Trivandrum-Vizhinjam India
Frequently Asked Questions
At the deep-water port of Vizhinjam, a very new facility in a very old fishing bay in southern Kerala. It is the gateway to two complementary worlds: the beaches of Kovalam barely 3 km away, and Thiruvananthapuram — still known to everyone as Trivandrum — about fifteen kilometres off.
The fishing village, before heading for the beaches. Every morning dozens of brightly painted boats return to shore, hauled up the sand while an impromptu auction forms around baskets of sardines and mackerel. Minarets and steeples share the skyline: Muslim, Christian and Hindu fishing families have lived side by side here for centuries.
Yes, a small rock-cut shrine hides in the lanes near the shore. It is the discreet witness of the trading port that prospered here more than a thousand years ago.
By taxi or autorickshaw, a short 3 km ride. Kovalam has three coves and was the coast's pioneering seaside resort; Lighthouse Beach, the busiest, takes its name from the lighthouse standing on the headland above it.
Yes, and the top gallery repays the climb with a panorama over kilometres of palm-fringed coastline. Below, the promenade is lined with cafés, shops and fresh coconut sellers.
Yes, bathers roll in warm surf under the eye of lifeguards. It is one of the few Indian calls where swimming is a normal part of the day's plan.
Yes. Kerala calls itself the home of ayurveda, and an oil massage at one of the beachside establishments makes a natural introduction between two swims.
No, the sanctuary is reserved for Hindu worshippers. Other visitors admire the enclosure from the processional street, busy with jasmine and banana sellers, beneath a seven-storey carved gopuram floating above the ritual tanks. Inside, Vishnu reclines on the serpent Ananta.
The palace next to the temple, with its openwork woodwork and 122 carved wooden horses beneath the eaves — witnesses to the refinement of the maharajas of Travancore. It is the visit to make when the temple is closed to non-Hindus.
The Napier Museum and its gardens to the north, a Victorian pagoda housing old bronzes and ivories. And for local colour, the covered Chalai bazaar near East Fort, stacked with red bananas, jasmine garlands and pyramids of spices.
