Varkala

Overview

Varkala, a coastal municipality in Thiruvananthapuram district, is the one place in southern Kerala where cliffs of red laterite drop straight to the Arabian Sea. Walkers, swimmers, surfers and pilgrims all use the same short shoreline, and the beach season runs from October to March.

The cliff is recognised as a national geological monument, and a path along its top is lined with cafes serving Kerala dishes and seafood. Below it lies Papanasam Beach. The name is usually translated as "destruction of sins", and a spring at the foot of the cliff is believed to purify those who bathe in it. Ask locally about sea conditions before swimming, especially once the monsoon rains arrive in June.

On the cliff stands the Janardhana Swami Temple, a Vishnu shrine said to be about 2,000 years old, overlooking the same water. Its ten-day Arattu festival is held in the Malayalam month of Meenam, and families come to the beach on the new-moon day of Karkidakam, in July or August, to make offerings for departed relatives. Kerala Tourism lists Papanasam among the main venues for this rite.

About 3 km inland sits Sivagiri Mutt, the headquarters of the Sree Narayana Dharma Sangham. The reformer Sree Narayana Guru built the hermitage in 1904, and his samadhi, where he was laid to rest after his death in 1928, draws pilgrims throughout the year. The big gathering is the Sivagiri Pilgrimage from 30 December to 1 January, when walking processions arrive from several states, so book rooms well ahead if your trip falls in those days.

Active visitors find plenty to do. Surfing, stand-up paddle-boarding, parasailing and paragliding are all offered, and Edava beach in the same municipality has hosted an international surfing festival. Ayurvedic massage centres and yoga and meditation studios operate around the beach. Away from the sea, Kappil Lake and Edava Lake lie nearby, and the old Anjengo Fort stands about 12 km away.

Varkala has its own railway station, Varkala Sivagiri, roughly 3 km from the beach. Thiruvananthapuram airport is the nearest air hub, about 40 to 57 km away by road. The cliff, the temple, the mutt and a lake fit into two or three days.

Known for

Red laterite cliffs above the Arabian Sea, a national geological monument