According to a Booking.com’s recent travel survey, Varkala and Kochi have emerged as the ‘most welcoming’ places in India. Varkala, a calm and quiet hamlet, lies on the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram district. It has several tourist attractions that include a beautiful beach, a 2000-year-old Vishnu Temple and the Ashramam – Sivagiri Mutt a little distance from the beach.
The Papanasam Beach (also called as Varkala Beach), which is ten kms away from Varkala, is renowned for a natural spring, considered to have medicinal and curative properties. A dip in the holy waters at this beach is believed to purge the body of impurities and the soul of all sins, hence the name ‘Papanasam Beach’.