Poovar, a paradise in Kerala!!

I travelled solo to Kerala in December 2020. With Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) as a base, I travelled to several places in Kerala. I first heard about Poovar from an ex-colleague. He had only words of praise and amazement to describe this place. With such a genuine amazed tone, I needed no other information and decided to visit this place. I went to Poovar on the first day of my trip. It is very close to Trivandrum (less than an hour drive) and Kovalam (30 minutes drive). Poovar turned out to be one of my favourites of the trip! The entire experience is simply serene and beautiful!

My driver for the trip, Laalan suggested that we visit Poovar in the evening. So after a leisurely lunch, we headed to Poovar. Poovar is a town beside the Neyyar river. The Neyyar river meets the Arabian sea here. From the starting point, boats take tourists to the estuary and the Golden Sand beach, and back to the starting point. During this boat trip, one can see mangroves, some fishing villages, lot of beautiful birds, Mary shrine, water villas, and floating restaurants. Sometimes, birds are so close that you can click good pictures even with a cell phone. This entire boat trip takes a couple of hours but every minute of it is stunning!!

A boat ride in the backwaters or backwaters cruise is the quickest way to experience Poovar’s natural wonders in 2-3 hours. You can also choose to experience Poovar slowly by staying in one of the resorts. Some resorts also have water villas. There are several fishing villages nearby where you can witness the local life. You can also have some freshly cooked delicious seafood at one of the floating restaurants near the beach.

I highly recommend visiting Poovar if you are in Trivandrum or Kovalam. Try and visit the Golden sand beach in the evening to witness the beautiful sunset.