Beaches in Kerala

Alappuzha beach

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Alappuzha beach is quite a popular tourist spot in Kerala, known to provide relaxation. The pier, which extends into the sea here, is around 140 years old. Blessed with nature's green beauties such as lagoons, vast lakes and numerous fresh water rivers, Alappuzha is a natural wonderland of Kerala state. The Alappuzha (Alleppey) beach is spectacular.
At one end are the dense palm groves that are so characteristic of Kerala's landscape. It has a long sandy beach. For the entertainment of visitors there is a Vijaya Beach Park and an old lighthouse nearby. Entertainment facilities at the Vijaya beach park add to the attractions of the beach. The Vijaya beach park consist of picnic spot with children's park & boating facilities.

Location

5 km from Alappuzha railway station.
90 km from the Kochi International Airport.

Bekal Beach

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Bekal is a sleepy village on the coast of Arabian Sea and it is 64 km south of Mangalore. Centuries old Fort, virgin beaches and pristine backwaters are the key attractions here. This is the only Special Tourism Area declared by the Govt. of India, in God's Own Country. Bekal is fast developing as an international beach destination.
This extraordinary part of Kerala, with its scintillating natural features is aptly marked by a number of ancient temples, forts and festivals. Virgin beaches, serene backwaters, and scenic mountain ranges in this part of God’s own country offer a mixed bag of amusement to visitors coming from different parts of the world. Bekal Fort is the largest fort in Kasargod District of Kerala, south India. The fort faces the Arabian Sea. Bekal fort stands on a promontory between two long classically beautiful palm fringed beaches. This is the largest, best preserved fort in kerala. Location

8 km from Kanhangad, Kasargod.
50 km from Mangalore Airport.
180 km from Karipur International Airport.


Beypore Beach

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Located at the mouth of the Chaliyar River in Kozhikode district, Beypore, one of the prominent ports and fishing harbours of ancient Kerala was an important trade and maritime centre. Ancient Beypore was much sought after by merchants from Western Asia, for its ship building industry.
The boat building yard here is famous for the construction of the Uru, the traditional Arabian trading vessel.Peace and serenity wrap you in a warm embrace as you relax at the Beypore beach and gaze into the vast blue expanse of the Arabian Sea. 10 km south of Kozhikode, located at the mouth of chliyar river, beypore, one of the prominent ports and fishing harbours of ancient kerala was an important trade and maritime centre. Ancient beypore was much sought after by merchants from western asia, for its ship building industry. The boat building yard here is famous for the construction of the uru, the traditional arabian trading vessel.

Location

11 km from Calicut.
23 km from Karipur International Airport.

Cherai Beach

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15 Kilometre long Cherai Beach is the best clean golden beach of Kerala and is rightly called “ The Prnicess of the Queen of the Arabian sea”. 45 kms from Ernakulam city, this lovely beach bordering vypeen island is ideal for swimming. Dolphins are occasionally seen here. A typical kerala village with paddy fields and coconut groves nearby is an added attraction.
The newly beautified 400 Meters of the main beach with the walkway adds to the charm and the Highmask lamps makes the beach enjoyable even at night. Cherai is well known for the mouth lingering fresh sea food.

Location

30 km from Kochi.
20 km from Cochin International Airport.



Keywords: kerala beaches, Cherai Beach, Beypore beach, Bekal beach

Fort Kochi Beach

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A favourite haunt of Kochiites, the beach at Fort Kochi is a tranquil experience at any time of the day. Do it alone or in the company of your loved ones, it offers the ideal ambiance to relax and to let your thoughts soar to new heights of creativity. 12 kms from ernakulam city, a leisurely walk through the lanes of the city is the best way to discover historic fort kochi. An obscure fishing village that became the first european township in india, kochi has an eventful and colourful history.
The town was shaped by the portuguese, the dutch and later the british. The result of these cultural interfaces are seen in the remains of the indo european architecture here.

Location

12 km away from Ernakullam City.

Dharmadam Island

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Dharmadam Island is a beautiful beach, located 17 kms from Kannur. The small 5-acre island covered with coconut palms and green bushes is a beautiful sight from the beach. This island covered with Coconut Palms and dense bushes is a beautiful sight from the Muzhappilangad beach. During low tide, one can just walk to the island from the beach. It is surrounded by rivers and seas.
Permission is required to enter this privately owned island. Dharmadam, earlier known as Dharmapattanam was a Buddhist stronghold.

Location

8 km away from the town of Thalassery.

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Kovalam Beaches

Kovalam has three beaches separated by rocky outcroppings in its 17 km coastline, the three together form the famous crescent of the Kovalam beach

Lighthouse Beach

The southernmost beach, the Lighthouse Beach is the one most frequented by tourists, Lighthouse Beach got its name due to the old Vizhinjam Lighthouse located on a rocky promontory here. Its intermittent beams at night render the beach with an unearthly charm.

Hawah Beach

Eve’s Beach, more commonly known as Hawa Beach, ranks second, in the early day, is a beehive of activities with fishermen setting out for sea. With a high rock promontory and a calm bay of blue waters, this beach paradise creates a unique aquarelle on moonlit nights.

Samudra Beach

A large promontory separates this part from the southern side. Samudra Beach doesn't have tourists thronging there or hectic business. The local fishermen ply their trade on this part.

Detour past Kovalam junction to land on Samudra Beach which is to the north of Ashoka Beach. One has the option to walk along the sea-wall too.The sight of the waves lashing on the rocks below is awesome. Shallow waters stretching for hundreds of metres are ideal for swimming. The beaches have steep palm covered headlands and are lined with shops that offer all kinds of goods and services.

