Kovalam Kerala

This enchanting strip of golden sands is laced with the rich greenery of coconut palms. A former fishing village, Kovalam is just 16 km away from Thiruvanantapuram (Trivandrum), Kerala's capital city. Kovalam is an evergreen and pleasant climatic beach resort. It is a dreamy place for tourists all over the world. Today Kovalam beach is known as the "Paradise of the South".

With high rock promontory and a calm bay of blue waters, this beach paradise creates a unique aquarelle on moonlit nights. Kovalam was brought to the public eye by the Maharaja of Travancore. Over the past three decades, the place has been well developed, and now figures prominently on the world tourism map.

Its scenic beauty and serenity is supplemented by the availability of excellent accommodation . There are a lot of restaurants which provide western style food as well as Indian, which is delicious. The grilled seafood items such as lobster, king prawns and kalamari which are got fresh from the sea at Kovalam. Ayurvedic massage parlours, yoga centers and water sport facilities, makes Kovalam a popular haven for tourists from all over the globe.

Kovalam is a beach on the Arabian Sea around 13 kilometers outside Trivandrum district in Kerala a small state in south India. There are a few beach resort in and around Kovalam. The sea port of Vizhinjam is about 3 kilometers away.

It was among the most prominent tourist spots in India during the hippy era. It still has a high status among tourists (mostly European) even though the glory days are very much over. Kovalam is finding a new significance in the light of several Ayurvedic salons, and recuperation and regeneration resorts which provide a slew of Ayurvedic treatments for the tourists.

The sands on the beaches in Kovalam are partially black in colour due to the presence of ilmenite and thorazite. There are two main beaches at Kovalam, separated by a high cliff.

The tourist season is from November to March.

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT KOVALAM

Altitude :Sea level
Latitude : 8' 05'
Longitude : 77' 15"
Rainfall :170 cm
Season : Throughout (Best - September to May)
Languages : Malayalam, English, Hindi, Tamil

PLACES TO VISIT AT KOVALAM

Kovalam beach

Temples at kovalam

Padmanabhaswamy Temple
East Fort Ganapathy Temple
Pazhavangadi Bhagavathy Temple
Attukal Hanuman Temple
Vikas Bhavan Sree Parasurama Temple, Thiruvallam Janardhan Swamy Temple
Varkala Aruvipuram siva Temple
Neyyattinkara Sree Kanteswaram Temple

Churches at kovalam

St.Joseph Church, Palayam
Christ Church, Paslayam LMS Church
Palayam Lourdes Church

Mosques at kovalam

Charachira Jama Masjid, Palayam
Jama Masjid, Beemapally Mosque
Thampanoor Hidayuthul Islam Madrasa
Moyuddin Mosque, Vizhinjam

HOW TO GET THERE?

By Air
Nearest Airport - Trivandrum (20 kms). Indian Air Lines , Air India, Air Lanka, East West Airlines and Gulf Air operate direct service from Trivandrum to Delhi, Bombay, Madras, Goa, Bangalore, Cochin, Calicut, in addition to international services to Sri Lanka, Maldives, Gulf countries and Singapore.

By Rail
Nearest rail head is Trivandrum Central. Trivandrum is connected by rail with many important cities. Road Kovalam is connected by road with several tourist destinations within Kerala and India

Local Transport
Coaches, Tourist taxies and Autorickshaws are available