Kerala and Tamil Nadu Trip: Day 2 from Varkala to Poovar

Our days during this Kerala and Tamil Nadu Trip were generally quite long, and Day 2 was no different. The plan for the day was to watch the sunrise at Varkala Beach, visit Jatayu Earth Center on the way, and finally reach our next stay at Poovar.

Starting the Day at Varkala Beach

The alarm rang around 5:45 AM, and by 6:00 AM we had already started walking towards Varkala Beach. Our resort was approximately 1 kilometre away, and the walk took us around 15 minutes. The route passed through North Cliff, and from there we had to climb down around 100 steps to reach the beach. The beach was already active in the morning. Kids immediately got busy playing on the beach while we spent our time enjoying the peaceful surroundings. We stayed there for almost two hours, simply relaxing and watching the morning unfold.

One thing that caught our attention was the number of lights on the beach even during the morning hours. We later realised that many rituals for the deceased were being performed there. There is also a smaller branch of Janardhan Swami Temple near the beach, and we saw several religious rituals taking place around it.

Kerala and Tamil Nadu Trip – Morning at Varkala Beach

Tea Before Breakfast

By around 8:00 AM, we left the beach. By this time, we were already starving because we hadn’t even had our morning tea. Near the beach, close to another temple, we found a small vegetarian shop serving tea and fresh Medu Vadas. The tea was excellent, and the Medu Vadas were among the best we had during the trip. The shop also served a complete South Indian meal for ₹180, and everything on the menu was vegetarian. After breakfast, we took an auto back to our resort.

Breakfast Before Leaving Varkala

After returning from the beach, we completed the checkout formalities and loaded our luggage into the vehicle. Before leaving Varkala, we stopped at Udupi Restaurant for breakfast. The restaurant is part of the well-known Udupi-style vegetarian restaurants and serves only pure vegetarian food. We had a really good breakfast there. Along with dosas, they also served fresh juices and milkshakes. A few items from the menu weren’t available that morning, but we decided to try Idiyappam, something we don’t usually get to eat in North India. It turned out to be a completely different experience, both in terms of taste and texture. Even the Dosas tasted much better than what we generally get back home nowadays, including places like Sambhar Sa.

Overall, at a very reasonable price, we had one of the best breakfast experiences of our trip.

Visiting Janardhan Swami Temple

After breakfast, we visited Janardhan Swami Temple before heading towards Golden Beach. The temple premises are quite large, and reaching the main temple involves climbing around a hundred steps. Apart from the main temple, there are several smaller temples spread across the complex, along with a pond just outside and another small temple beside it. When we visited, some kind of ritual was going on inside the temple. Since we couldn’t understand the local language, we weren’t sure exactly what it was, but it appeared to be a regular daily ritual.

Like many other temples we visited in Kerala, men are required to remove their shirts before entering the temple premises. The temple is quite old, and the lighting inside isn’t very bright. Because of this, the main deity wasn’t very clearly visible during our visit. After spending some time there, we continued our journey towards Golden Beach.

To be honest, we found Golden Beach quite similar to the other beaches in the area, so the experience remained largely the same. From there, we started our drive towards Jatayu Earth Center.

Visiting Jatayu Earth Center

It took us around 2 hours to reach to Jatayu Earth Center which is around 50 odd Kms from Golden Beach. Upon reaching there, we can reach the top of Jatayu Earth Center via two different paths. You can either take the ropeway or walk up the stairs. There are around 800 steps if you decide to walk, while the ropeway takes about 10 minutes to reach the top.

Since it was the off-season, there wasn’t much rush. It took us around 5 minutes to buy the tickets and another 15–20 minutes before we boarded the ropeway. Only six ropeway cabins were operating that day—three going up and three coming down—but even then, the waiting time wasn’t very long. Once we reached the top, the view was beautiful.

Since the hill overlooks the surrounding region, we could see greenery spread across the landscape. It hadn’t rained recently, so the surroundings weren’t as green as we had expected, but the view was still enjoyable.

At the top stands the huge sculpture of Jatayu, the bird that fought Ravana while trying to save Sita. The entire place is dedicated to women’s safety. Apart from the sculpture itself, there are several places where you can spend time and click photographs. We spent nearly two hours exploring the area before starting our return journey.

Walking Down the Stairs

Instead of taking the ropeway back, we decided to come down using the stairs. Personally, I enjoyed this part even more. Walking through the forest on the way down gave a completely different feeling compared to the ropeway ride. If you’re comfortable walking, I would definitely recommend trying one way through the stairs.

Fresh Kerala Chips on the Way

By the time we left Jatayu Earth Center, it was already around 4:00 PM. On the way to Poovar, we wanted to buy Kerala chips. Our driver suggested a place named Golden Chips famous for freshly prepared chips. The chips were cooked right in front of us. They were definitely expensive, but they were also really delicious.

Reaching Poovar

From there, we continued our drive towards Poovar, where our stay for the night was booked at Isola Di Cocco. The road leading to the resort is a little confusing. For a moment, it actually makes you feel that you’ve booked the wrong resort. But the moment you enter the property, that feeling disappears completely.

First Impressions of Isola Di Cocoa

Our room was a single-storey cottage surrounded by greenery. The resort is located next to the backwaters, and beyond the backwaters you can even see the beach. Being able to see both the backwaters and the beach from the same property made the location feel quite special. The resort has almost everything you would expect during your stay—a restaurant, gaming area, swimming pool, recreational space and plenty of open greenery. One thing that was completely new for us was the open bathroom. Culturally, it isn’t something we are used to, but as an experience, it was definitely different and enjoyable.

Dinner

After taking some rest at the resort, we went out for dinner. Being pure vegetarians, we travelled around 8–9 kilometres to have dinner at Saravana Bhavan. The food was reasonably priced and quite good. There were plenty of non-vegetarian options closer to the resort, but for vegetarian food this was the option we chose. After dinner, we returned to the resort and finally called it a day.

Day 2 had started with sunrise at Varkala Beach and ended at one of the most beautiful resorts of our trip. It was another long day, but it was also one of the most memorable days of our Kerala and Tamil Nadu Trip.