The beach is known for the cliffs along the sea shore and this is a unique geological feature on the otherwise flat Kerala Sealine. This beach has been declared as a geological monument by the geological survey of India. These are tertiary sedimentary formation cliffs and there are many spouts and spas near by. The water here is said to be medicinal and a dip in the sea is said to clear ones sins. This beach is also called as Papanasam beach, meaning the cleanser of all sins beach.
You can find a 2000 year old Janardhanaswamy temple on the top of the hill overlooking the beach. You can climb the hill through the stairs but only Hindus are allowed inside the temple. You can see beautiful carvings of Hanuman, who went to Lanka in search of Seetha of Ramayana, in different poses all round the walls of the temple.
Another landmark of the Varkala town is Sivagiri Mutt. This wasa founded by the well known philosopher, Sri Narayana Guru who is well known for his Vedic knowledge and poetic proficiency He was open to the views of others and followed a non-violent philosophy. His unrelenting resolve to set aright social wrongs got him the respect even though he was born in a lower caste which was looked down by the people. Guru's philosophy was "one caste, one religion and one god" and he propagated the philosophy to all his followers,
Sri Narayana Guru's Samadhi is here at Varkala and the place attracts thousands of devotees every year during the Sivagiri Pilgrimage days - that is Dec 30th - 1st Jan every year
How to Reach Varkala:
You can reach Thiruvananthapuram airport if you are coming by flight to Kerala. From the airport it is abot 60 kilometers to the beach.
Varkala is a railway station on the Thiruvananthapuram - Kollam line. Almost all the trains travelling that way stops there. Even if you reach Calicut or Ernakulam airport you can get to Varkala through trains travelling to Thiruvananthapuram. The station is just 3 kilometers away from the Beach.
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