About
Kovalam beach is located at sixteen kilometres south of Thiruvananthapuram.
Kovalam beach is only an hour's drive from Thiruvananthapuram. Kovalam beach
is the most famous south Indian Beach due to its natural beauty and fine
sand washed beach, which makes sunbath on these silver sands possible.
Kovalam beach is the most famous South Indian beach. Mainly there are two
beaches in Kovalam along with many private beaches. One of the Kovalam
beaches is Eve's beach, a semi-circular one, well known for its secluded
location and its relatively good beach area. Another famous Kovalam beach is
that of Lighthouse beach where a lighthouse situates, which belong to the
British period. The Kovalam beach is spread over 4 km. Best time to visit
Kovalam beach is from September to March.
History
of Kovalam Beach
The European guests of the then Travancore kingdom discovered the
potentiality of Kovalam beach as a tourist destination in the 1930s. But the
real fame as an ideal beach resort was won later for the Kovalam beach in
the early Seventies with arrivals of the masses of 'Hippys'. It was a debut
of the transformation of just a casual fishing village of Kerala into one of
the most important tourist destinations in the world- the Kovalam beach. Now
some foreign companies are bringing chartered tourists in a large number to
Kovalam beach apart from the usual travellers, most of them are repeating
travellers.
Activities
Apart from the usual sunbath and surfing, many marine activities are
possible at Kovalam. The local fishermen provides sunrise and sun set
cruises in fishing boats. The Catamaran cruises, on the country raft is very
popular here. Very recently an innovative tour operating company of
Trivandrum has introduced a new package for marine Angling for deep-sea
fishing. This new project is concentrated near Vizhinjam fishing harbor,
just 4 km away east of Kovalam beach. Surfboards and boogie boards can also
be hired on the beach.
At Kovalam many hotels and resorts offers the Ayurvedic massage and
treatment. Yoga (Indian way of meditation) centers are also plenty in
Kovalam. Some theatres perform the traditional Kerala art form, Kathakali
and ethnic martial art, Kalarippayattu.
Private Beaches
Among innumerable beach holiday resorts Kovalam Ashok Beach Resort, Surya
Samudra Beach Garden, Somatheeram, Niki's Nest, Cocunut Bay Beach Resort,
Uday Samudra Beach Resort, Hotel Samudra etc own private beaches famous for
their cleanliness and secluded location. Most of these private beaches are
located near Vizhinjam at least 8 km far from Kovalam.
Shopping
The shops of Kovalam offer an array of handicraft items made of wood,
seashell and so on. The statues made of teak wood and Rose wood is popular
here. For an elaborate shopping Trivandrum city is ideal.
Other Facilities
Foreign money exchanging facilities are available in all the major hotels
and in some authorized centers in Kovalam. A post office is operating at
Kovalam from 9.30 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. STD, ISD, Fax, Internet are also
available at Kovlam. Many travel agencies are also there in Kovalam.
