Varkala

വർക്കല

A beach town on red cliffs, with a row of restaurants and yoga studios overlooking the Arabian Sea from the clifftop. Below, Papanasam Beach has natural mineral springs. It is Kerala's backpacker paradise.

Varkala lies about 40 km north of Thiruvananthapuram. It is the only stretch of Kerala's coast where red laterite cliffs meet the sea directly. A roughly 1 km promenade along the clifftop is lined with restaurants, cafés, yoga and Ayurveda centres, and shops selling textiles and silver jewellery. Below the cliffs is Papanasam Beach (the name means 'sin-washing'). Hindus perform sea rituals for their ancestors here, and mineral springs emerge on the beach. At sunset, every table on the clifftop faces the sea.

Walking north past the cliffs brings you to the quieter Black Beach and Odayam Beach. Further north, the Kappil lagoon meets the sea. The town has the 2,000-year-old Janardanaswamy Vishnu Temple, whose inner sanctum is closed to non-Hindus, and the Sivagiri spiritual centre.

Things to do: go for a beach walk or a yoga class in the morning (most centres offer drop-in classes for about 500 rupees). Surf (there are surf schools), get a massage during the day, and watch the sunset over seafood from the clifftop in the evening.

Getting there: take a train to Varkala Sivagiri station, then a tuk-tuk for 10 minutes. The journey takes about 3.5 hours from Kochi by train, and about 1 hour from Thiruvananthapuram.

A stay of 2–3 nights is recommended.

Note: the sea has rip currents, so swim only in the lifeguarded area. Parts of the cliff edge have collapsed, so do not stand near the edge to take selfies. During monsoon season shops close and the clifftop path gets slippery. Varkala is younger and cheaper than Kovalam, but its nightlife is limited.

Varkala

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Places to eat nearby