Beaches in the Indian

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 state of Kerala are spread along the 550-km Arabian Sea

Arabian Sea

The Arabian Sea is a region of the Indian Ocean bounded on the east by India, on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, on the south, approximately, by a line between Cape Guardafui in northeastern Somalia and Kanyakumari in India...

 coastline. Kerala is an India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n state

States and territories of India

India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...

 occupying the south-west corner of the subcontinent. The topography of the coastline is distinctive and changes abruptly as one proceeds from north to south. In the northern parts of Kerala, in places such as Bekal

Bekal

-References:* *...

, Thalassery

Thalassery

Thalassery , also known as Tellicherry, is a city on the Malabar Coast of Kerala, India. This is the second largest city of North Malabar in terms of population. The name Tellicherry is the anglicized form of Thalassery. Thalassery municipality has a population just less than 100,000. Established...

 and Kannur

Kannur

Kannur , also known as Cannanore, is a city in Kannur district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the District of Kannur and 518km north of state capital Trivandrum. During British rule in India, Kannur was known by its old name Cannanore, which is still in...

, the headlands rise above the shore from the fringe of the beach

Beach

A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...

es. The highlands are dotted with forts built by the colonial powers – the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British. The view of the surrounding area is exquisite. From Kozhikode

Kozhikode

Kozhikode During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikkode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District...

, once the hub of the Malabar coast

Malabar Coast

The Malabar Coast is a long and narrow coastline on the south-western shore line of the mainland Indian subcontinent. Geographically, it comprises the wettest regions of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, especially on their westward-facing mountain...

, the view changes to flat lands with rocky outcroppings jutting out. One feature is common all through – the coconut

Coconut

The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...

 tree in large numbers. Dense groves of coconut trees line the coast and extend to the interiors.

Tourism

The long coastline of Kerala is inextricably entwined with the culture, life and traditions of the state. Memories of early seafarers and traders have faded, but boats of various types and styles have survived. Kerala's beaches, or Kovalam

Kovalam

Kovalam is a beach town on the Arabian Sea in Thiruvananthapuram city, Kerala, India. It is located around 13 km from the down town of Trivandrum.-Etymology:...

 to be more specific, were rediscovered by back-packers and tan-seekers in the sixties. Hordes of hippie

Hippie

The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...

s followed in the seventies. That started the transformation of the casual fishing village into a busy tourist destination. In 2002, there were 66 hotels in Kovalam, and that too in a place that is just 16 km from the state capital Thiruvanthapuram.

From a measly 29,000 overseas tourists visiting Kerala in 1979, the number rose to 225,000 in 2000 and the number of tourists is growing rapidly. Foreign tourist arrivals in Kerala in 2006 was 428,534, an increase of 23.68 % over the previous year. Domestic tourist arrivals were 6,271,724, an increase of 5.47 % over the previous year. The ABC of Kerala tourism is ayurveda

Ayurveda

Ayurveda or ayurvedic medicine is a system of traditional medicine native to India and a form of alternative medicine. In Sanskrit, words , meaning "longevity", and , meaning "knowledge" or "science". The earliest literature on Indian medical practice appeared during the Vedic period in India,...

, beaches, (backwater

Kerala Backwaters

The Kerala backwaters are a chain of brackish lagoons and lakes lying parallel to the Arabian Sea coast of Kerala state in southern India. The network includes five large lakes linked by canals, both manmade and natural, fed by 38 rivers, and extending virtually half the length of Kerala state...

) canals.

While details of incoming tourists are not available, indications of a survey are that domestic tourists are high from Gujarat and Maharashtra both located on the west coast of India, and international tourists are mostly from Europe. Beaches were amongst the favourite destination of foreign tourists.

Lying between north latitudes 8°18' and 12°48' . Kerala is well within the humid equatorial tropics. The mean annual temperatures range from 25.0–27.5 °C in the coastal lowlands. With 120–140 rainy days per year, Kerala is influenced by the seasonal heavy rains of the southwest summer monsoon.

Tsunami

Tsunami

Tsunami

A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...

 waves diffracted around the Indian peninsula, hitting Kerala on the west coast on the afternoon of 26 December 2004. The death toll in Kerala was 170 against 7,923 in neighbouring Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

. However, there was panic all around. In the Thiruvanthapuram area alone, 100,000 people were evacuated from coastal villages by the district administration and 57 relief camps were opened.

Tsunami created panic in the travel trade and hospitality sector with all beach resorts being declared out of bounds for the tourists. The famed beach resorts of Kovalam and Shanghumughom in the capital and other beaches south of Kovalam, which are normally crowded at that time of the year, wore a deserted look. Domestic tourists and others who arrived unknowingly made a quick retreat after being alerted.

Fortunately, as the tourist inflow figures indicate, beaches in Kerala have left those dark days behind.

