Two days back I was enjoying porpoising of dolphins while having a pot of fresh Honey-Ginger-lemon tea at Varkala beach , the only place in southern Kerala where cliffs are found adjacent to the Arabian Sea. Sun-bath..sea-food..night walk on the beach ,everything that made my trip to a beautiful perennial memory.
ROUTE: Bellandur-Sarjapur-Attibele-Hosur-Krishnagiri-Dharmapuri-Salem-dindigul-Madurai (433km)
Madurai-Tirumagalam-Rajapalayam-tenkasi-peripally-varkala (261km)
Till Madurai the roads is four-lane ,it will take 5-6 hour if you are driving at 90-100 km/hr.
From Madurai to Varkala ,it will take 7-8 hour as the roads are not wide and you can drive 50-60 km/hr at max.But the road condition is really good and well maintained by our govt!!
17th January,unlike the other Friday my diner was ready by 6.30 pm (kerala parotha and chole masala) .Its like north-south combination . After having our diner by 7.30 pm, we started around 8PM and took the sarjapura road to avoid traffic & toll gates. sometimes GPS confuse you a lot and we misleaded by the same thing,taking some village road after sarjapura. Anyways finally we managed to touch the main-road , it was quite adventurous.
Around 10.30 pm we took a break at KAMAT and had some hot-badam milk.Then we drove towards Madurai.Unlike bangalore-mysore road you will not find CCD or any food-joint except few Tea-points.So be sure you are travelling with food stuffs and water bottles of your own.
It was 3.45 am when we crossed Madurai.After that the roads are not wide but was in good condition.Around 5 am ,we all took an hour break & slept in the car.When we opened our eyes,lots of people were there around and the clock ticked 6.30 am. Villagers are more active than people in metro,they won’t sleep late on weekends. Soon We started driving our car at 60 km/hr ,the max speed one can drive in that road.Till varkala our speed varied frequently.Soon after we crossed Ghat section,we saw a board of “THENMALA ECO-TOURISM” at Kollam-Shencottai road and next to that a tourist info center.We stopped our car and came to know that there is a big waterfall known as Palaruvi , 5 KM away in the forest. For that we took entry ticket (Rs 20 each ) .After 4 KM we found a board of “PARKING” sign and a forest guard standing there.
We parked our car there and soon we heard murmuring sound of water.After a walk of 200 m ,we saw the waterfall falling from a height of 300 feet.The meaning of Palaruvi is River of Milk. It is one of the well-known waterfalls in south India.The scenic beauty, with the hills, valleys and cascades, covered with dense tropical forests, is breath taking. A sought-after picnic spot, the Palaruvi Falls is managed by the local community.
The forest department also arrange trekking for a minimum of 5 people . (Divisional Forest Office, Thenmala, Ph: 0475-2344521)
Varkala is 98 km from this place and it took 4 hour including our breakfast break and photo shot in the paddy fields break for 45 min.I never miss giving pose whenever my photographer sister is with me .The morning view of the paddy field was really awesome.
Around 12.30PM we arrived at our pre-booked accommodation “Eden Garden” .
The resort is well maintained and small water channels are flowing in between the cottages making the place even more beautiful with the violet water lilies.Three gazebo are located in the middle of artificial pond.I was so relaxed after the 15 hour journey with eye-catching views of the unwinding resort.Around 3 PM we all were down with hunger squeezing our tummies.Oh..forgot to mention that Varkala Beach has two cliff South and North and we were staying near to north. Undoubtedly this is one of the cleanest beach and You hardly find any Indians other than the locals who run the shops and the restaurants.Foreigners are attracted by its Ayurvedic treatment and relaxing beach which is safe for bathing too.You can find many restaurants starting from the down to the end of north-cliff.But we choosed the second one “Varkala Marine Palace” from where the sea-view was so pleasant.,we ordered some sizzler with chilled beer.
This is how my first day ended at Varkala Beach.. Next day i went to Kollam to attend a Kerala-wedding ..Will share in my next blog 🙂
To be continued……..
STAY :There are many resorts and cottages on the cliff which give you a sea view
FOOD: The restaurants here have Indian,continental in their menu.A variety of Tea are served in three different sizes like glass,pot and big pot at Varkala Beach.