Ever been to a vacation with low expectations and came back with the time of your life? That was Kumta beach trek for me. Kumta is a lesser-known fishing town close to Gokarna along the southwestern coast of India. A gem in its own right.

It all started when I decided to accompany the “Plan The Unplanned” trek group to an offbeat beach destination, Kumta. I have had some of my best travel experiences with this group so far and this time was no different.

We did this beach trek in May but surprisingly were welcomed by fog as we approached the destination. Our stay, Sandy shores was a beautiful minimalistic beach stay with a shack for meals and a combination of tents and hammocks for sleeping.

The Kagal Fort

The trek leads Jolly and Amit led us through the nearby Kagal fort right after the breakfast. The remains of the fort next to the Nirvana beach was not the best you will see but the view from the top is something to look forward to. If you are lucky like us, you ‘ll catch a few dolphins swimming by the sea hitting the rocks near the fort.

Heavenly Beaches

Our first pitstop after the short trek up and down the fort was the Mystery cave beach. I was so eager to get into the water in the hot humid morning, that I could not resist a dip right away. I was joined by the chirpy Pooja, the mighty lead Amit and the green-eyed Gautam who was more than happy to.

We headed to the heaven beach through the ant infested, thorn-laden bushy pathway post this. Not to miss the nice little well in the fort which is now dry but full of shade and uhm…ants again. The steep walk down the fort was totally worth the feeling we got upon reaching Heaven beach. I love to run along beaches whenever I get a chance. And I wasn’t going to miss this time either. Running has become a key part of my lifestyle and I plan on keeping it that way.

Word of advice – stay away from the private property fences along this beach unless you plan on mini electrocution like me.

Boating at Aghanashini

After some swim and some soul searching at the Heaven beach, I joined the gang through the rustic fisherman’s village to the Aghanashini ferry deck. This is where the sea met the Aghanashini river. It was inevitable to get into the boat right away, given the inviting body of water around us.

This was the first time, I dared to jump off the boat at a point where the water was at least 100 ft deep. We were wearing life jackets of course. It made the experience safe to explore. Another highlight of the boating experience was the spontaneous jump by the boatman into the sea. He just casually swam to grab back a hat, my pretty fellow trekker lost in the sea. Now there’s a real-life charming hero for you.

Sunset point

We stopped at Mangodlu beach after the boating where we just got into a photography frenzy. I got the group doing some headstands, workout poses for the pictures which they all eagerly dug into. Thereafter, we walked to a secluded sunset point which only our trek leads could have shown us. After a long active day, it was beautiful to just sit down quietly and absorb the sun setting.

Being from Chennai, I am used to seeing the sun rises from the beach. It is only on the western coast, that I can see these amazing moments of sunset. I cherish it every time I get a chance. Spoiler – We also woke up for a stunning sunrise next morning at Nirvana beach.

The glowing waves

Kumta was not surprising us with its glory. The best was yet to come. After a musical campfire, we headed for a night walk along the Nirvana beach outside our beachstay. I was still getting over the memorable harmonica that Jolly played for us at the campfire, when we heard some voices. It was Jolly. He was asking us to turn off the mobile lights. And there…low and behold…we saw the glowing waves of Kumta. The bioluminescent planktons in the sea along the coast, glow each time they hit the short. They were as bright as radium. This was for me, the moment of a lifetime.

The bird’s eyeview sunrise

The following day began with a bird’s eye view of the beaches from Nirvana cliff. It was just 3 of us who managed to be awake for the view from this cliff led by Jolly. Oh, and 3 energetic dogs joined us for the view too. I went for a morning run along this beach. Ended up running over 5km all together. One spontaneous moment that I enjoyed was when I helped a fisherman pull his boat out of the sea.

Vibhuti waterfalls

We bid adieu to the beach stay and headed for the Vibhuti waterfalls right away. It was my second visit to the falls. I had visited it earlier in October, 2018 on way back from Gokarna. It had much more water back then. In May, it had a bit less but chilled nevertheless. The gang got into a competition to hold breath underwater. I was more into swimming around and getting some fish spa from the lovely little fish bytes in the waterfall pool.

Kumta stood out to me as a serene and beautiful fishing town and beach. Unexplored compared to the beaches of Gokarna and others. I got back with some minor bruises from the thorns and the slippery rocks along the beach. But the beauty of the town filled my heart and rejuvenated my mind. It was as if the glowing waves cast a magic spell on me for days to come.

Leave a comment on your experience at Kumta or similar beaches that might have touched you in some way.