Gokarna: An Escape from Goa

Experience Gokarna Scenic Beauty, An Escape From Goa Gokarna is one of the most scenic beaches in Karnataka, and is pretty clean and unpopulated. It is also one of the most popular places near Goa to travel to.In India, whenever we hear of a beach, the first place that comes to our mind is undoubtedly Goa. It is pretty big in the tourism sector, and in fact most of the commercial activities as well as revenue, an integral part of the state comes undoubtedly from its thriving tourism industry. However, the only possible problem that can hinder a wonderful holiday experience is the crowd. Being a popular holiday destination, it can get pretty crowded and during peak season there is literally no space at all. To escape the bustle of such beaches, many people have chosen Gokarna instead. Gokarna is one of those tourist places near Goa, which offers a beach experience without the crazy and crowded chaos.

Gokarna is one of those tourist places near Goa which is relatively untouched when it comes to being crowded. Over the past decade it has been evolving into one of those tourist hotspots, which has grabbed the attention of a large number of young tourists, like college students in and around Maharashtra and Karnataka and also a lot of foreign tourists who do not enjoy the clustered beaches, but want something more clean as well as abandoned and away from the noise.

It is perhaps the newest amongst the tourist places near Goa because the locals of the region had not inhabited the beach nor had they started commercial activities on the beach until pretty recent years, so it can be thought of as a pretty undiscovered and virgin beach place.

The tourism in Gokarna may have been a recent affair, but it has an old history and is embedded in the myths which are associated with Hindu gods and goddesses particularly Lord Shiva. In fact the term Gokarna means the ear of a cow and the Lord Shiva originated out of the ear of a cow as well. It is also a very famous spot Hindu pilgrimage and ranks amongst the top 7 sites of Hindu pilgrimage in India. It has a main temple, which is dedicated to Lord Shiva and the deity is generally called Mahabaleshwara. Apart from this main temple, there are also many other temples, which are dedicated to Lord Shiva in this region. The temple courtyard is also beautifully decorated with trees as well as flowers.

Gokarna is around a hundred and forty kilometers away from Goa. So this takes around 2 to three hours for people to reach Gokarna by road. The climate is pretty much like most beaches, except for the fact that it is located on the western coast of the Northern Karnataka region.

The best time to visit Gokarna is during the Shivratri festival in case you want to enjoy the myths, hymns as well as celebrations that are linked to the deity. One of the major reasons why it has evolved as a top destination among the tourist places near Goa is also because when it comes to the cost, Gokarna is comparatively cheaper and is hence easy on your pocket too!

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