Varkala by road: the cliff beach from Trivandrum

How do you get to Varkala by road?

Varkala is unlike any other beach in Kerala. Instead of a flat line of sand and palms, the coast here rises into sheer cliffs of red laterite, and along their top runs a path lined with cafes, guesthouses, yoga shalas and shops selling everything from Kashmiri shawls to handmade silver. Below, the beach at Papanasam has been sacred for centuries: Hindus come here to perform rites for their ancestors and bathe in water believed to wash away sin. Mix in a lighthouse, a string of quieter beaches to the north, backwaters a few kilometres inland and a strong culture of ayurveda and yoga, and you have a town that attracts pilgrims, backpackers, families and long-stay wellness guests in almost equal measure.

Most visitors arrive from Trivandrum airport or city, or at the end of a Kerala road trip from the backwaters. A car with a driver takes the hassle out of the busy NH66 and the narrow roads down to the cliff, where autos and traffic cluster at every junction. This guide covers the routes, what to see, the seasons, and RutzIndia.com fares. When your plans are set, book online.

Routes to Varkala: from Trivandrum, the airport, Kochi and Kovalam

From Trivandrum city (about 45 km, 1.25 to 1.5 hours). The road heads north through Kazhakkoottam, past the Technopark IT campus, and along NH66 to Kallambalam, where a side road runs west to Varkala town and the cliff. The highway is being widened in several places, which brings diversions; outside peak hours the drive is smooth.

From Trivandrum International Airport (about 50 km, 1.5 hours). The airport lies on the coast just south of the city centre, so the car first crosses town before heading north. Arrival information is on the airport's official website. Your chauffeur waits at the exit with a name board and follows your flight; there is no charge for the first 30 minutes after a domestic arrival or the first hour after an international one, and after that hourly waiting applies.

From Kochi (about 165 km, 4 to 4.5 hours). Down the full length of NH66 via Alleppey and Kollam. Many travellers break this at the backwaters: see our Alleppey by road guide. Kollam, about 37 km before Varkala, is a good place for a seafood lunch and a look at the Ashtamudi lake.

From Kovalam (about 60 km, 1.5 to 2 hours). Plenty of visitors split their beach time between Kovalam in the south and Varkala in the north. The drive skirts Trivandrum city on the bypass. Our guide to Kovalam by road covers that end.

By rail. Varkala Sivagiri station is on the main coastal line, and many long-distance trains stop here. Your car can meet you at the station for the short run to the cliff.

What to see and do in Varkala

• Papanasam beach and the North Cliff. The main beach below the cliffs is where most people swim and where the ancestral rites take place near the southern end. The path along the North Cliff is the social heart of Varkala, lovely at sunset with the sea glowing below. Keep well back from the cliff edge, which is unfenced in places and eroding.
• Janardhana Swamy temple. An old Vishnu temple on a hill above the beach, closely linked with the rituals performed at Papanasam. Non-Hindus may be restricted from the inner areas; follow the signs.
• Sivagiri Mutt. The ashram founded by the social reformer and spiritual teacher Sree Narayana Guru, whose samadhi is here. It is a place of calm and reflection, and the annual Sivagiri pilgrimage around 30 December to 1 January draws very large numbers.
• Kappil beach and backwaters. About 8 km north, a quieter beach where a backwater lagoon runs right up to the sea, with boating in the calm water.
• Black Beach and Odayam. Beaches just north of the cliff with dark sand and a more relaxed feel.
• Varkala Tunnel. A nineteenth-century canal tunnel cut through the hill as part of the old Travancore waterway, a curious piece of engineering history.
• Anchuthengu Fort. Around 15 km south, a small fort built by the English East India Company in the late seventeenth century, with an old cemetery and a lighthouse nearby at Anjengo.
• Ayurveda and yoga. Varkala has many ayurvedic centres and yoga schools offering anything from a single massage to programmes of several weeks.

Food along the cliff is a mix of international cafe fare and excellent Kerala seafood: grilled catch of the day, fish curry with rice, prawn fry and appam. In town, simple restaurants serve Kerala meals for a fraction of cliff prices. The official Kerala Tourism website has more on the region's beaches and ayurveda.

