If inertia or boredom does set in, and you need a break from the beaches, it’s time to get out and about. For many people, this just means a leisurely stroll up onto the headland, to visit Kovalam Town. For ...

Kovalam, 15 km (9 1/4 miles) from Trivandrum, was once the Arabian Sea beach resort of the  court of the Rajahs of Travancore. Today, its scimitar-sweep of sand between two high headlands is a popular tourist beach  catering  not only ...

Trivandrum city is bisected by a single long thoroughfare, M.G. Road. To get to the museum, zoo, art gallery, main tourist office and Indian Airlines (all at the top of M.G. Rd) from Padmanabhaswamy Temple or the Kovalam bus-stand (opposite ...

Mid-range (US$10-35/Rs250-1000 per room night) Although the Taj Group have a proposal to develop one of Trivandrum’s old palaces into a hotel by the end of 1993, there are at present no five-star hotels in the city. The better properties ...

Though many travellers head straight for Kovalam, 13 km (8 miles) away, there are several good reasons for making Trivandrum the starting point of your Kerala tour. This is the state capital, and has been so from the days of ...

TTDC Hotel Tamil Nadu (tel 257, tlx 0430-3202) is just below the new bus-stand. Clean and friendly, it has the prime beach situation, with some lovely rooms (Rs150) overlooking the sea. Food is good, and so is the dormitory accommodation. ...

This is a tiny seaside town, with one main street. Sights are few, but walks are interesting. Stay for at least one sunrise and one sunset, and during the day try the following jaunt.Beach Tour (on foot, 3/4 hours) Sunrise ...

Kanyakumari  is the Land’s End of India, a staggering 3300 km south of Jammu. It is named after the Kumari (virgin) goddess whom the gods tricked out of a marriage with Shiva because they needed a virgin to defeat the ...

Expensive There’s elegance and lake-view rooms (singles Rs1200, doubles Rs1450) at Carlton Hotel on Lake Rd (tel 561, tlx 04412-210 CARL IN, fax 04542-570). The room rate includes meals and during the low season of mid-January to March and July ...

Kodaikanal is a quiet, charming hill station situated 2125 m up in the scenic Palani Hills. It’s the ideal place to cool off from hot, dusty travels down in the plains of Tamil Nadu. Currently being developed as a health ...