Gokarna is a small temple town located in the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka state in southern India, It has a population of around 20,000. Shiva is the most worshipped deity in the town. Gokarna's main temple, Mahabaleshwara, is dedicated to Shiva. The temple houses what is believed by some to be the earliest Shiva lingam (Atmalinga).
Gokarna is known as one of seven important centers of pilgrimage in Hinduism. It lies on what was once an unspoiled coastline at the estuary of the River Aghanashini. Due to an increase in tourism, the character of the town has changed, and is no longer just a center of pilgrimage, though large numbers of Shiva devotees continue to visit for prayer and worship.
Gokarna is the one of the best beach destinations for tourists in the whole of India. It is very popular for beach trekkers.
The small shops in the town sell religious items, psychedelic T-shirts and clothes for cheap. Trance music CDs and if you spin fire, (cotton) pois are available as well.
Malas (prayer beads), incense, cheap jewellery and religious paraphernalia are sold in dozens of stalls along the main road and gathered around temple entrances.
It is next to impossible to find some accommodation during the peak season. So, book in advance. (This might be outdated, since there are many guesthouses in Kudle Beach these days.)
Gokarna means ''cow's ear'' in Sanskrit. One of the Hindu epics states that "aatmalimga" of the God Shiva is in the shape of a cow's ear in the Mahabaleshwar temple and the town gains its name as Gokarna.
The town is mostly centred around the KSRTC bus stand. About a kilometre from the bus-stand, the Gokarna beach starts, forming the coast of the town. As you trudge along the narrow lanes of the town towards the beach (the lane is named 'Samudra Marg'), you will come across houses of priests where some religious talk will be going on or people invoking the Holy Lord with chants.
Most foreign tourists come to stay on one of the 4 beaches just south of town. Kudlee Beach is the first, about a 20-minute walk, followed by Om Beach, Half Moon Beach and the secluded Paradise Beach - the beaches get more remote and less populated as you head south.
The most popular time to visit Gokarna is during the 4-day Shiva Ratri festival, when 2 giant chariots are pulled down the main street and up to 20,000 pilgrims descend on the town.
