Varkala

After Kovalam and many trips to Kochi, the toss up was between going to the north (of Kerala) or discovering a bit more of the south. We chose the latter and specifically Varkala for now, but need to get moving in the other direction soon! “Keral Pradesh ke Varkal mein vacay” was how my Insta reel went. But yes, playing tourists in our homeland is now an annual practice.

Stay

There are options from 4 star to homestays and Airbnbs, and we finally went with Nidra by Sarwaa, and this is what we got!

Nidra by Sarwaa
Nidra by Sarwaa
Nidra by Sarwaa

See/Do

To begin with, go down these winding steps from Cafe Sarwaa… (good cardio when you climb back!)

Nidra by Sarwaa

…and you get

This is the South Cliff beach. Secluded, and mostly foreigners.

Varkala beach South Cliff

You could also walk around to see other kinds of water bodies, and budding fishermen!

The central portion – what is generally called Varkala Beach (Papanasham) is an obvious spot. We walked along the beach till we got here. Just about 10-15 mins.

Varkala Beach

The sunset is pretty!

Varkala Beach

The cliff above the beach gets all lit up after sunset, and has a bunch of eateries. And shopping options, in case you’re in the mood for that. If you want to get here directly, ask to be dropped at the Helipad.

Varkala beach
Varkala Beach

You could also take a long walk (or auto) to Odayam Beach, which in the morning was quite secluded.

Odayam Beach, Varkala
Odayam Beach, Varkala
Odayam Beach, Varkala
Sandy Bay Cafe, Odayam Beach, Varkala

…and then slowly walk across to the Black Sand beach

Black Sand Beach, Varkala
Black Sand Beach, Varkala

From there, you can walk up to the cliff (10-15 mins)

Black Sand Beach, Varkala

This is one end of the path that will take you to the Helipad, and a little ahead, the Varkala Beach.

Varkala Beach

Eat

I have to admit, we really didn’t find a lot of good options. There is Sarwaa of course, where we had breakfast. The place is pretty and the breakfast is decent.

Cafe Sarwaa, Varkala
Cafe Sarwaa, Varkala
Cafe Sarwaa, Varkala
Cafe Sarwaa, Varkala
Cafe Sarwaa, Varkala
Cafe Sarwaa, Varkala
Cafe Sarwaa, Varkala

The lunch was average, it is unpardonable when someone messes up the beef in Kerala! The foreigners were lapping up smoothie bowls though.

Cafe Sarwaa, Varkala

The absence of alcohol meant that I was forced to drink these kind of things. Oh!

The only good news was that they don’t make it syrupy sweet.

Cafe Sarwaa, Varkala
Cafe Sarwaa, Varkala

There’s ABBA Restaurant & Everest German Bakery, which looked great on paper, but which had the snooty, white-skin loving staff that I get immensely pissed off by.

ABBA Restaurant & Everest German Bakery Varkala

One good lunch happened in the form of cafe trip is life, which has a fantastic ambiance.

cafe trip is life, Varkala

…and brilliant lunch options

cafe trip is life, Varkala
cafe trip is life, Varkala

Our original plan for dinner was a place named Green Pepper, but it looked vastly different from what is on Google. We got lazy and went back to cafe trip is life.

The ambiance was even better at night.

cafe trip is life, Varkala
cafe trip is life, Varkala

The food, only so so.

cafe trip is life, Varkala

We heard a lot of good things about this tiny place, but it’s open only for breakfast.

Tickety Boo, Varkala

Our trip was over an extended weekend, but you could plan a couple of days more if you’re interested in exploring nearby areas. If you want your own space, South Cliff. If you want a crowd, North. Just make sure you do a bunch of research if food is an important part of your travel.

Overall, Varkala, while being touristy, has reserved some spaces for itself which are secluded, giving us ways to discover the place and the self.

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