Exploring hidden gems on a Pune to Murudeshwar road trip

Cover me in sunshine

Shower me with good times

Tell me that the world’s been spinning since the beginning

And everything will be alright

Cover me in sunshine

— Pink

To overcome the covid blues….in search of some sunshine and goodtime….We wanted to take a road trip to coastal Karnataka as it had many beautiful beaches and mouth watering food. But the coastline is vast and distance from Pune to Mangalore was making it very hectic so we split the trip into two laps. Here is the itinerary of our first lap up to Murudeshwar and back.

Day 1 : Drive from Pune to South Goa: (8.5 hrs)

We started early so as to give us time to have relaxing evening at south Goa. We choose “Dudhsagar Plantation” resort for our Goa stopover. Tucked in a green belt of self grown forest this resort is the perfect place to unwind. You can go on a plantation tour or walk to the river side or swim in one of the natural pools. The food is homely and you can also try Urak and Feni made in their own distillery.

Day 2 : Road trip from South Goa to Karwar ( 2 hrs )

In just about 2 hours drive, we reached Karwar from South Goa. We chose to stay at Ocean Deck Homestay at Karwar. It had a beautiful deck overlooking the confluence of the river and the ocean.

After relaxing, we drove to Kali river garden to cruise on “Kali River Ripple” a new venture started by the Karnataka Government. The cruise takes you for a ride on the Kali river and provides for picturesque backdrops for the sunsets. We were guided to Railway bridge, Kali river bridge, Kali mata mandir island and various other points.

Day 3 : Explore in and around Karwar

We started early for a beach trek and Mangrove walk under the guidance of Mr Vinay, who has vast knowledge of various varieties of mangroves and different species of birds seen in the area. We took a coracle ride across the river to reach Devbaug beach and started the trek. After walking along the beach and then through the mangroves we reached the river. We planted mangroves along the river, a noble initiative started by Mr Vinay to give back to nature. He and his guests have planted over 6000 mangroves. We then took the Kayaks back to the homestay. Kayaking was an amazing experience here.

After a delicious and fulfilling lunch and some rest we took a speed boat to explore the Kali Mata Mandir Island which hosts a Mangrove Walk. This is a great initiate by the Karnataka government to create awareness about the mangroves. One can find multiple varieties along this wooden bridge walk. There are boards explaining the varieties and about the ecosystem.

For the sunset we drove to Gabit wada beach from where the trail for Tilmati beach starts. (Dont follow google for Tilmati , just ask locals). The trail offers spectacular views of the sunset from the hill. The tilmati beach has sand like black sesame seeds.

Karwar is known for its sea food and it widely exceeded our expectations. We tried multiple varieties of sea food as well as vegetarian options and they were lip smacking.

Day 4: Road trip from Karwar to Gokarna (3 hrs)

All good things come to an end and so did out stay at Ocean Deck Karwar. We bid farewell to Karwar and started our drive to Gokarna. On the way we visited the War Ship Museum on the outskirts of Rabindranath Tagore beach. This is worth a visit for the kids and adults alike. It houses a war ship and we can observe the functioning from the inside.

After a drive of about 3 hours along the beautiful coastal road we reached our AirBnB on Belekan beach in Gokarna where we stayed for the next 2 days. It was big and spacious. We dropped by Namaste Cafe on Om beach for lunch on the way. This was a beautiful sit out overlooking the Om beach. The food though was just average. One can take a boat ride from here to visit the Half Moon and Paradise beaches as they don’t have an approach road but just a trek trail.

After some rest we ventured on the drive further down the coast. We took first pitstop at Mirjan fort. This fort is not well maintained but worth a visit for its architecture.

We then drove further to Murudeshwar Temple. There is Murudeshwar beach and along the coast is a huge temple of lord Murudeshwar. After visiting the temple. We took the lift inside the gopuram to the 18th floor which offers a window to the panoramic views of the Shiva statue in the front. I would recommend you to visit this place during sunset as it offers spectacular views.

It takes around 2 hours drive from Gokarna to Murudeshwar. We did not cover any other place this day but if you want you can check the blue flag beach of Kasarkod beach/Eco beach Honnavar.

Driving back to Gokarna we had dinner at Mantra Cafe on Kudle beach road, overlooking the Kudle beach.

Day 5 : Explore in and around Gokarna

We started the day by visiting the Gokarna Mahabaleshwar temple and the Ganesh temple in the vicinity of the Gokarna beach. ‘Atmalinga’ a shiva linga is highly worshipped here and this place is a pilgrimage spot of high importance. Men need to wear lungi in order to enter the temple so if you are planning to visit do carry one or you need to buy at the temple.

We then drove to Vibhooti falls. This is a very scenic drive through the interiors surrounded by forests and small villages. On reaching Vibhooti falls we had to trek to reach the waterfall. Be careful along the path as my son spotted a big black snake on the side of the walk. In spite of November I was surprised to see the waterfall was full. The water was clean and refreshing. After a small dip we trekked back. There is an option to trek to Yana caves as well but we decided we had enough adventure for the day.

Back to Gokarna we explored the Kudle beach for sunset. There were many cows and dogs on the beach and did not seem much clean. We explored a few shacks but then decided to have dinner at White Elephant on Kudle beach road.

Day 6 : Road trip from Gokarna to North Goa (5 hrs)

We visited Belekan beach in the morning. This beach was right in front of our cottage. The beach is rocky and it has a small walkway along the beach.

Its a 4-5 hour drive from Gokarna to North Goa, where we stayed at Sonesta Inn on Candolim beach. Enjoy the Goan beaches, shacks and the amazing food before driving back to Pune on Day 8.

Fact File

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Number of Days:

8 days and 7 nights

We decided to drive only till Murudeshwar in this trip as we were short on time. We did not want to cover too many places by drive upto Udupi/Mangalore.

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Stay options:

South Goa: Dudhsagar Plantation

Karwar: Ocean Deck Homestay

Gokarna: U and Me

North Goa: Sonesta Inn

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Total Kms : Approx 1600 Kms

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