Talk about Varkala

Does anyone have any suggestions of varkala?

What do you want to know?
The beach vanishes in the monsoon
Outside of peak season its a great place
During peak its very very crowded

You can rent houses inj the village and along the coast a little for as little as 3K a month

It has the feel of Goa but the Hinduism of India
A nice combination

It has great waves and a vicious rip ...Hours of exhausting fun
The sand is black so is great to build with

There is a natural spring for all your water needs ...Saves you a fortune and saves using plastic bottels other than your 5 litre refill bottle

There are a mixture of long termers ...ie 6 monthers short termers, passers through and two weeek holiday makers

The elephant festival is great
The electrical storms coming up to Monsoon are simply stunning

the people are cool

Yep its pretty damn fine
Bryan

There is an old temple & a hill top ashramam. Both are serene and peaceful, go there during the off season, if you are not a particular beach lover. Connected by train (pref) and bus. The place is literally spoiled as compared to what it was 10-15 years back when the beach looked dangerously lonely. Stay at a lodge near the railwaystation if you want very cheap accomodation. All the sea front places are bit overpriced.

No plastic please...it's my hometown

Bryan ... or anyone else.... can you tell me a little more about the 3k a month rentals.. ?

I'll be there for a short termer ( 6 months ) from beginning of November. I'd be interested in what kind of places, where to start asking around for somewhere etc..

Thanks

Butter

Yep if you're arriving before peak you will be able to get a room kitchen outside loo style in the village which runs below and up to the cliff

Its still very peaceful and laidback
Its pretty basic but its enough
The rooms /houses ar in the odler style rather than new build concrete apartments which are starting to spring up in Goa ...ie you're renting the local's own places

When you arrive take a room for a night try and then head up and behind the cliff to the village and ask around

there has been a massive amount of developemt since my fuirst visit in 1993 when the idea of tourists seemd to have arrived about 2 months ahead of me and 2 hastily built shack restaurants had been constructed on the cliff...Now most bits of land have been built on though most is temprary

It still has a lot of charm
For a littel bit more there have been cottages built on the otherside of the beach road on the hill. a few long termers I know where looking at them to rent for the six months

I cant recommend Varkala highly enough
The people are cool the vibe is less full on than Goa and the Keralan style just transfixes you ...Hope that helps or have i just become all misty eyed again hahaha

Thanks Bryan..

I stayed in Benaulim a couple of years ago but think I'll stick to Kerala this year as I just prefer it all round - and Trivandrum is reasonably close for transport. I'm planning to 'base' myself somewhere and take 'trips' around and about - Sri Lanka, Karnataka , probably north to Calcutta, a mini trip to Bangkok & Saigon ets. Truth is ... I just don't know !

A long term rental would just give me somewhere to get back to in between & feel like 'home'..

make sure you take a trip to golden island....nice shiva temple!
the boat trip is fab! your own little backwater paradise...

Hi butter,
If you're thinking of a six months stayfrom where you can travel around Kerala I could suggest you meet Sindu in Varkala.She visits the place often and have a beautiful peaceful ashram resort in a village where u have all the facilities for ayurveda yoga etc.and she knows alot on kerala.her email mail@tulasidalam.com

One thing I liked about Varkala is that it is easy to get in and out of with a good mainline railway station there. Not every train stops but nevertheless it makes it an easy destination on the way to or from Trivandrum and or Ernakulam.

Thanks for the tips..

Hi butterball ,See you overthere!! Just started looking at flights to Trevandrum ,beggining to get excited.I can see the tickets being booked in the next week. Yee Haarrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Hi freenote ...

Booked mine last week - London Heathrow - Trivandrum ( one way ) with Gulf Airlines for £329...

Got a single because I don't know how long I'm going for !

Can't wait either ( out on Nov 5th )

Drop me a PM when you're there & we'll have a 'special tea'