Gokarna is a village in the Uttara Kannada district of the State of Karnataka. It is a Hindu pilgrimage centre as well as a tourist destination in India,it is described as a Shaiva Centre, as important as Kashi and Rameshwar. History has it that the Atmalinga brought by Ravana got struck here and his efforts to extricate it resulted in his throwing the coverings of the Linga to Dhareshwar, Gunavanteshwara, Murdeshwar and Shejjeshwar temples Gokarna is a beach town with tourists enjoying the sun, the surf and the sea gulls.Gokarna is full of coconut and palm trees, blue seas and clean sands. It is an attractive town with two main streets with shops and traditional tile roofed brick houses. Gokarna is a hippy paradise with drums, guitars and hammocks.

Tourist Places at Gokarna

The Mahabaleshvara Temple - The Mahabaleshvara Temple is one of the major temples in Gokarna. It is situated at the western end of the main street. The main deity here is two-armed, standing, and at least 1500 years old.

Bhandikeri Math - Bandikeri Math, is located a few metres away from Kotiteertha. It is said that originally, this was the Uma-Maheshwar Temple. It became a ‘Math’ after H.H. Adi Parijnanashram Swami made it His abode and later took Mahasamadhi there.

The Toggu Math - This lesser known place is of great historical significance. It is situated opposite the Patta Vinayak or Batta Ganapati temple, to the left, on the way from Kotiteertha to Bhandikeri Math.

Beaches - Gokarna is also famous for its beautiful beaches and landscapes. The four beaches in Gokarna are the Gokarna beach, Kudle, Om, Half moon and Paradise beach,Paradise beach is also known as Full moon beach.The Gokarna beach forms the coast of the town while the other four beaches lies towards the south of Gokarna. Kudle and Om are around 5 km from Gokarna town along a muddy hill.