…… with its majestic cliffs offering stunning sea views, has garnered considerable attention in recent times. It stands out as the ideal destination for those seeking a laid-back beach vacation.
Looking to plan a much-needed break for a long-weekend? Varkala is the ideal destination and here’s a guide to help you plan your getaway
Sections:
🗓️High level itinerary
There are 2 ways to plan your Varkala trip – (i) Combining it with Kochi and make the entire trip duration 4-5 days with Varkala being a 2-day trip; or (ii) Spending 3-4 days in Varkala and covering both north and south cliff
The best time to visit Varkala is either in summer (March to May) or Winter (November – Jan) to get the best sunset views. We visited in October, which was monsoon and while the temperatures were pleasant, the rain did play spoilsport sometimes
Considering the time we spent travelling (12-14 hours from Bangalore), we decided to spend 4 days in Varkala.
- Day 1: Varkala North Cliff, Black sand beach, Edava beach
- Day 2: Kappil beach, South Cliff
- Day 3: Jatayu Earth’s Centre
- Day 4: Flexible – we did some Kayaking at the property and headed back to Bangalore at 4
A trip for 4 days costs around INR 20,000 per person
[Travel – 5,000 (to and from Bangalore); Stay – 8,000; Food – 4,000; Miscellaneous – 3,000]
🚗Transport
If covering both Kochi and Varkala: Take a flight to Kochi and then travel by road to Varkala – it’s a 4-5 hour drive
If covering only Varkala – You could still do the same thing – fly to Kochi/Trivandrum and then by road to Varkala or take a bus to Kollam and then go by cab. There are several online cab operators available and they are reasonably priced – they charged around INR 1,500 for a SUV grade car). We were 5 of us and that is why the cab worked to be cost effective for us. There are also frequently running trains between Kollam and Varkala and this is a 30 min journey. So if you are travelling solo or as a couple, you could also consider this option
🏡Stay
Varkala has begun to gain popularity only in the recent times, which is why one would not find as many options when compared to other tourist destinations. The best ones are located on the north cliff (the ones facing the sea) and the south cliff. However, you might also find some hostels which are located at a walking distance from the North Cliff road.
If you book well in advance, Zostel is also a good option. If you are planning to visit during any long weekend, even if it is off season, you might still want to book your stay in advance
We stayed at one of these hostels in North Cliff for 1 night and had booked another resort (Vishram Village) a little away from both the cliff areas for the remaining 2 nights. This property is located right by the Varkala-Hariharapuram lake and surrounded by lush greenery. It is the perfect place if you want to unwind for a couple of days
However, I would highly recommend one to stay at the south cliff and then travel around from there since it is less crowded and the properties are really good
🍜Food
If you’re someone who loves seafood, then Varkala is the place to be. The coastal town offers an excellent opportunity to indulge in some fresh seafood – cooked in the local style.
However, the surge in tourist population of late has prompted the emergence of cafe culture with new cafes springing up every other day. Some of the best ones are located on the south cliff and are a must visit. Here are my Top 5 recommendations
- Cafe Sarwaa – great view, great ambience, great food
- Trip is Life – for breakfast/ lunch – has limited options but great food
- Cafe del Mar – for breakfast/brunch
- Darjeeling Cafe – evening/ night
- Inda Cafe – for breakfast/brunch
- God’s Own Country Kitchen – if you want to try some local cuisine
📝Detailed itinerary
Day 1: Varkala north cliff
We reached Kollam at around 8 am and took a cab from there to Varkala. Reached Varkala at around 10.30 am and checked into our hostel. Grabbed a quick breakfast and then headed to the North Cliff to explore the beach and the cafes.
The North Cliff is one stretch of the cliff extending for around 1 km with the sea on one side and shops and cafes on the other. One thing to note about Varkala is that it has cliffs by the shore. Since the shore is not vast, the sea is not as easily accessible as one would find in other coastal cities such as Goa. Having said that, the views from the cliff are equally beautiful
We went to Cafe Del Mar for lunch. This place has an exhaustive menu with variety of cuisines and reasonably priced. The food is also good. One of the few good cafes located on the North Cliff
Then walked along the cliff exploring the shops and shopped for some clothes and souvenirs. There are stores set up by various vendors selling all kinds of stuff – clothes to jewellery to magnets to paintings and artistic stuff. Make it a point to bargain extensively with the vendors since most of the stuff here is overpriced (due to the influx of a large number of foreign tourists – mostly hippies)
We then headed to the Black Sand beach for sunset and savoured the views with some tea by a seaside cafe and to Darjeeling cafe for dinner
Day 2: Kappil lake/beach and south cliff
We then headed towards our second stay which was a little away from the Varkala town (about 15 min ride) and on the way stopped at the Kappil beach and Kappil lake. This is a unique concept where you would find lake on one side of the road and the sea on the other side. This is one of the lesser known and less crowded beaches since it is a away from the main town
Checked in to our stay and relaxed by the lake at the property. We then got a traditional ayurvedic massage and facial done at the spa and to our surprise, it was quite affordable (INR 1200 for both services) and really relaxing. Highly recommended trying the traditional massages in one of the resorts offering Ayurvedic massage and spa services (avoid trying the smaller local ones since they might not have trained masseuses and you might end up having a disappointing experience)
We then relaxed at the property since it started pouring and then headed to the North Cliff to have dinner at one of the cafes
Day 3: Jatayu Earth’s Centre
Left for Jatayu Earth’s Centre after breakfast in the morning. It is located at a distance of about 30 kms from Varkala and is around an hour’s drive from the North Cliff
The Jatayu Earth’s Centre houses the world’s largest bird sculpture – Jatayu – a demigod in the Indian epic Ramayana who is believed to have been killed here in his duel with Ravana while trying to defend Sita from him. The statue was built as a homage to the brave bird and symbolises the honour and safety of women
There are 2 ways to get to the statue which is located on top of a hill – (i) climb up the steps carved out in the hill; or (ii) take a 5-8 min ride in a cable car which costs about INR 300 per person for rides both up and down. We decided to go with the cable car since we wanted to try it out. The infrastructure is really good and the entire experience is very well managed and hassle-free
The view from the top is beautiful and one can get a 360o view of from the top. There is also a temple dedicated to Lord Ram, Lakshman and Sita at the top if one wishes to visit. Work is also underway for a museum and/or cultural centre beneath the statue – this was not open when we visited
Headed down after spending around 2 hours at the top. If you’re visiting in the morning, ensure to reach here as early as possible or post 3 pm since it can get really sunny and there is not much shade where you can get some rest
Headed to cafe Sarwaa in the south cliff for lunch and spent the rest of the day there watching the sunset and came back to the property post sunset
Day 4: Relax at the property/ Kayaking at Paravur Backwaters
Since we had our return bus at 5 pm and were working on this day, we decided to make it a leisure day and just relaxed at the deck by the lake on the property and went kayaking in the lake attached to the property. This was a very calming experience when we went into the still waters in the middle of nowhere – surrounded by coconut groves. Would highly recommend doing this if you’re staying at this property (name mentioned above)
Alternatively, if you have some time on hand, you could do either the golden island boating/ kayaking tour (located around 10 kms from the cliff – 30 min journey) or go kayaking in the Paravur Backwaters (around 16 kms from the cliff – 30 min journey)
Roamantic Affair 