Best time to visit Varkala

• October to March is the high season: calm seas, sunny days and the cliff cafes all open. Christmas and New Year are the busiest weeks.
• April and May are hot and humid; the sea is still swimmable early in the day.
• June to September is monsoon. The sea becomes rough and swimming is dangerous; many cliff businesses close, and lifeguards restrict access. It is, however, a popular time for ayurvedic treatments, which traditional practitioners consider most effective in the monsoon.
• Karkidaka Vavu (usually July or August) brings thousands of devotees to Papanasam before dawn for bali rituals for ancestors. Roads into town are heavily regulated that day.
• Sivagiri pilgrimage (30 December to 1 January) overlaps with the New Year peak; allow extra time.

RutzIndia.com services for Varkala, and fares

Every car is a recent model, within four model years, with a professional chauffeur.

• Airport and city transfers from Trivandrum.
• Long one-way drops from Kochi, Alleppey, Kumarakom or Munnar at the end of a Kerala tour; see how one-way taxi fares work.
• Beach-hopping transfers between Varkala, Kovalam and Kanyakumari.
• Day trips from Trivandrum with the car waiting.
• Group transport for yoga retreats, wedding parties and families in a Tempo Traveller.

Fares are before 5% GST. Tolls, beach and temple parking and any entry fees are billed at actual cost. For round trips with overnight halts, add the driver's night allowance of Rs 1,500 per night and note the 250 km per calendar day minimum. Pay by card or UPI; companies and retreat organisers receive GST invoices. All vehicle classes are listed on our fares page, and longer journeys follow the same outstation cab rules.

Suggested itineraries

End of a Kerala tour (one way, about 125 km from Alleppey). Houseboat check-out at 9 am, a stop at Kollam for lunch by Ashtamudi lake, arrival at the cliff by mid-afternoon for sunset. The sedan fare is about Rs 4,500 Pay Now to Reserve one way.

Three beach days (Varkala base, local trips).

• Day 1: airport pickup, check in on the North Cliff, sunset walk.
• Day 2: morning swim at Papanasam, Sivagiri Mutt, afternoon boating at Kappil (about 20 km with the car).
• Day 3: Anchuthengu Fort and Anjengo lighthouse in the morning, then south to Kovalam or back to the airport.

Going on to the tip of India. Kanyakumari is about 130 km south via Trivandrum, roughly 3.5 hours; our Kanyakumari by road guide covers the sunrise point and the Vivekananda Rock.

Where to stay

The North Cliff is lively, with guesthouses and small hotels right above the sea; it suits travellers who want to walk everywhere. The South Cliff near the temple is quieter and closer to the ritual beach. Families often prefer resorts around Odayam, Edava or Kappil, where the beaches are calmer. The last few hundred metres to some cliff-top properties are footpaths only, so your driver will drop you at the nearest road point and help with luggage.

Longer wellness stays

Varkala is one of the places in Kerala where guests settle in for weeks rather than days, usually for an ayurvedic programme or a yoga teacher-training course. For stays like these it rarely makes sense to keep a car for the whole period, because the day minimum applies whether you drive or not. Instead, book an airport transfer in and out, and call the desk for occasional outings on free days: a morning at Kappil, a temple visit in Trivandrum, a shopping trip to Kollam or a day on the backwaters at Ponnumthuruthu island. Each outing is priced on its own, and you pay only for what you use. If a retreat organiser is moving a whole group from the airport, one Tempo Traveller usually costs less than several cars, and the luggage travels together.

Practical tips

• Swim only where lifeguards are present, and never in the monsoon; currents at Varkala are strong.
• Stay away from the cliff edge, especially after dark and after rain.
• Dress respectfully away from the beach, and cover up near the temple and Sivagiri.
• Cash and UPI both work, but ATMs on the cliff run out on busy weekends.
• Allow extra time on NH66 because of highway widening.
• Cancellation terms: free cancellation more than 72 hours before pickup, 10% within 72 hours, 50% within 48 hours, and 100% within 24 hours or on no-show. See our cancellation policy.

For a complete circuit from the hills to the sea, see our Kerala tour by car page or ask the travel desk to plan the route.