Varkala: Sun, sand and beach

Varkala is one of the latest entrants on the world's tourism map from Kerala. Located about 40 kms from Trivandrum, it is a calm and quiet hamlet. It is also an important Hindu centre of pilgrimage. The final resting place of the great social reformer, Saint Sree Narayana Guru, is in Varkala, atop a hill called Sivagiri. High cliffs with mineral springs rise majestically from the coastline here. According to a myth, sage Narada was approached by a group of mendicants who confessed to having sinned. Narada threw his valkkalam (cloth made of the bark of a tree) into the air, and the place where it landed was subsequently named Varkala. The mendicants were directed by Narada to offer their prayers in the newly created place by the seashore. The place where they prayed for redemption came to be known as the Papanasham Beach (Papanasham means redemption from sins).

It has several places of tourist interest apart from a beautiful beach like, a 2000-year old Vishnu temple and the ashramam - 'Sivagiri Mutt' a little distance from the beach. This temple stands on the cliffs overlooking the beach, a short distance away. The Sivagiri Mutt, founded by the great Hindu reformer and Philosopher Sree Narayana Guru (1856 - 1928) is also close by. The Samadhi (the final resting place) of the Guru here attracts thousands of devotees every year during the Sivagiri Pilgrimage days - December 30 to January 1. Sree Narayana Guru propagated the ideology: 'one caste, one religion and one god', in a society torn by the taboos of caste system. Varkala offers excellent accommodation facilities for the tourist and is fast becoming a popular health resort with many Ayurvedic massage centres.