Day Out at Poovar Island’s Golden Sand Beach

A personal travel blog by Ms. Reetwika Banerjee

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During our recent trip to Kerala, we visited a number of beaches and temples; but one of our best stopovers was at Poovar Island’s Golden Sand Beach. If you love blue sea, golden sands and lip-smacking seafood with tranquility as a complimentary gift, then you should not miss to visit this awesome stretch of golden sands. Very few vacationers visit this virgin beach of Kerala, but believe me, it is perhaps one of the most eternal coastal destinations of India, but hardly talked off! Tourists mostly gather around Kovalam and Varkala beaches in Thiruvananthapuram, however this one is a must go place for any leisure traveler.For best acccomodation in Thiruvananthapuram follow the link below:-

Poovar Island

Trip to Poovar Island’s Golden Sand Beach | Tours and Journeys

Golden Sand Beach – Backwaters Meeting the Arabian Sea

Trip to Poovar Island’s Golden Sand Beach | Tours and Journeys

Poovar Island is a small isolated village towards the southern end of Thiruvananthapuram, known mostly for its Golden Sand Beach. It is probably the only place in Kerala where backwater gorge directly meets the Arabian Sea through a narrow mangrove forest. Alongside is the Golden Sand Beach which forms a natural barrier between the backwaters and the sea. As you can expect, it cannot be reached directly by road. From Akkulam Boat Club, one has to take an hour’s canoe ride to reach the beach which in itself becomes a remarkable moment of the trip.

Akkulam Boat Club Jetty

Boat Ride to Poovar via Akkulam Backwaters

Making our way through the Akkulam Backwaters, we reached Poovar Island. Totally disconnected from the Indian mainland, the handful of hotels and food joints found here are mostly floating and thus heavily expensive too.

Floating KTDC Restaurant at Poovar

It was almost an hour’s journey, utterly refreshing. By 10am we reached the beach. Oh what a beauty! The golden glows of the morning sun created mystic reflections, beckoning us for a dreamy splash.

Welcome to Poovar Island’s Golden Sand Beach

The Mighty Arabian Sea at a Distance from the Shore

(Note: Not all boatmen have their private jetties at Poovar, so beware of cheaters. Only a few registered ones will take you till the endpoint, else there might be immense harassment after reaching there. It is wise to spend few extra bucks to avail this facility as there are no normal walkways to the beach. One has to hop over multiple floating boats to reach the jetty which is very risky and cumbersome even for youngsters. The depth of backwaters here is almost as deep as an average man’s height.)

Glimpses of Golden Sand Beach

We spent the whole day at Poovar, exploring its different corners; starting our return journey by 3.30pm. The enthralling boat ride along the Akkulam backwaters, mesmerizing view of Golden Sand Beach and yummy seafood at the floating restaurant were the key takeaways from our day’s trip. Once the floods retreat, why don’t you plan to spend your next holiday at Poovar?

For beaches, it is always good to wear flats and comfy shoes. Take shrugs and beach socks for that extra beachy vibe.