A few steps from the house
Quiet enough that most days it is you, the fishing boats, and whoever else at Kuma got up. This is the doorstep.
Explore Varkala
Everything worth leaving the rooftop for.
Places to visit in Varkala, picked from where we sit at Edava: ten minutes by scooter north of the cliff, the same again from the Kappil backwaters, and around the corner from a skatepark. It's the list we give guests, not the one on the review sites, and every stop on it is worth leaving a hammock for.
Beaches
Four beaches, all within ten minutes.
50 steps · where lessons run
Calm water, cliff views, and the sunsets people stay an extra week for. Soft sand bottom and a forgiving beach break, the reason the school is here rather than on the cliff.
About 10 min north
Where the sea meets the backwaters, with golden sand on the strip between them. Go at sunset. It is the best hour and it is not close.
About 10 min by scooter
Varkala's lively main beach: cafés stacked along the cliff top, sunset crowds, and the strip everyone pictures when they picture Varkala. Brilliant for an evening, and exactly why it is good to sleep here.
Read this before you swim
Currents at Edava and Kappil can be strong, and rip currents catch swimmers here every year. Never swim alone, stay close to shore, and ask us before you go in. We watch this water every day and we will tell you straight.
Here to surf? Our guide to surfing in Varkala compares the beaches from Kappil to Papanasam and says who each one suits.
Landmarks
The cliff, the temple, and a day out.
Most people come for the big Varkala tourist places: the cliff path, the temple by Papanasam beach and Sivagiri Mutt, with Jatayu for a day out. Odayam is the quiet one, three minutes on foot from our door. Every name below opens its map pin.
North Cliff to South Cliff
The red laterite cliffs are the only ones in southern Kerala that stand right beside the sea, and a national geological monument. Walk the path at sunset.
Just up from Papanasam beach
Believed to be one of the oldest temples in Kerala. Dress modestly, covering shoulders and knees; the grounds are open to all, the inner shrine to Hindus only. Give rituals on the beach their space.
On the hill above Varkala town
The ashram and resting place of the social reformer Sree Narayana Guru, and a place of pilgrimage. Quiet, respectful visits only.
Three minutes on foot from the house
Barely a detour, and quieter again than Edava.
About an hour away
The big day out: a hilltop park whose bird sculpture is billed as the largest in the world.
Ten minutes north
Where the sea stops and the backwater starts.
Kappil is the trip everyone means to do on the last day and ends up doing twice. The fishing beach at Edava runs on its own timetable. Go early and you'll watch the nets come in.
A word about the beach
This is a working beach.
The boats pulled up past the tide line are not scenery. They go out most mornings, and the nets come in around the same time you are finishing breakfast. It is the best free thing to watch in Varkala.
Stand back while they haul, don't walk through the nets, and ask before photographing anyone up close. That is the whole etiquette. Do that and you'll usually end up being handed a rope and put to work, which is considerably more fun than watching.
Eating in Varkala
Where we actually eat.
Breakfast is on our rooftop and it's included, but the walk to Black Beach Road is worth doing at least once, and the cliff is where the evening happens.
Breakfast & cafés
On the rooftop
Free for guests. Outside guests are welcome for ₹250, chai or juice included. Kerala-style, every morning, on the roof.
6:30-18:30
Black Beach Road
French artisan bakery. Fresh bread, pastries, and coffee that holds up.
Right next door
Quick stop, newly opened, and already a favourite.
Black Beach Road
For the slow breakfast. Good coffee, no rush.
Black Beach Road
Dosa and South Indian breakfast. Authentic, local, and the one we send people to.
Black Beach Road
Indian and Western, open all day. The safe bet when the group can't agree.
South Cliff
Come for the sunset views. Stay because you have nowhere to be.
South Cliff
Right on the cliff edge, boho through and through. Breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Still growing. Ask at breakfast for whatever opened last week.
Dinner & evenings
- 01
BLG Surf Bistro on Google Maps
North Cliff
Seafood on a rooftop with the sea in front of it. Hard to beat for a first night.
- 02
Off the tourist trail
The best fish restaurant in the area, and you would never find it on your own.
- 03
On the cliff
North Indian, South Indian and international, all done properly.
- 04
Tickety Boo
Black Beach Road
South Indian bistro. Good at both ends of the day, which is why it is on both lists.
- 05
For the morning coffee, when last night ran long.
- 06
Flow Cult Skatepark on Google Maps
Right around the corner
Brand new, and busiest in the evenings. Surfers, locals and free spirits, the fastest way to stop feeling like a tourist.
Insider tips
The things you'd only find out by asking.
A Kerala classic and a rite of passage. Fresh palm wine, best in the afternoon, and you will have opinions about it by evening.
Yoga, wellness & massage
Ask us. We know which places are good and which just have good signage.
Scooter rental
We'll show you where. Having one turns Kappil, the cliff and the backwaters from a plan into a whim.
Everything else is on the rooftop at breakfast. Get a bed and find out.
Before you head out
What people ask us about Varkala.
Which district is Varkala Beach in?
Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) district, in Kerala. Varkala Beach, also called Papanasam beach, is in Varkala town, which the district administration puts about 40 km north-west of Thiruvananthapuram city. Edava, where we are, sits at the northern tip of the same district, about ten minutes by scooter north of the cliff.
Which Varkala tourist places are worth the trip?
Start with the Varkala Cliff: walk the path along the top of the red laterite cliffs at sunset, and take the steps down to Papanasam beach. North Cliff is the lively stretch, South Cliff the calmer one. The Janardhana Swamy Temple sits just up from the beach, and Sivagiri Mutt is on the hill above town. Up our end, Edava and Odayam are the quiet beaches, and Kappil is where the sea meets the backwaters. Jatayu Earth Centre, about an hour away, is the big day out.
What to do in Varkala if you only have one day?
Here's the day we'd plan for a friend. Start early at Edava with a morning surf lesson, or, if the boats are out, watch the nets being hauled in. Breakfast is on our roof, but if you'd rather wander, try dosa at Tickety Boo or pastries at Baker & Mill on Black Beach Road. Then walk the grounds of the Janardhana Swamy Temple, just up from Papanasam beach, with shoulders and knees covered; the inner shrine is for Hindus only. Afternoon is for a toddy shop near Edava (ask us which). If you have a glass, leave the scooter and take an auto to sunset, at the cliff path or the Kappil backwaters. Then eat on the cliff at BLG Surf Bistro.
Anything not covered here, message us on WhatsApp at +91 99953 38248.
Not sure which fits?
Send your dates, headcount and surf level. We'll point you toward the right room, session or week.
Ask Kuma on WhatsApp+91 99953 38248
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