Beaches in and around Kovalam

Destination is an excuse, Ride is the reason.

Many a times true for all passionate riders. For me it is no different either. I always love to be in places which is greener, natural and not crowded. Always believe that there are lots and lots of such places very near to me. Got an invitation for a marriage at Marthandom, a place near Kerala Tamil Nadu border in the southern side of India. My colleagues arranged for a vehicle to attend this.

But for me it is an occasion to ride. Since I am not taking my family I can try the best mode of transport which I love. Bulletting .

Well the distance to destination was a mere 50km.

The normal route - a very busy highway. Googled and got a new route. Travel through the roads pretty close to the beaches and explore the exotic locations too. One of my friends agreed to be the pillion.

My steed is ready for the journey ahead.

Started my trip early in the morning. Picked my pillion and headed straight to Kovalam.

The morning breeze when travelling through the bypass road to Kovalam is simply an energizer. Sets up body to take a toll of sun later on. I did not go to the Kovalam beach. Turned left from Kovalam toward Vizhinjam. The roads were narrow. Crowded by people. Traffic was less. As usual lots of eyes were falling on my chrome machine and this kind of admiration no one can ignore. I was cruising slowly. My pillion was looking around for some small roads towards the right which will lead to beaches.

This journey was done in May 2007, it was a very short journey, still I thought I will post this, since it might be useful travellers who will be visiting Kovalam.

The Azhimala Temple and Adjacent Beach

After about 10kms from Kovalam in the Kovalam - Poovar route we saw a board which points to the Azhimala Temple. On enquiring, the local people said that the temple is on a beach side. Decided to explore this temple. There were sign boards pointing to this temple throughout the road.

In a short while we reached the temple. This is the azhimala temple

From here itself we could see the sea. We went inside the temple. It was really a calm and quiet place, the temple had no modernization to its credit. So it had that original look.The temple was on top of some rocks.

You can see myself standing on top of the rocks outside the temple.

We had to descent the rock to reach the beach. When we reached bottom we could see the magnificient beach. There was simply no crowd at all. I wonder why all people jam into Kovalam beach for all the fun. Why can't some of them be here so that they can enjoy more. The tree shades near the rock gives a perfect place to rest with the cool sea breeze. The view of the rocks which we descended from the beach was amazing (The first picture of this post shows this view)
The never ending beach.

This water body was found on one side of the beach. Even this water is quite clear without any garbage.

After relaxing on this beach side for sometime we decided to proceed with our journey.

The Chowara Cliff

Varkala cliff near the varkala beach is well known for the beautiful view it offers from the top. We had heard of a similar cliff in this part also.
Enquired with the local people and found out that one such cliff exists near to an ayyappa temple. The roads were really narrow, with lot of greenery surrounding it. Bulletting through such roads is pure fun, where we enjoy losing our way and returning which will ensure that we are on roads with nature's company for a prolonged time.
At last after so many successfull route queries we were near the cliff. There were lots of trees there. We could see one scotter parked in between the trees. So decided to take my bull between the trees to the edge of the cliff. VOILA!! what a majestic view. Just see this. My bull seemed to shine more seeing this sight.

I love greenery. Its sooo soothing to eyes.

The color mix of this painting was awesome. The green followed by the yellow of sand, followed by the blue sea and then the blue sky in another tone. When it comes to explaining the beauty of nature words are hard to come by. Hope the pictures will speak for itself.

This cliff is as beautiful as varkala cliff, if not more. The ride on top of the cliff amidst the trees gives a different feel altogether.

I did take some rounds through this area to just have that feel.

We left this place with immense satisfaction. Again the narrow and winding roads and again the rider in me was motivated. Love the way the bull handles the curves. The steep roads adds to the fun.

The steps which you see towards my right side in the pic, is the way leading to the ayyappa temple which can be reached by trekking. A common belief is that women can trek through this path during the sabairmala season equivalent to men trekking the sabarimala hills to worship lord ayyappa

Soon I understood that we have to reach in time for my friends marriage. Decided not to explore further on beaches near kovalam. Soon we hit NH 47 in the trivandrum Nagercoil stretch. I simply breezed through these roads and reached the destination.