Varkala Beach, often called a hidden gem of Kerala, is where natural beauty, adventure, and culture come together. Located in the southern part of Kerala on the northern edge of Trivandrum district, this serene beach is famous for its unique cliff formations, pristine waters, and spiritual charm. Once a quiet village, Varkala has now grown into one of the most sought-after travel destinations in God’s Own Country, attracting thousands of visitors each year. Whether you’re looking for relaxation, adventure, or cultural exploration, Varkala has something unforgettable to offer.
Things to do at Varkala Beach:
1. Sightseeing – A beach with nearby sightseeing places always been a top priority to a tourist. Varkala beach is a destination where you can enjoy various sightseeing along with beaches. Ranging from natural blended beauty to the man-made wonders it has all.
2. Sunbathing - Sunbathing is one of the most sought after thing to do in its beach. Varkala beach provides a unique experience of sunbathing with its beautiful landscape and favourable weather. Feeling of relaxation and peace is always accompanied with just a 5 minutes sunbath on its beach.
3. Windsurfing - for those of you who are an avid lover of Windsurfing, here is the place for you. With the long tides of 2 to 5 feet, you can enjoy amazing windsurfing at this place. The long stretches of cliff formation help to maintain the steady flow of winds over the sea.
4. Parasailing - Cutting through the winds and sailing over the sea is what makes this sport a beautiful one. With the continuous flow of wind, parasailing in its beach is a popular tourist attraction. Every year thousands of tourists over the world visit this place just to get a perfect parasailing experience.
Sunset - Laying on the beach, watching the departed sun with the perfect blended colours is the experience you never want to forget for the whole life.
5. Ayurvedic - Varkala is known for its ayurvedic medicine treatment. Ayurveda is a system of healing against your diseases in the form of self-discovery. It teaches you to maintain a state in which your mind, body and soul interact with each other to seamlessly work together, and help you experience the feeling of self-aware, wellness and bliss.
6. Yoga Treatment - Yoga has started its journey from its origin country India. Now it has spread around the globe for well being of individuals. It doesn’t only help cure certain diseases, but regular yoga helps to maintain the body in a perfect condition. So the line "Prevention is better than cure" can be achieved maintaining a perfect schedule of Yoga every day. Varkala provides a huge variety of yoga training centre, some of them are maintained by well-known people in the yoga field. You can definitely learn a lot more new things through these yoga treatment centres.
7. Meditation - as yoga helps to purify and maintain good health, meditation helps to improve your mental strength. Meditation helps you to heal your mental pain, reduce Stress, improve a bad mood, increase Concentration and reveal creativity to its best. Learning a meditation method through these centres will help you live a happy peaceful life. You should definitely try meditation while spending time there.
8. Art / Creative Workshop - Art and creative workshop are one of the best ways to spend some leisure time with learning value of life. Go to some of the art workshops after you spend your perfect beach time. Go through these workshops with an aim to learn, who knows you may end up discovering a new phase of life.
9. Traditional dance performance held in Local theatre everyday - Varkala rank a top spot in its contribution to Kerala tradition. Traditional dance is performed by some of the talented local people in Varkala Culture Centre. You can learn a lot more about Kerala's tradition with these glimpses of traditional dance performance including Kathakali dance. .
Places to Visit in & Around Varkala Beach:
1. Janardhana Swami Temple - Nothing can provide a fruitful feeling of worship to a true believer than an old heritage temple. Janardhana Swami temple is one such heritage temple in Varkala. This 2000 years old temple is devoted to Lord Vishnu. All the heritage and traditional beliefs of Varkala people and Lord Vishnu worshiper are kept alive with this traditional Janardhana Swami Temple. Though it’s old, you can find a lot more valuable insight into Kerala's tradition back in time
Temple timing varies according to the season. There is a must visit of the temple in the time of aarti, where you refresh your soul to its purest form. An old tree in the temple campus adds additional beauty to the overall aura of the temple’s environment.
2. The Sivagiri Mutt - It is an Ashram, spreading across the 200 acres of land on the top of Sivagiri Hill. This Ashram is dedicated to the name of Shree Narayana Guru. He was a social reformer who stood for equality and firmly believed the importance of one religion, one caste and one god for humanity to achieve integrity and prosperity to humankind.
3. Varkala Lighthouse - It is slightly far from the Varkala city with a distance of nearly 13.8 km. Travelling on the way to the lighthouse will let you accumulate peaceful experience of seeing A Line palm trees and Kerala backwater. As Varkala is a village, you can nearly experience every possible life experience offered by a village. Climb up the lighthouse to have a look at the beautiful landscape of Varkala and nearby places comprises of sea, Lakes and Trees to freshen up your soul.
Keep it in mind, Varkala lighthouse opens between 3 to 5 pm, so plan according to that schedule only.
4. Anchengo Fort - It’s a British colonial fort built by East India Company. Although, there is no any Sought after thing to see in the fort but it’s worth a visit. If you’re history enthusiast, never miss that opportunity to see the fort as Varkala has some long back history. As it is near the lighthouse, you don’t have to plan it separately.
5. Sivagiri Tunnel - Spreading across the length of more than 1 km, Sivagiri tunnel was used as a Transport mode back in the pre-independence era. It’s also known as Varkala Tunnel. Visiting this Tunnel will help you to acquire days back knowledge of Kerala’s architectural advancement.
6. Varkala Cliff Viewpoint - Hill cliff is one of its kind in the Varkala. What could give you a more clear and concise view of nature than a cliff view Point? Varkala cliff viewpoint provides a beautiful picturesque view of beaches and its nearby landscape to have a soothing experience of nature.
