Kovalam, an international beach town in Kerala

Kovalam is situated by the Arabian Sea on the south western coast of India in the state of Kerala. It is famed for its white sandy beaches along a hilly coastline. There are three beaches, namely, Hawa Beach, Light House Beach and Samudra Beach. The Light house Beach is the best developed and caters to tourists from all over the world. It is an international beach town with all amenities and facilities of modern day comfort at the backdrop of the pristine blue ocean. In the 1930’s the Maharani of Travancore invited her European guests to the royal castle and in this way the west heard of the beauty of the beaches in Kovalam. Kovalam in Malayalam means “grove of coconut trees” and the beach area is bestowed with many exotic tropical fruits trees alongside the endless coconut trees. It was in 1970 during the time of the “hippy” culture that Kovalam became the hub of the European “hippies”. In fact, Hawa Beach was the first topless beach in India. Today however this is not the practice!
While in Kovalam, the list of things to do is endless. The first is definitely a jump into the clean sea water. Light House Beach is very clean compared to other beaches in India. The coast guards are continually watchful. The bay of calm waters is good for sea bathing even for children. For the adventure seeker there are opportunities for parasailing, paragliding, and scuba diving. Also the beach is situated on a hillock which has many trails to trek around. For unwinding and relaxation the options are many – sunbathing, herbal body toning massages, yoga etc. This is an ideal place for getting a coppery tan in minutes!
The beach wakes up early with morning walkers, swimmers, yoga enthusiasts and continues late into the night with lively restaurants, music, lights, and shopping. The light house beach complex has a string of sea facing beach resorts, ayurvedic health resorts, cottages, swimming pools, shopping centers and yoga centers.
Accommodation is easily available and ranges from five star hotels to budget hotels. All the hotels are well equipped to give tourist satisfactory comfort and international standards in service. Most resorts have facilities for yoga and ayurvedic massages and treatments. Restaurants are in plenty too and cater to European and South Indian tastes.
Trivandrum the capital of Kerala is just 16 km from Kovalam. The famous backwaters are also less than an hour’s drive from Kovalam.
Behind the sea facing resorts, restaurants and shopping arcades there exists a small town for tourists especially the foreign tourists. There are grocery stores, Ayurvedic resorts, Yoga Resorts, budget accommodations, expensive accommodation, restaurants, cafes and a lot of lush green trees. Most Europeans live here for long periods of time for the sun, beach and heat. Many among them visit for joint pains which are cured with Ayurveda and the heat of the area. Further, there are multispecialty hospitals in Trivandrum that provide world class service at reasonable costs. Medical tourism is becoming popular here.
In Kovalam one sees the romantic couples, the girl gangs out to have fun in the sea and beach, families with children, the retired folks, the spiritualist and every possible category of people that want to have fun in the water. Kovalam is rejuvenating to the body and mind. Travelsntrips recommends Kovalam as a must visit beach in India.