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 gifted 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 and surfing. 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. But the real fame as an ideal beach resort was won later for the Kovalam beach in the early seventies with the arrival of masses of 'Hippys'.

Apart from the common surfing and sunbathing, Kovalam offers its visitors plenty of exciting marine activities. The sunrise and sunset cruises in fishing boats arranged by the local fishermen are alluring to a great extent. Earlier Kovalam was an anglers' paradise, but it gradually developed into a tourist spot in great demand. From sunbath to swimming, Ayurvedic rejuvenation to yoga and meditation, herbal body toning massages to special cultural programmers and catamaran cruising, holidays in Kovalam are really the memorable ones. The Kovalam lighthouse beach is the most popular one where most visitors spend their leisure time. Catamaran cruises on the country raft is hugely popular in Kovalam, especially for watching the dawn and the dusk. Angling for deep-sea fishing is in high demand with tourists coming up for vacations in Kovalam. Surfboards and boogie boards can also be hired on the beach.

When to visit
September to March is the best time to visit Kovalam. In winter the average temperature of Kovalam is 30 - 32 degree Celsius whereas the summer temperature of Kovalam is 30- 35 degree Celsius. The monsoons in Kovalam start at the beginning of June, which lasts till the beginning of August. The second turn of monsoons in Kovalam start at the end of October and lasts for the next two weeks.

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

How to Reach

• By Air
  Nearest Airport - Trivandrum (20 kms). Indian Air Lines , Air India, Air Lanka, East West Airlines and Gulf Air operate direct service from Trivandrum to Delhi, Bombay, Madras, Goa, Bangalore, Cochin, Calicut, in addition to international services to Sri Lanka, Maldives, Gulf countries and Singapore.
• By Rail
  Nearest rail head is Trivandrum Central. Trivandrum is connected by rail with many important cities.
• By Road
  Kovalam is connected by road with several tourist destinations within Kerala and India Local Transport Coaches, Tourist taxies and Autorickshaws are available