Kerala Travelogue – Kovalam

Lighthouse @ Kovalam

Our annual vacation would be incomplete if it didn’t have a beach destination. Kovalam’s pristine beaches was our last stop in Kerala before we flew back home.

Day 1

We checked-out from the houseboat and headed straight for Kovalam. This was the first stretch where we didn’t halt on the way and it took a little over 4 hours to reach there. We had booked Garden View Room at Turtle on the Beach via MakeMyTrip and the only non-Oyo & non-budget booking. As soon as we entered the hotel we were welcomed with shell garland, drink and wet hand towels. After finishing the formalities, we headed to the room and were accompanied by a lady staff who explained all the hotel amenities and in room features. WOW! Especially since, we had never ever received such a warm welcome from any of our previous hotels and it felt really awesome. The room was very clean and spacious. And guess what, it had a bath tub, which we thought was only there in the costlier beach view rooms. The last leg of our Kerala trip had got off to a wonderful start. For us Turtle on the Beach has set a new benchmark in luxury hotel.

Previously they had private access to beach, but since the pathway no longer exists they provide free pickup and drop to beach, which we never used since Hawa Beach is just 200 meters from the hotel.

Turtle on the Beach - Garden View
Turtle on the Beach – Garden View
Turtle on the Beach - Garden View Room - 1
Turtle on the Beach – Garden View Room
Turtle on the Beach - Garden View Room - 2
Turtle on the Beach – Garden View Room
Turtle on the Beach - Garden View Room - Bathtub
Turtle on the Beach – Garden View Room – Bathtub

In the evening we headed to the beach and explored around. The main beach area consists of two interconnected beaches, Hawa beach and Lighthouse Beach, former getting its name from the topless tourists that used to throng there (doesn’t happen anymore) and the later from the lighthouse at the end of the beach. We headed to the lighthouse only to find out that it closes doors at 5PM. We headed back to the beach, enjoyed the beautiful sunset and retreated back.

Kovalam - View Point
Kovalam – View Point
Sunset @ Hawa Beach Kovalam
Sunset @ Hawa Beach Kovalam
Steep access path to Hawa Beach
Steep access path to Hawa Beach

Day 2

Post breakfast we went straight to Lighthouse Beach and had an amazing time playing in the water. All the beaches in Kovalam have lifeguards on duty and they use two red flags to demarcate areas with strong current and don’t allow you to swim there.

We had lunch at one of the shacks on the beach, which wasn’t so great and then headed to the lighthouse. To reach the base, there is a small climb up the hill of 50 odd steps. From there one has to take entry tickets charged at ₹10/person and ₹20 for camera. Then there is a climb of 150 odd steps to reach the top, and is totally worth it. The bird’s eye view of the whole Kovalam beach is just amazing.

Kovalam Lighthouse Stairs
Kovalam Lighthouse Stairs
View from Kovalam Lighthouse - LeftSide
View from Kovalam Lighthouse – LeftSide
View from Kovalam Lighthouse - RightSide - Lighthouse and Hawa Beach
View from Kovalam Lighthouse – RightSide – Lighthouse and Hawa Beach
View from Kovalam Lighthouse - Front
View from Kovalam Lighthouse – Front

We stayed on the beach till sunset and came back to the beach for dinner. This time we went to a different shack and ordered Calamari and Crab Masala.

Day 3

Today we decided to head in the other direction towards Grow Beach. The Leela Resorts has this beach all to itself, almost like a private beach. The beach also had some nice rock formations and we would have got some beautiful photos, had it not been for the super strict lifeguard who won’t let anyone venture there and risk an accident. Well safety first 🙂 . It was close to noon and we had to head back to checkout by 1 o’clock.

Grow Beach
Grow Beach
Rocks @ Grow Beach
Rocks @ Grow Beach
Red Flag @ Grow Beach
Red Flag @ Grow Beach

We had lunch at the hotel itself and headed to Thiruvanthapuram’s new T2 terminal. Sitting at the idyllic airport it dawned upon us that the vacation was coming to an end normal routine would start from next day. Well, all good things do come to an end.


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