Archive for the ‘Beaches in India’ Category
June 5th, 2009 | 
Author: 
Marina Beach
The Marina Beach is the second largest beach in a city after the Ocean Beach, San Francisco, California, the world’s longest city beach. If you want to escape the heat, hurry to Marina Beach, one of the longest beaches in the world. And also the most crowded all year through. What makes it special is a promenade created by Governor Grant-Duff, who gave Marina its name in 1884. A series of statues line the promenade. Marina beach is a major tourist attraction. People visiting Chennai make it a point to visit the beach. The beach is popular for its shopsand food stalls. The memorials and statues, morning walk, joggers’ track, lovers’ spot, aquarium, etc., make it a hangout for people of all ages.The sea is rough and waves are strong. There are fishermen colonies present at both ends of the beach. Summer brings extra life to the Marina. The waters look appealingly blue and inviting. The kite season, the raw and ripe mango sellers, masala papads- it is a hub of activity. A trip to the beach would be incomplete if you don’t dig into the yummy typical Madrasy Sundal. You do not have to go looking for them. They come searching for you. The street hawkers, usually a young chap, may run up to you and tug at your shirt and say ’saar, sundal’. Indulge, it is a taste that sure will linger in your memory.
Elliot’s Beach
Elliot’s Beach is one of the cleanest beaches in the city of Chennai. It is located towards the south of Marina Beach and is an extremely calm and tranquil place. The beach is known as ‘Bessei’ amongst the locals. Elliot’s Beach is a popular hangout for the young and the old alike. There are rows of trendy casual clothes shops and fast food joints along the shoreline where you can stop for a snack. It is also the favorite destination of foreign tourists for enjoying sun bath. Elliot’s Beach offers very subtle activity, with only few food joints and restaurants. You can relish the mouth watering South Indian snacks and pamper your taste buds, here. Apart from this, there are some religious and historical monuments, to be explored, to add to your adventure. Ashtalakshmi Temple and Velanganni Church are some worth visiting places in the vicinity.
Posted in 
The backwaters are an integral part of the people of Kerala both in terms of economy as well as lifestyle. They are also used for transportation of people and products between villages as well as towns. The boats used are termed as “Kettuvalloms” i.e. stitched boats since the boats are constructed by stitching coconut ropes together with wooden planks. Across the state of Kerala, the backwaters comprise of several canals, rivers, lagoons and lakes.
Adding to the backwater holidays at Kerala coconut trees, marshy groves, shallow lakes, deep canals and long boats are the meticulously planned backwater cruises. The facilities and the simplicity of the entire holiday make it a luxurious holiday in India. Off late the 
backwater tourism has really caught up with the Indian as well as the foreign tourists. The gentle rhythm of the boat journey adds to the magic of the backwaters. Life can be enjoyed at an unhurried pace. The swaying coconut canopies make the heart of the tourists swing too.
Watching the sun go down, savoring the fresh seafood and being entirely relaxed to the soul makes the holiday cruise on the Indian backwaters of Kerala an unparallel experience. In order to promote backwater tourism without losing out of the authentic feel of the cruise traditional meals are served on banana leaves that comprise of several dishes, supplemented by fruits. The backwater cuisine, which comprises of delectable fresh fish like pearl spotted fish, barramundi, crabs, mussels and prawns is finger licking good.
Kovalam is not only national but internationally renowned beach of Kerela, with three adjacent crescent beaches. Kovalam has been a favorite spot of tourists, especially Europeans, since the 1930s. A massive rocky promontory on the beach has created a beautiful bay of calm waters ideal for sea bathing. The leisure options at this beach are plenty and diverse – sunbathing, swimming, herbal body toning massages, special cultural programmes, Catamaran cruising etc.
The beach offers many facilities for keeping tourists amused. Apart from sunbathing and swimming, the beach is ideal to take long walks and watch the magical sunset while the warm water softly laps at your feet. The fishermen in the beach offer to take you out in the sea while they go out to claim their catch for the day. Sail with them during sunrise and come back as the sun sets, painting the horizon a beautiful shade of ochre.
Since Kovalam is just 16 kms away from the capital city of Kerala- Thiruvananthapuram, reaching your holiday destination is hassle-free. Thiruvananthapuram happens to be the nearest railway station as well as the airport. Though Kovalam is pleasant throughout the year the best time to visit Kovalam is from September to May.
How to Reach Kovalam Beach
By Air : The Trivandrum/ Thiruvananthapuram airport is about 10 kilometers from this beach.
By Rail : The railway station of Trivandrum/ Thiruvananthapuram is at a distance of around 16 kilometers.
By Road : The Kovalam beach is well connected to Kerala by a wide network of roads.
Christmas is the most celebrated festival in Goa. Though Christians are in minority in Goa and India, Christmas is one of the festivals, which has highest involvement of people of all religions. Parties and dancing is an integral part of the festivities, and all Goans and tourists participate in them wholeheartedly. Classy hotels, smaller clubs and restaurants, groups of friends, schools, colleges and almost all social organizations have parties, eat, drink, dance and celebrate. There is no dearth of good spirit. Gifts are exchanged, according to the depth of the pockets and Santa Claus brings gifts to a lot of good children. Goa’s Catholics flock to midnight mass services traditionally called Missa de Galo or Cock Crow as they go on well into early hours of the morning.
