Kerala
Beaches
Kerala wakes up to some
festival or the other every day of the year and Keralites are
addicted to the festivals. In short ‘ Keralisation’
of the festivals of different communities is the unique feature
of Kerala life.
Pathiramanal Beach
This little island known by
the same name as the beach, Pathiramanal, in the backwaters of
Kerala literally means the 'Sands of night' The island lies
between Thaneermukkom and Kumarakom and is accessible only by
boat. Surrounded by the Vembanad Lake, stretching from Alappuzha
to Kochi and the Kayamkulam Lake, the island and the beach is
home to hundreds of migatory birds, which take a rest on their
long journey from the cool climes of Siberia.
Legend has it that a young Brahmin dived into the Vembanad Lake
to perfom his evening ablutions and the water made way for the
land to rise from below which saw the creation of
Pathiramanal.
The nearest airports are the Cochin International Airport, about
85 km north of Alappuzha and Thiruvananthapuram, about 150 km
towards the south. Alappuzha is the nearest railway station
Kovalam Beach
Located 8 kms from
Thiruvananthapuram city, the Shankhumugham Beach is a favourite
haunt of sunset watchers. The beach is adjacent to the
Thiruvananthapuram Airport and Veli Tourist Village.
An indoor recreation club, the 'Matsya Kanyaka', a gigantic 35 m
long sculpture of a mermaid and a restaurant shaped like a
starfish are the major attractions here. The long stretch of
clean sand is located near the airport. The water here, however,
is not suitable for bathing.
Shankhumugham Beach is a popular city beach situated near to the
airport. This beach provides good facilities like an indoor
recreation club, children's traffic training park and a star
shaped restaurant.
Thirumullavaram Beach
Thirumullavaram Beach is
roughly 6km north of Kollam, Thirumullavaram is a beautiful beach
that's well linked by road and with good facilities. This
beautiful beach filled with coconut palms is ideal for an early
morning walk as one can see fishermen gliding into the sea for
the days catch. The beach has good bathing facilities.
VARKALA BEACH
Located at 54 kms from
Thiruvananthapuram, Varkala is a sea side resort and also an
important Hindu centre of pilgrimage. It's a beautiful beach that
has a more than 2000 years old shrine of Lord Vishnu. The 2000
year old Janardana Swamy Temple and the Nature Centre are the two
main attractions here. A dip in the holy waters of this beach is
believed to purify the body and the soul of all the sins hence
the name 'Papanashini (destroyer of sin)' for this shore.
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