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Kerala is one of the most beautiful places to visit in South India and Varkala is one of the most sought after offbeat tourist attractions in Kerala with beautiful beaches, cliffs, sunsets and greenery all around. As I was looking for places to visit in October in Kerala, Varkala became my obvious choice.

How did I commute?

On a Thursday evening in October we were waiting at the Krishnarajapuram Railway Station, in Bangalore, waiting to board onto the Kochuveli Express to Kollam. It was a 14-hour journey to Kollam.

I sensed humidity as soon as we got down at Kollam Railway station from where there are frequent trains to Varkala which is 2 stops from Kollam and takes 25mins by train.

Train ticket cost:

Bangalore to Kollam – Rs.1088 (AC 3 Tier)
Kollam to Varkala – Rs.30

Bus ticket cost:

KSRTC Airavat – Rs.1,450

Internal commute within Varkala:

You can travel via auto to your hotel and from there you can prefer renting a 2 wheeler. It will give you the freedom to go to places as per your wish and comfort.

I paid Rs.100 to commute from the railway station to my hotel in the cliff. Generally, since Varkala is a tourist attraction in Kerala, the auto drivers will charge you a bomb for commute within the quite little town.

Hey Varkala

There I was at the Varkala Railway Station, geared up with excitement to experience the warmth of the Arabian Sea. The smell of idli, dosa and sambhar pulled us towards the restaurants close by and within few minutes of getting down from the train we got our hungry tummies await the food we ordered. After the contentment of having breakfast we took a rickshaw from the Railway Station to the North Cliff of Varkala.

Cliff Times

Set for the day to explore the stunning coastal town with its beauty unruffled, we first went to the cliff which was a 2-min walk from our stay and then to the Papanasam beach, letting the sound of the waves and grains of sand to replenish our soul. We had lunch at the cliff which had scores of restaurants chiefly serving continental cuisine. It is to be noted that the food at the cliff can be quite expensive.

Anjengo calls

Anjengo town, 14kms from Varkala, has a 130 feet tall lighthouse constructed by the British East India Company more than 100 years ago. The lighthouse has Arabian sea to one side and backwaters to the other. You can also get the top view of the Anjengo fort.

Visiting hours: 3-5 pm
Entry fee: Rs.30

Next to the lighthouse you can find the Anjengo Fort established by the British East India Company. The fort served as the first signaling station for the ships arriving from England.
Note: We rented a 2 wheeler at 3pm on Friday for Rs.300/- and used it for 24 hours. The auto rickshaws in Varkala can be exorbitant priced if you want to explore the town and it’s difficult to get a rickshaw in places away from the main town.

Sunset at Kappil

West coast of India is known for its beautiful sunsets. From the town of Anjengo we rode to Kappil beach which was 6 kms from the Varkala town to relish the sunset. The view of Edava Lake on one side and the sunset at the other was magnificent.

Let’s meditate at Sivagiri Mutt

We went to the Sivagiri Mutt which is known for its serene environment. It is told that SreeNarayana Guru fell in love with the atmosphere of Varkala and decided to build a hermitage atop the Sivagiri hill. The Guru had set up an elementary school in the hills. There is a Saraswathi temple at the foothills and the Guru’s Samadhi up in the hill which is open till 7.30 pm.

On the way to the cliff from the mutt we had our dinner at a local restaurant. Varkala has many small, nice and budget restaurants that you should visit to appreciate the local cuisine like Idiyappam, Appam, Puttu and Kadala curry at a minimal cost.

Welcome to Jatayu – Guinness Book of World Records

We started around 8.30 am on Saturday from our stay to the Jatayu Earth’s Centre in Kollam district which was 27kms. We decided to head back to Varkala around 1.30 pm from Jatayu and had our lunch on the way to our stay and returned our rented vehicle at 3pm.
Timings: 10 am – 9pm

How to commute?

I rode my rented 2 wheeler to Jatayu Earth’s Centre from Varkala.

For people not wanting to rent a bike, the route to reach Jatayu from Varkala will be as follows:
Varkala Bus Stand – Bus to Paripally – Bus to Chadayamangalam – jeep to Jatayu. There are no trains to Chadayamangalam from Varkala.

Varkala Aquarium

The Aquarium was at the Thiruvembadi beach of Varkala and very close to the cliff. We decided to take an evening walk to the Aquarium.

Timings: 9.30 am – 6.30 pm
Entry fee: Rs.30

They had variety of fishes and sometimes it felt sad to see that the bigger fishes didn’t have enough space to move around or rocks to hide.

Dinner Time

Most of the cliff restaurants offer a candle light dinner. The ambience it sets is quite romantic. We decided to have dinner at Trattorias with a table facing the sea. The sound of the waves crashing washed away all the thoughts that bothered me at that moment. A sense of calmness prevailed.

Janardhana Swamy Temple

The next day, early in the morning we decided to do play with the waves, freshen up and do the 2 kms walk to the 2000 years old Janardhana Swamy Temple from our stay. It is good to wear traditional clothes while entering the temple because people wearing short clothes would not be allowed.

Bye Varkala

With the contentment of having explored Varkala, we left to Kollam in the afternoon by train. We had booked a bus from Kollam to Bangalore at 6 pm through KSRTC. Since we had enough time for our bus to Bangalore, once we reached Kollam we decided to head to Thangassery Lighthouse as soon as we got done with lunch.

Varkala definitely comes under one of the most beautiful and best places to visit in Kerala. If I am given a chance again, I will not think twice to book my tickets back to Kollam from I ll find my way once again to the Varkala town with beautiful cliffs, beaches and sunsets.

I hope my Varkala Travel Guide has given you the information for you to plan your trip.

Read also: Travel attractions in Kerala