The Goan Way of Celebration
Dress up in the finest cloths and participate in the Missa de Galo. Party till you drop. Beaches and roads are covered with people, dressed in the best of attire. Dance and music are an integral part of the celebrations. So dance all through the night and don’t forget to offer prayers in the churches in morning. Exchage gifts with your dear ones and decorate your place of stay in typical christmas style.
Digha is West Bengal’s most popular sea resort. This small town is crowded with hotels generally around one main road. Its proximity to Calcutta (187 kms) attracts tourists throughout the year. The beach is however facing the problem of sea erosion.
The sea at Digha is calm and shallow for about a mile from the beach making it quite safe for swimming. However, bathing is advisable only during the low tide. One can view both sunrise and sunset at Digha sea beach.
are not to be missed for anything. Well, almost anything. If there’s a football tournament coinciding with your planned tour, tape it. If your boss wants your assignment completed by Monday, turn it in on Friday itself. If your wife wants to go shopping for jewelry, well…take her. Or have her wait till you arrive in Orissa for your tour to Chandipur Beach.
For, the beach at Chandipur is distinct from any beach you have ever seen in your life. Here, the sea recedes into the horizon by nearly 5 km twice each day. If the thought of a receding sea makes the alarm bells ring in your head, relax and sit down on the sand and take in the beauty of this rare sight.
Unlike the expected reaction from a retreating sea, the waves take their own sweet time to slowly drift back to the coastline and caress the feet of those who braved to walk on the temporarily abandoned seabed.
Once the sea retreats back into the horizon, the exposed seabed, littered with red starfishes and drift woods that make for souvenirs also, is open to all for walks and jeep rides. If you are a beachcomber then go gathering abandoned seashells and gift them to your wife as a pendant for her deserving neckline.
Once the sea is back to its resting spot, you can go swimming and build sand castles and wait for the sea to head for another round of hide and seek.
There are other places that you can visit on your tour to Chandipur Beach that will make your stay in Chandipur, arranged by Tourism of Orissa, an unforgettable vacation.
The Khirachora Gopinath Shrine in Remuna (25 km); Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary and Jagannath Temple in Nilagiri (40 km); Bhudara Chandi Shrine in Sajanagarh (45 km); Shivalinga, elephant herds and trekking of Nilgiri Hills at Panchalingeswar (45 km); the Simlipal National Park and Tiger Reserve (100 km) and the nearby waterfalls and Shakti Shrine of Deokund are the other tourist attractions nearby Chandipur Beach, Orissa, that you can visit on your tour to Chandipur Beach with Tourism of Orissa.
There are many beach facing hotels, resorts and lodges where you can stay on your tour to Chandipur in Orissa.
Varkala Beach
Varkala Beach is a beautiful beach that has a more than 2000 years old shrine of Lord Vishnu. This beach of Kerala is rich in mineral water springs that are known for their medicinal value. The sea shore is called `Papanasm’ and hundreds of Hindu devotees perform ‘Vavu Bali’ on new moon days of th Malayalam month of Karkidakam.
Varkala is less crowded with less number of shops, beach sellers and still lesser amount of commercialization.
The development we see today in Varkala happened only in a period less than two years. The raw and unused stretch of beach is a loner’s delight where one could swim, play cricket or volley ball and even manage to practise yoga. If you are lucky, you also get sight of a naughty dolphin.
Warning to the Visitors
Like much of the Kerala coast, Varkala too experiences strong coastal rips. Many lives, even that of experienced swimmers have been lost in the turbulence of the tides. It is not advisable to swim too far into the sea. Varkala has only one lifeguard post with two lifeguards and it is advised to swim around this area. On a crowded day spotting when in trouble becomes difficult.
Kovalam Beach
Kovalam is the only beach resort of Kerala, and is very popular with the Indian as well as international tourists. Industry is relatively small scale in this area and the prices low. The beach is just a few minutes walk from the village. The fishing village of Kovalam lies 10 kilometres south of Thiruvananthapuram,the capital of Kerala.
Kovalam consists of three successive small crescent beaches; the southern most known as Lighthouse Beach, is where most of the visitors spend their time. The beach is bordered with low cost lodging houses, and restaurants which offer adequate facilities, at affordable tariffs – ideal for a long stay. The light house on the promontory at the southern end of the beach, offers a spectacular view across to the Vizhinjam mosque.
Swimming on the beaches is not always safe, as the undertow can be very strong, therefore it is essential to follow the warnings of the safety flags. However, days can be spent here just lolling around on the sands or retreating under the awnings of the beach cafes.
There are numerous craft and carpet shops (usually of Tibetan, Kashmiri and Rajasthani origin), clothing stores and general stores, yoga schools, travel agents and massage parlours lining the beach.