Varkala

Varkala is the one place on the Kerala coast where the land does not slope gently into the sea but drops away from it. A wall of red-brown laterite cliffs rises straight up from the sand, carpeted with coconut palms along the top, and it is this single geological quirk that gives the town its whole character. Kerala Tourism describes it as the only stretch in the state where cliffs stand adjacent to the Arabian Sea, and in 2015 the cliff formation was recognised as a national geo-heritage site by the Geological Survey of India. Walk the paved path along the cliff edge at sunset, with the surf breaking far below and the sky going orange over the water, and you understand quickly why this small temple town became one of South India's most-loved beach destinations.

It is, unusually, two things at once — and holding both in mind is the key to enjoying it. Varkala is a place of pilgrimage, anchored by the seaside Janardanaswamy Temple and by Papanasam Beach, whose very name means "washing away of sins" and where Hindu families have for centuries come to bathe, perform last rites for the departed, and immerse ashes in the sea. It is also, quite separately, a traveller town: the clifftop above the beach has grown over the past three decades into a ribbon of cafes, craft stalls, yoga shalas and Ayurveda centres that fills with backpackers, surfers and wellness seekers through the cool months. The sacred and the laid-back sit side by side here, sometimes on the same beach, and the town works best for visitors who respect the first while enjoying the second.

Geographically, Varkala sits in Thiruvananthapuram district in the far south of Kerala, roughly 40 to 50 kilometres north of the state capital and about 25 kilometres south of the old port city of Kollam. That location makes it a natural pause on the coastal run between Kerala's backwaters and its southern beaches, and an easy add-on to a Trivandrum trip. The town itself is compact — the cliff, the beaches, the temple and the Sivagiri hill are all within a few kilometres of one another — and the pace is deliberately slow.

Beyond the headline cliff, Varkala rewards curiosity. The mineral springs that seep from the rock face, the 2,000-year-old temple the pilgrims call "Dakshin Kashi," the hilltop mutt where the great social reformer Sree Narayana Guru lived and was laid to rest, the black mineral-rich sand, a quieter southern cliff and beach away from the crowds, backwaters and a colonial-era fort within a short drive — all of it packs into a surprisingly small footprint. Add a genuinely excellent food scene, from cliff-cafe seafood to a traditional Kerala sadya, and a deep-rooted Ayurveda and yoga culture, and Varkala earns its reputation.

Practically, it fits a range of trips. Two unhurried days is enough to see the essentials, walk both cliffs, visit the temple and the mutt, take a sunset over the Arabian Sea and still have time to do nothing at all — which is, for many, the whole point of coming. Travellers with more time use it as a base for backwater trips to Kappil and Kollam, a fort excursion to Anjengo, and a hill-country escape to Ponmudi. However you come to it, come in the cool, dry season, respect the rituals on the holy beach, and give yourself at least one full evening on the cliff at golden hour.