Anjengo Fort in Varkala ,

Anjengo is really Anju Thengu,  meaning the five coconut trees, in Malayalam, is located near the sea coast at Varkala. Varkala is located at about 36 kilometers from the capital city of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram. Anjengo fort is  a place of historical importance  with a beautiful natural setting .  Anjengo is an ideal  destination for the tourists who love walking and hiking.

According to the local history, anju thengu was the area given to the East India company on lease for trade purposes by the Queen of Attingal . The place seems to have had just 5 coconut trees in the area. In the year 1684 English established their first trade settlement in the Anju Thengu area which was later called as Anjengo Fort.  Eevn now you can find the remnants of the old English fort  which had been targetted many times by the other foreign powers namely Dutch and the Portuguese. They used to fight among eachother to get a firm footing in the state .

At present the Anjengo fort is under the protection of the National Heritage monuments. There is also a cemetry inside the fort  which would have the mortal remains of the occupants of the fort . The oldest of the burial sites dates back to 1704.  This has become a popular destination with the tourists  and the beach is an ideal place to be in.
There is a backwater stretch at Anjengo where the swaying coconut trees criss cross the water channels making it a wonderful sight to behold. Anjengo is a calm and serene beach clean and ideal for the picnickers locals as well as tourists. You can also watch the fishermen of the village nearby going about their activities .

How to Reach Anjengo
The nearest airport is Thiruvananthapuram which is located at about 46 kilometers away.
The nearest Railway station is Kadakkavur which is about 2 kilometers from the Anjengo area but all the trains will not stop there. You will have to get down at varkala railway station and then take autos or cabs from thereto reach Anjengo.

Sivagiri Mutt and the Sivagiri Pilgrimage, Varkala

Sivagiri mutt is an important  pilgrimage  center built in 1904 at the top of the Sivagiri hill near Varkala. Sivagiri is the place where Sree Narayana Guru's Samadhi is located. Even now, after many decades, his Samadhi is visited by thousands of devotees  from all over, donned in yellow  attire, during the Sivagiri pilgrimage days from 30th December to 1st January.

About Sree Narayana Guru or the Gurudevan of Sivagiri
Sree Narayana Guru was born in 1856,  in the pretty hamlet of Chempazhanthi near Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of the state of Kerala in India. He grew up to be a great sage Sree Narayana, the most revolutionary social reformer Kerala had ever produced.  He was born into a backward community of Ezhavas in the days of caste ridden Kerala sociaty.  Gurudevan as he was fondly called by his followers  and friends, led the reform movement  revolting against casteism and there by transforming the Kerala society.  Sree Narayana Guru was revered for his  Vedic knowledge, poetic proficiency, openness to the views of others, non-violent philosophy and his unrelenting resolve to set aright social wrongs.

About  Sivagiri Pilgrimage  and the goals of the Pilgrimage
Sree Narayana Guru paased away on 20th september and the samadhi is there at Sivagiri. Sivagiri Pilgrimage is on 16th and 17th Dhanu ( Malayalam Month) which usually falls on the 30th and 31st December. They have to go through Purification before they come on pilgrimage for about 10 days in the mode of Buddha's teachings. The devotees are to follow the Pancha dharma, namely, body, food, mind, word and deed.  The pilgrimage should be conduted peacefully  and chanting of the hymns. No shouting is allowed during the pilgrimage.  The goals of the pilgrimage are Education, Cleanliness, Devotion to God, Organization, Agriculture, Trade, Handicrafts and Technical training.    The devotees are to wear yellow coloured clothes like the ones which Gautham Buddha wore. The devotee can just dip the white Mundu in turmeric water and wear them for the pilgrimage and need not buy new ones.