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This article contains a Gokarna beach trek guide with a detailed description of the route and a map.
Gokarna, a temple town in Karnataka, India is gradually growing into a favoured beach destination, and rightly so. Beaches in Gokarna are untouched and tranquil. Om beach is the most popular one, offering water sports and plenty of shacks. On the other hand, Belekan beach is an unheard-of beach with no one but fisherman strutting around. The best way to experience these Gokarna beaches is to hike through all of them. Take a look at this handy guide to the Gokarna beach trek.
Gokarna Beach Trek Guide
While I was staying at Zostel Gokarna, they organized the Gokarna beach trek, led by a volunteer at the hostel, and a whole bunch of us signed up for it. Our group was dropped off to the start point, which is Belekan beach, at dusk. It's ideal to leave your hotel/ hostel at 6 am in order to catch the sunrise at the beach. From there, we hiked to Paradise beach. After a quick rest at paradise, we went over to Half-moon beach. This is where we had an amazing breakfast and took a dip in the ocean, but more on that later. Next, we hiked up to the Om beach viewpoint. This is where you get to see the "Om" shape of the beach. We descended down to Om beach, relaxed, took a dip again and ended our trek at Kudle beach. All the beaches are described in detail, below.
Map of the Gokarna Beach Trek
How Long Does it Take to Complete the Gokarna Beach Trek?
given that you start at sunrise, take a break for breakfast at one of the beaches and another break for a swim, it should take anywhere between 5-7 hours depending on how long your breaks last. The group I trekked with took one big break at the half-moon beach for a swim followed by breakfast and another break at Om beach. We started at 6 in the morning and finished at 1.30-2 pm in the afternoon. The duration of the Gokarna beach trek depends on your speed and breaks.
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Gokarna Beach Trek:
Without further ado, let's dive into a detailed guide to the famed 5 beach Gokarna beach trek.
1. Belekan Beach
Belekan beach is the least visited one among all the Gokarna beaches. This is where you start your Gokarna 5-beach trek. Leave your accommodation at 6 am in order to catch the sunrise at Belekan. As can be seen in the picture above, there won't be another soul on the beach except for wee fisherman. Besides, this is the most beautiful beach in Gokarna, in my opinion. Spend some time here to brace yourself for the hike coming your way.
2. Paradise Beach
From Belekan beach, it's an easy climb and a clearly marked trail to get to Paradise beach. Paradise beach is a popular camping spot among travellers. Here you'll find groups of people who will be packing up their tents in the morning after a dreamy night under the stars, on the beach. It's imperative to mention that due to a large number of people that set up camp here, there's also a lot of trash which is thrown on the beach which is an irresponsible thing to do. In case you decide to camp here, be mindful to take back your trash with you and not to litter along the beach.
The hike from paradise to half moon beach takes you though huge boulders which are picture perfect!
3. Half moon Beach
Among all the Gokarna beaches, I had the most fun at the half-moon beach. Irrespective of what trail you follow on your Gokarna beach trek, I highly recommend keeping this beach on your list. There are many reasons why. Firstly, the beach is uninhabited and the only people on the beach are wandering adventurers like you. Secondly, the beach shack right the beach(I didn't note the name) serves the most delicious, generous breakfast at the lowest possible rates! My group ordered our breakfast and swam around in the waters by ourselves until breakfast was prepared. Finally, we had a hearty breakfast of eggs, toast, potato and tea/coffee. Right after that we took a group picture and set out towards Om beach.
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4. Om Beach
The hike from half-moon beach to om beach is a breathtaking one. This trail will take you through cliffs with the Arabian sea just below you! Of course, you need to be a tad bit careful and maintain steady footing but the views you get are well-worth the cautiousness! Get to the om beach viewpoint, where you can see the "om" shape of the beach. It's also a great spot for clicking pictures. From there, climb down to om beach. Om beach is segregated into 2 sections. The part of the beach from where the trek to half-moon starts has hip shacks, great waves and very few people. The other half of the beach, from where you climb steps to get out of the beach, onto the road is a touristy spot. This is where water sports are conducted and there are scores of people bathing, reading books and having fun.
5. Kudle Beach
Kudle beach is the last beach on the Gokarna beach trek. even though it's a tiny beach, it has plentiful shacks. After you get here, you can either have lunch at one of the beach shacks or you can head back to your accommodation to freshen up first. That's it!!! You completed the 5 beach trek!! You can spend the rest of the day chilling at the Mantra cafe at Zostel, located on the Kudle beach road. It overlooks the Gokarna beach and has really cool vibes.
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These beaches look amazing, and your breakfast was delicious! I hadn’t heard of this part of Karnataka before. Beautiful photos!
The breakfast was scrumptious indeed ! Happy that you learnt about a new place Dhara 🙂
I’ve never been to Gokarna, though it’s a no-brainer destination from Bangalore, where I stay. I’ve heard loads about the place, though, and would love to go. Thank you for this detailed and very informative post. 🙂
I hope you can go there soon 🙂 It’s an enchanting place !
Sounds like a fun hiking trail! Thanks for sharing and lovely photos by the way 🙂
Gokarna has been a dream destination for long. I didn’t know you could trek through such beautiful path here. I would love to follow in your tracks when I happen to finally visit here.
I’m not much for a beach person, but the views looked pretty epic from some of those beaches you visited. The breakfast at Half Moon Beach looks especially scrumptious, and I would love to be able to sit around on that uninhabited beach!
This looks like a really nice hike. I haven’t visited Gokarna yet, but it seems like it should certainly be on my list. Both the half moon beach and belekan beach sound interesting.
Loved reading the post, especially as we were in Gokarna couple of weeks ago. We were there for some other work and hence did not have much time for the beaches. However, we did trek from Gokarna Beach to Kudle and Om Beach. The sea was rough and some of the beaches were closed. The beaches of Gokarna are always a pleasure to behold and we go back again and again.
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How to see sunrise at beach in Arabian Sea? Sunset is quite happening.
The sun will rise even if you’re facing the Arabian sea. There will be a lot less people and a lot more peace and quiet during this time as compared to sunset time 🙂
Hi, this is a very helpful article! After having done the Gokarna Beach Trek Multiple times and also having organised it for others, I can say it is a very safe trek and a good DIY trek for beginners.