The larger of the beaches is called Light House Beach for its 35 metre high light house which towers over it atop Kurumkal hillock. The second largest one is Hawah Beach named thus for the topless European women who used to throng there. It was the first topless beach in India.[citation needed] However topless bathing is banned now except in private coves owned by resorts. Visitors frequent these two beaches. The northern part of the beach is known as Samudra Beach in tourism parlance. A large promontory separates this part from the southern side. Samudra Beach doesn't have tourists thronging there or hectic business. The local fishermen ply their trade on this part. The sands on the beaches in Kovalam are partially black in colour due to the presence of ilmenite and Monazite. The normal tourist season is from September to May. Ashoka beach is also the part of Kovalam beach.

Kovalam is about 16 km (20 minutes in a taxi) from Trivandrum. Taxis can charge around Rs.400-Rs.500 to get to Kovalam. When asked where you want to go, say Hawa Beach, Leela Beach/Main Beach or Lighthouse Beach in Kovalam.


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Payyambalam Beach

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Payyambalam Beach is a beach in Kannur district of Kerala in India that attracts tourists and local people. It often finds mention in tourism related publications as a beautiful beach. It has now a garden close to it. The beach is just 2 km from Kannur town.

A sculpture Mother and Child by Kanayi Kunhiraman is an attractive feature of the beach garden. A part of the garden is specially for children. Many movies have been shot in this location including the Maniratnam movie Alaipayuthey. The Worldspace ad featuring A.R. Rahman was also shot here.


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Meenkunnu Beach

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Meenkunnu Beach, is a beach in Kannur district of Kerala, India. It has sand and coconut trees.Meenkunnu beach is 10 km away from Kannur town and is located in Azhikode village.The name meenkunnu is a combination of two Malayalam words meen and kunnu. Meen literally means fish and kunnu a small hill.

Varkala Beach

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Varkala Beach, also known as Papanasam beach is a beach in Varkala, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India, along the Arabian Sea, part of the Indian Ocean. The word Papanasam means wash away sins. It is believed that a dip in the waters of Papanasam Beach washes away all the sins in one's life.

Varkala beach is the only place in southern Kerala where cliffs are found adjacent to the Arabian Sea.These tertiary sedimentary formation cliffs are a unique geological feature on the otherwise flat Kerala coast, and is known among geologists as Varkala Formation and a geological monument as declared by the Geological Survey of India. There are numerous water spouts and spas on the sides of these cliffs.The beach is a haven for sun-bathing and swimming. The evening views of the sunset are worth lingering over. There are several small restaurants and snack shops near and around Papasnanam beach, which attracts the maximum visitors both for leisure as well as for religious reasons.


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The famous Sree Janardhana Swami Temple is situated near the Beach. Also Famous Shivagiri mutt is another important location. Varkala railway station is known in the name of Varkala Shivagiri railway station.


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Kappad beach

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Kappad, or Kappakadavu locally, is a famous beach near Kozhikode (Calicut), India, where the Portuguese explorer Vasco Da Gama landed on May 20, 1498. His voyage established the sea route from the Europe to India. This heralded the arrival and permanent route from Europe to India. This heralded the arrival and permanent presence of various European merchant companies, leading to eventual domination and rule by the East India Company and later the period of British colonial rule.

A small stone monument commemorates the landing by Vasco da Gama with the inscription, "Vasco da Gama landed here, Kappakadavu, in the year 1498." His expedition gave the Europeans a sea route to reach the wealth of the Malabar Coast, and resulted in European domination of India for about 450 years. At that time Malabar was ruled by the Zamorins (Samoothiris, spoken locally) who gave a warm welcome to Gama. Malabar was abundant in spices, and produced a calico textile. Currently it is one of the most important tourist places in Kerala, with a wide and beautiful beach.

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In 2007 a R.s. 1.5-crore program to beautify the beach was launched by Tourism Minister [[Kodiyeri Balakrishnan]]. Now it is completed and Kappad beach has a beautiful corniche and park. The park includes a rest room, restaurant and seating.

Nearest railway station is Kozhikode, about 16 km. Nearest airport is Karipur International Airport, Kozhikode about 23 km from Kozhikode town. Private transport buses are available from the main bus stand. Or you can reach the spot by alighting Thiruvangoor en route of National Highway 66 (Old 17) between Calicut and Vadakara.





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Marari Beach

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Marari Beach is a beach in Alappuzha District of Kerala, India. Barely 11 km from Alappuzha (Alleppey) town, this sleepy little village (also called Mararikulam), is an idyllic location for a vacation. Currently there are only a few resorts in the area: the 'Marari Beach Resort' belonging to CGH Earth chain of resorts, the 'Turtle Beach Resort' by Abad Group,the new 'Carnoustie Beach Resort' 10km north of Mararikulam and the new 'Erandia Marari', a stylish ayurvedic beach resort. There are a couple of small boutique properties: 'Marari Villas' and a 'A Beach Symphony', as well as a number of homestays. Muthoot Leisure & Hospitality Services, part of the Muthoot Group, has begun construction of a 20 keys resort which would open early 2014. The beach is clean and safe for swimming.

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Location

Mararikulam is connected by rail and has a railway station by the same name. It is also well connected by road. NH 47 passes through S.L.Puram, which is 5 km to the east of Mararikulam. Nearest airport is Cochin International Airport.It was rated as one of the worlds top five HAMMOCK BEACH by National Geographic survey.