Trinkets

The fun of sea and sun bathing or watching the wave crash are not the only attractions of beaches. There is a belief that a dip in waters of Papanasam Beach at Varkala, 45 km north of Thiruvanthapuram, washes away sins (papam). Priests from the 2,000-year old Janardhana temple are there to assist believers to perform the rituals. The main bell of the temple was presented by the Dutch captain of a sailing ship in the 17th century. Comparatively lower hotel tariffs and cheap food draw in European backpackers and domestic tourists with lower budget to the place.

The Portuguese explorer Vasco Da Gama

Vasco da Gama

Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India...

 landed at Kappkadavu

Kappkadavu

Kappkadavu is a small coastal village in the Kozhikode district of Kerala state, south India.On 27 May 1498, Vasco Da Gama landed here with three vessels and 170 men.-How to reach:...

 (Kappad), a small coastal village in the Kozhikode district

Kozhikode district

Kozhikode District , formerly Calicut, is a district of Kerala state, situated on the southwest coast of India. The city of Kozhikode, also known as Calicut, is the district headquarters. The district is 38.25% urbanised...

, on 27 May 1498, thereby marking the opening of a sea route from Europe to India. A plaque on the beach commemorates the arrival. Kozhikode

Kozhikode

Kozhikode During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikkode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District...

 was earlier visited by Marco Polo

Marco Polo

Marco Polo was a Venetian merchant traveler from the Venetian Republic whose travels are recorded in Il Milione, a book which did much to introduce Europeans to Central Asia and China. He learned about trading whilst his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, travelled through Asia and apparently...

 (1254-1324) and Ibn Battuta

Ibn Battuta

Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta , or simply Ibn Battuta, also known as Shams ad–Din , was a Muslim Moroccan Berber explorer, known for his extensive travels published in the Rihla...

 (1304-1368 or 1377).

There is a Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

 burial ground near Payyambalam Beach, 2 km from Kannur town. The remains of Communist leaders such as A. K. Gopalan

A. K. Gopalan

Ayillyath Kuttiari Gopalan , 1 October 1904 to March 22, 1977, popularly known as A. K. Gopalan or AKG, was an Indian communist leader and first leader of opposition of India.- Early life and education :...

 and E. K. Nayanar

E. K. Nayanar

Erambala Krishnan Nayanar was a prominent Indian political leader of the Communist Party of India . He held the post of Chief Minister of Kerala three times; during 1980-81, 1987–91 and 1996-2001. He is the longest serving Chief Minister of Kerala, having been in office for a total of 4009 days,...

 are interred there.

Many resorts offer Ayurveda

Ayurveda

Ayurveda or ayurvedic medicine is a system of traditional medicine native to India and a form of alternative medicine. In Sanskrit, words , meaning "longevity", and , meaning "knowledge" or "science". The earliest literature on Indian medical practice appeared during the Vedic period in India,...

 treatment to tourists. The State Government has laid down strict standards to streamline the systems and is monitoring their activities As a result, several Ayurvedic centres were closed down as they did not conform to the norms.

Several hundred volunteers representing various organisations joined hands to clean up the Shanghumughom and Kovalam beaches as part of a campaign to observe International Coastal Clean-up Day on 16 September 2007. International Coastal Clean-up Day is an annual worldwide event organised by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme (SACEP) since 1986. Thousands of volunteers across the world have cleared over 45 million kg of trash from 2,73,000 km of beaches and inland waterways.

Development

The total revenue created by tourism in 2006 was Rs. 912.6 billion. This has in turn inspired the Government to spend more on tourism. The beaches of Kerala are ready to look prettier, with the Kerala Tourism launching a Rs. 1,000 million plan for the development of 22 beaches, including Kovalam, Alappuzha

Alappuzha Beach

Alappuzha Beach is a beach in the Allepey district of Kerala, India.The beach has a small park nearby. Alappuzha Lighthouse stands near the beach which is also a curiosity for tourists....

, Nattika

Nattika

Nattika is a small village in Thrissur district of Kerala state, south India. It is centrally located about 25 km from Thrissur, Kodungallur and Guruvayur. There is a beautiful beach in this village called Nattika Beach. Nattika is on the west coast of Thrissur...

, Cherai

Cherai Beach

Cherai Beach is located in Vypin island, Kochi, India. Cherai Beach is just 25 km from Kochi, and 30 km from Cochin International Airport. The nearest towns are North Paravur and Kodungallur and the nearest railway station is Aluva .The 15 km of long golden beach is clean,...

, Muzhappilangad

Muzhappilangad Beach

Muzhappilangad Drive-in Beach is a beach in the state of Kerala in southwestern India. It is located parallel to National Highway 17 between Kannur and Thalassery....

, Bekal and Kappad

Kappkadavu

Kappkadavu is a small coastal village in the Kozhikode district of Kerala state, south India.On 27 May 1498, Vasco Da Gama landed here with three vessels and 170 men.-How to reach:...

. The beach conservation and development works will be completed by the 2008 year-end tourism season.