December 11-13, 2009 – Day 351-353 – Varkala Beach, Kerala, India

After a travel day and not getting to Varakala late afternoon, we spent our afternoon settling into the pretty cliffside beach town and enjoying the sea air.

Varkala beach

Travel Tip:

Getting to Varkala Beach from Varkala (town):
Take one of the rickety local buses heading to the beach (Rs. 3.5) but don’t get off when the bus stops at the lower left side road to the beach. Ask if the bus goes to cliff side, about another 3-4 minutes up the hill. You’ll get out where a road goes out left and there are a couple snack stands and a pharmacy/”medicals” shop across from the road. If you walk 5-8 minutes on this road to the left, you’re heading out to the town on the cliffs above the beach. There are plenty of guest houses, restaurants, internet cafes, and mini supermarkets.

If you need an ATM, you need to take care of that in Varkala town.

You can also take a rickshaw to/from town to the cliffs if you prefer but it will cost you anywhere between Rs. 20-80 depending on how much you can negotiate. It should really only be about Rs. 30 maximum because town is about 2km from the cliffs.

Down on the beach

The 12th and 13th were to luxuriously lazy days spent between the beach, our awesome balcony, and walking around town with a great view of the beach below. Had a couple of runs to town since we ran out of doxy and money! Otherwise we enjoyed some sun, burned our feet on the intensely hot sand, and got bashed and beaten around by the wicked waves. Varkala is really not a good place for swimming but if you’re interested in boogie boarding or surfing, there are rental options. Very beautiful beach and amazing view from the cliff. The cleanest beach and clearest, prettiest water of all the beaches in Goa and Kerala that we’ve been to! The restaurants are pretty pricey but you can find 1-2 places on the small side “streets” that are cheaper. The Shiva Moon Cafe is one such place, just at the end of the “Tibetan Market” road. Good, cheap food and they offer cheap rooms as well.