italians love this place). Between Kudley and Gokarna Beach, there is a very beautiful promontory with red soil.

20 minutes from Coolley Beach is located Om Beach, it got its name because of the shape of the coastline - it resembles the sign of Om. This is also a pretty sandy and uncrowded beach with beautiful bays. Om Beach is a half hour walk to Half Moon Beach and Paradise Beach.

It is not so easy to get to the "Paradise Beach": you can take a boat or take a bus from Gokarna and for 10 INR get to the terminal station, then through the jungle (it is better to use the services of a guide).

Paradise Beach lives up to its name - especially when looking at the lagoon from above. At the same time, there are a couple of cafes and houses made of reed and palm leaves, which are rented to tourists. And here you can sunbathe topless and even naked - if you make your way into the lagoon on the left, while no one has occupied it. Finally, Paradise Beach is also the most popular beach with party-goers and hosts many beach parties. It is especially fun here on the full moon night - you can get to a real Sabbath. However, there is no special infrastructure on the beach - a maximum of a couple of cafes, several fruit stands and free books that were left here by previous guests.

Shopping in Gokarna

There are several streets in Gokarna, along the central one there is a bazaar. You can buy clothes there, but it will be mostly cheap consumer goods, although made of natural fabrics - enough for the season. At the same bazaar you can buy souvenirs, postcards, fruits and vegetables. On Thursdays, a large fruit and vegetable market opens near the exit from the city.

If you need quality clothes, it is better to go to Goa for it - there is a much more interesting selection of clothes in the national style, dresses, tunics, T-shirts and stoles made of natural cotton, silk and cashmere.

There is one ATM in Gokarna on the way from the bus station to the main street. It may not accept cards from some banks, so it is better to withdraw cash in advance.

Cuisine and restaurants

There are many cafes for locals in the village - here they are called dhabbs. The cuisine is mostly vegetarian, but even meat-eaters usually do not complain about the monotony. A full two to three course lunch with a drink is available for INR 100-150.

There are much fewer catering establishments on the beaches, with the exception of Kudley Beach, which was chosen by Italians a few years ago and supply everyone with pizza (the price of a large pizza for two is about 200 INR). In the few cafes on the beaches, you can find European cuisine and Indian, adapted for Europeans. Prices here are 2-3 times higher than in the village, you can dine at about INR 300 per person.

Gokarna is a sacred city, with alcohol it is difficult here. The maximum that you can count on is beer from under the floor, 3 times more expensive than in neighboring Goa.

Entertainment and attractions of Gokarna

Gokarna is a city of pilgrims with many temples. One of the most important for Hindus is the Mahabaleshwar Shiva Temple, which houses the oldest Shiva lingam - the male sexual organ of this deity, which symbolizes his remarkable strength. Only Hindus have the right to look at the lingam, but tourists are not prohibited from entering the temple itself.

There is another one nearby - the Ganapati temple. It was built in honor of the god Ganesh, and here wisdom is worshiped and prosperity is asked.

The Rama Temple is located on the mountain, on the left side of Gokarna Beach. It is famous for the fact that there is a source of holy water here, and in the vicinity you can meet many Hindus who wash and wash with this water.

Natural attractions

The rectangular lake Kotiirtha is considered sacred here and is popularly called "Small Ganges". One of the legends says that water was brought into the lake from the Ganges, another - that Shiva was born here, and the lake is the very ear of a cow. A bath in Lake Kotirha washes away all sins, so in the morning pilgrims from all over the country rush here to swim in the local waters among the lotuses. Warning signs by the lake say that in addition to lotuses, there are also crocodiles, but no one has seen them live for a long time.

Adi-Gokarna Cave is another sacred site in Gokarna. This is another place that is called the very cow's ear. This is a small stone structure, to which numerous pilgrims have trod the path. Locals believe that if you go down into the cave, then grace and harmony will soon descend on you. Foreigners are not allowed to enter the cave, but no one checks their passports, and this is not at all difficult to do in a crowd of pilgrims.