Okhamadhi Beach

Okhamadhi Beach is one of the quiet secrets of the Devbhumi Dwarka coastline, a broad ribbon of pale sand tucked beside the small coastal village of Okhamadhi in the Okhamandal region of Gujarat.

• Set between the temple town of Dwarka and the harbour settlement of Okha, it draws almost none of the crowds that throng the more famous pilgrim beaches, and that is precisely its appeal.
• Visitors who make the short detour from the Dwarka–Okha road find a long, open stretch of shore where the Arabian Sea rolls in unhurried and the horizon is broken only by the occasional distant boat.
• The beach is best appreciated for its stillness.
• There is no boardwalk of stalls or the constant press of tour groups here; instead there is space to walk for long stretches along the tideline, watch shorebirds pick at the wet sand, and feel the steady onshore breeze that keeps even warm afternoons bearable.
• Because it faces the open western sea, Okhamadhi is a rewarding place to linger for sunset, when the sky over the water shifts through amber and rose and the whole shoreline glows in the golden hour.
• Photographers and slow travellers value it as an antidote to the busier days of a Dwarka pilgrimage.
• A visit works best folded into the wider Okhamandal circuit.
• The Nageshwar temple, revered by tradition as one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, lies a short drive inland, and the jetty at Okha for the ferry to Bet Dwarka island is close by, so an early temple morning can easily give way to a peaceful hour or two on this shore.
• Do note that this is an undeveloped natural beach with no lifeguards, changing rooms or formal facilities; wear sturdy footwear, carry water and sun protection, respect the strong sea currents by staying near the shallows, and carry your litter back out so the coast stays clean.
• For food, Okhamadhi itself has little more than the simplest of village tea shops, so most travellers eat back in Dwarka or Okha, both firmly within Gujarat's dry, pilgrim-friendly, vegetarian food culture.
• In Dwarka the pure-veg Gujarati and Kathiyawadi thali houses clustered near the Dwarkadhish temple serve unlimited bajra rotla, seasonal shaak, dal, kadhi, rice and jaggery, while the temple-belt bhojanalayas offer plain, satvik meals.
• Simple pure-veg snack counters near the Okha jetty turn out fresh khaman, dhokla, fafda, samosas and hot chai.
• Carrying a picnic of these vegetarian snacks and plenty of water lets you enjoy the empty shore without leaving its calm.