[suresh_gs]

Folks
I visited Varkala from 24th Dec to 27th Dec along with my family. Booked accommodation at Black Beach Resort. Left Bangalore at 5:15 AM on 24th Dec and reached the resort at 10:00 PM. For the onward journey, went via Salem, Tirumangalam, Srivilliputtur, Rajapalayam, Thenmala and Punnalur.
For the return journey, decided to come via Kollam, Alappuzha, Kochi, Palakkad, Coimbatore and Salem. Left the resort at 9:30 AM and reached home next day morning at 1:50 AM. More details on the onward and return journey will be discussed later in the thread.
During my stay in Varkala, got the weird thought whether I was actually in Goa looking at the number of foreign tourists. Now on to the places I visited in Varkala…

JATAYU EARTH CENTER

I visited this magnificent tourist spot on 25th Dec. This is located in Chadayamangalam about 30 kms from the resort where I stayed. Considering the fact that it was a holiday, fortunately did not encounter much rush in the morning. Booked tickets for all of us at the counter for the cable car. Some snaps from the venue.

[suresh_gs]

https://youtu.be/fpxjH9C_xnE

https://youtu.be/7zJrEkNwNgc

https://youtu.be/xCRAEIjIuYw

Later in the evening we decided to visit Janardhana Swamy temple along with Kappil Beach. Years ago the presiding deity’s right hand was straight but over the years the hand is slowly rising. The day the right hand of the lord comes to the mouth, pralayam will happen which means the world will face deluge.
After the temple visit we intended to go to Papanasam beach nearby. Due to large crowd and vehicle parking restrictions we decided to go to Kappil Beach. By the time we reached the beach, it was nearing 6 PM and people were asked to turn back.



VSSC THUMBA

I had applied for visit to space museum online before hand. One has to fill in details like address, email id and no. of passengers accompanying the main applicant. My appointment to the space museum was fixed at 9:30 AM on 26th Dec but to the last minute visit of a VIP, my scheduled time was postponed to 12:00 PM. Meanwhile we decided to visit Magic Planet at Thiruvananthapuram before coming back to the space museum.
Mobile phones are not allowed inside the museum. At the main entrance, the museum bus took us to the venue. A church there has been converted into the space museum. The museum offers insight into the progress made by ISRO over the years, scientists who have contributed to ISRO’s success, details of satellites launched by ISRO, how satellites are launched into space etc.. Highly informative visit especially if one is interested in astronomy.

MAGIC PLANET THIRUVANATHAPURAM

As we were not allowed to visit the space museum at the scheduled time due to the visit of a VIP, we went to Magic Planet.
This center is pure entertainment for kids and performances by some of the artists were truly spectacular.

https://youtu.be/bUda2opF54s

https://youtu.be/6rzCmcB3P54

https://youtu.be/ZRpoZBbXwi8

https://youtu.be/7STbY1ghqGM

PAPANASAM BEACH VARKALA

Later in the day after completing space museum visit, we headed to Papanasam Beach. Noticed a significant no. of foreigh tourists and the beach was clean as well.






BLACK BEACH

This is a private beach just near to the resort where I stayed.

[suresh_gs]

BLACK BEACH RESORT

The resort where I stayed offered a superb view of the beach from the cafeteria side. One had to simply gaze into the horizon to relieve off the stress. Simply amazing.

[suresh_gs]

ACTUAL ONWARD JOURNEY DETAILS

Left home at 5:15 AM and stopped for tiffin break close to Krishnagiri for 45 min. Had lunch at Nellai Saravana Bhava at Tirumangalam. From thetre till Puliangadi it was smooth sailing. Infact google maps indicated that I would be at the resort by 7:00 PM. Then followed the unfortunate cycle of events. Firstly the cops diverted all vehicles to the interior roads. Not sure whether it was due to christmas eve celebrations or celebrations to commemorate the death anniversary of former TN CM MGR or for some local elections. The detour consumed close to 1.5 hrs. By the time I entered the main road again, google maps indicated I would reach my destination by 8:00 PM. Then I encountered the mother of all traffic jams at Puliyarai. Vehicles were stuck for close to 2 hrs. To complicate matters, sabarimala crowd was also considerably higher. By the time vehicular movement resumed, google maps indicated I would reach the destination by 10:00 PM.
After crossing the KL borderat Thenmala, I encountered road repair work in progress at 4 places. Not able to recollect the location as it was dark. Moreover there were no road signs indicating repair work in progress. The trip details are as follows:

DISTANCE COVERED : 710.9 KMS
TIME TAKEN : 16 HRS 45 MIN.
AVERAGE SPEED : 42.4 KM / HR

This includes 45 min tiffin break, 45 min lunch break, 1.5 hrs time loss due to diversions post Puliangadi and 2 hrs due to traffic jam.



TRAFFIC JAM AT PULIYARAI




ACTUAL RETURN JOURNEY DETAILS

For the return journey, I decided not to take the onward journey route anticipating more sabarimala crowd. Chose to go via Kollam, Alappuzha, Kochi, Pallakad, Coimbatore and Salem.
Even though roads were good enroute, there were far too many signals on the 2 lane and 4 lane NH that hampers your momentum. Moreover I was stuck in a traffic jam at Alappuzha for close to 30 min. I did notice Alappuzha by pass work is in progress. Also lots of flyovers are under construction in Kochi. Once done, crossing Kochi should be a breeze.
There were no issues crossing Kuthiran. Took about 10 min to cross the same

KUTHIRAN






The trip details are as follows:

DISTANCE COVERED : 717.4 KMS
TIME TAKEN : 16 HRS 20 MIN.
AVERAGE SPEED : 44 KM / HR

This includes 45 min lunch break at Vytilla , 30 min tiffin break near Palakkad, 30 min time loss due to traffic jam at Alappuzha.

I have no regrets about the onward and return journey as this can happen to anyone travelling by bus or train. Overall I would sum this up as a must visit place for those who have not been here yet.

[Aditya]

Thread moved to the Travelogues Section. Thanks for sharing!

[ChiragM]

Nice pics.

I read this travelogue on Jatayu Centre recently and till then I had no idea about it. It just shot up to the top of my to-visit list. My mom visited the place last month when she got the chance to and she was telling me about it as well.

I dint know about the black beach. Wonder what's the cause of that in that part. Will add this place to the list.

[gpadki]

This place seems to be a hidden gem for sure....loved the places you covered, especially the resort. I will put it in my Bucket list. If anyone has information regarding travel by air, please share.

[yd_gli]

Wow! 16hours to travel 700kms is insane. Driving down to Varkala and the Jatayu Earth Center has been on my mind for more than a year now. But every time I get down to planning the route from Pune, I read these crazy travel times and road conditions on the Coimbatore-KL and Madurai-KL sectors. It basically makes it 3 days of driving from Pune and no matter how beautiful the drive I don't think my family or me will have any juice left in the tank after spending ~27hours to cover 1500kms.

Your case might be an anomaly but by most accounts the drive from Bangalore to Kerala is a mess unless you leave Bangalore at an ungodly hour in the middle of the night. No knowing the local language and not so good past experiences mean that this journey will only be limited to wishful thinking for me!

[anand.shankar]

Nice log, the best way to get back from Kollam is via Tenmala, Shenkotta, Tirumangalam. I covered the same route in about 12 hours, without having to really gun it...