Kovalam, a small town located 16km from Thiruvanathapuram is famous for its beautiful beaches. Its sandy beaches are lined with palm-fringed lagoons and rocky coves. Kovalam with its unique and wonderful beaches is a sheltered bay and is endowed with unusual natural beauty. The Arabian sea coast at many places is lined with beautiful patches of coral reefs. An hours drive from the capital, it is the most famous south Indian beach, popular for sunbathing. It was during the 1930's, that the potentiality of Kovalam beach as a tourist destination was discovered by the European guests of the then 'Travancore' kingdom

Kovalam Beach

Kovalam Beach is one of the most sought-after destination in the state of Kerala. Since its discovery the place has been counted as a popular hangout zone for the domestic and foreign tourists in India. The beaches that lies stretched out here are discontinuous and often in strings. These beached, shaped like crescent are main hotspots in the town. The town as well as the beach has derived its name from the Tamil word 'Kovalam' meaning coconut groves. Truly, the whole area has resplendent coconut vegetation and the ones lining up the beach are quite remarkable. The beach land also sees numerous food joints and ayurveda centres that have been growing in number over years.

The physiography has led to the division of the beach into three main regions, the northern most beach, the middle beach ad the southern most or lighthouse beach. The southern most beach is indeed the most beautiful amongst the three.

Major Tourist Attractions in Kovalam Private Beaches

Kovalam Ashok Beach Resort, Somatheeram, Coconut Bay Beach Resort, Niki’s Nest, Uday Samudra Beach Resort, Surya Samudra Beach Garden, and Hotel Samudra are some of the most frequented among innumerable beach holiday resorts. Most of these private beaches are positioned in close proximity to Vizhinjam at hardly 8 km away from Kovalam.

Ayurvedic Massage

The Ayurvedic massage of Kovalam is very famous. At Kovalam many hotels and resorts offers the Ayurvedic massage and treatment. Yoga (Indian way of meditation) centers are also plenty in Kovalam. Some theatres perform the traditional Kerala art form, Kathakali and ethnic martial art, Kalarippayattu.

Temples

Padmanabhaswamy Temple
East Fort Ganapathy Temple
Pazhavangadi Bhagavathy Temple
Attukal Hanuman Temple
Vikas Bhavan Sree Parasurama Temple, Thiruvallam Janardhan Swamy Temple
Varkala Aruvipuram siva Temple
Neyyattinkara Sree Kanteswaram Temple
Churches
St.Joseph Church, Palayam
Christ Church, Paslayam LMS Church
Palayam Lourdes Church