Varkala is distinctive among Kerala's beaches for its dramatic red laterite cliffs rising directly above the shore, with a clifftop promenade of cafes, shops and guesthouses offering sea views alongside easy beach access via steps cut into the cliff face. The beach's other name, Papanasam ('sin-destroying'), reflects its status as a significant Hindu pilgrimage site, where ritual bathing and ancestral rites are performed alongside the area's more conventional beach tourism.
Natural mineral springs at the base of the cliffs, believed to have therapeutic properties, add a further layer to Varkala's dual identity as both a pilgrimage site and a relaxed beach destination, giving it a somewhat different character from Kerala's more purely recreational coastal towns.
Varkala's Janardhana Swamy Temple has drawn Hindu pilgrims for centuries, with the adjoining beach's sanctity tied closely to the temple's religious significance, while the area's modern tourism development grew considerably from the 1990s onward around the distinctive cliff setting.
October to March.
About 50km from Thiruvananthapuram, roughly 1 hour by road; Varkala has its own railway station.
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