When we were in Madurai preparing to leave for our Workaway project in the hills near Kodaikanal, we took the time to provisionally plan the days we would have left in India between finishing at the project and our flight back to the UK. The numbers didn’t quite add up. It was clear that we wouldn’t have time to do all we had originally wanted to do. We looked again at the places on our itinerary and consulted our guidebook as to the attractions in each place. It was a pretty easy decision – we would miss out Kovalam. Our Lonely Planet described it as ‘Kerala’s most developed resort with two beaches, neither of which is particularly clean.’ We didn’t think we would be missing much if we didn’t go there. All I can say is that, had our plans remained like that, we would indeed have missed out!
In the event, we both became ill after drinking contaminated water at our Workaway project and decided to leave a few days early. So, Kovalam was added back in to our itinerary!
When we arrived at Kovalam Beach, we had problems finding our pre-booked hotel. You see, everything has been built back from the beach and crammed in so tightly that access to each property is via a maze of narrow alleyways. Everything too heavy to manhandle is brought in and out using wheelbarrows! We came in the ‘back way’, but, luckily, someone from our hotel heard we’d arrived and came to meet us with a wheelbarrow for our packs. We wouldn’t have found it without him. If this sounds horrendous, though – it isn’t. The hotel owners have done wonders in softening the edges of their concrete buildings with brightly-coloured, fragrant flowers and each building has been designed so that the problems of being overlooked are minimised. We stayed at the Thushara Hotel which had the added advantage of a pool to provide respite from any feeling of being hemmed in.
Exiting our hotel by the ‘front way’ and passing through a slightly shorter series of alleyways, we emerged onto the ‘prom’ and the full delight of Kovalam Beach was revealed to us. As our guidebook told us, there are indeed two beaches and we were located centrally on Lighthouse Beach, which seems to be favoured by foreign tourists. It’s a beautiful, palm tree fringed, clean bay with a picture-postcard lighthouse at one end and an array of vibrant shops and restaurants lining the pedestrianised walkway behind the sand. There are riptides to be wary of, but there were lifeguards on duty at all times and we thoroughly enjoyed our swims in the sea. You can hire sunbeds and umbrellas at a reasonable cost, and you are never more than a few steps away from somewhere to eat or have a drink, even if, because of Kerala’s strictly enforced licensing laws, your beer comes wrapped in newspaper and you have to drink it out of a coffee mug!
The other beach, Hawa Beach, is used mainly by locals and seemed more chaotic than Lighthouse Beach. It was fun to watch the sellers, kite-flyers and families dressed in their Sunday best going in the sea, though!
We spent four days in Kovalam. We had intended to visit Trivandrum while we were there, a 30-minute bus ride away, but in the end, the laid-back atmosphere held us captive for the whole time and we didn’t venture far at all. Lazy days on the beach, early morning walks to watch the catch being landed, fabulous seafood, people watching, and amazing sunsets made four days seem all too short. We hope to return for longer at some point.
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Nice post author. Thank you.
Thank you author for your post. Keep it up.