Varkala (Malayalam)is a coastal town and municipality in Thiruvananthapuram district situated in the Indian state of Kerala. It is located 50 kilometres (approx. 32 miles) north-west of Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) and 37 km south-west of Kollam.

Varkala is the only place in southern Kerala where cliffs are found adjacent to the Arabian Sea.These tertiary sedimentary formation cliffs are a unique geological feature on the otherwise flat Kerala coast, and is known among geologists as Varkala Formation and a geological monument as declared by the Geological Survey of India. There are numerous water spouts and spas on the sides of these cliffs.

Varkala is also famous for the 2,000-year old Janardana Swami Temple which is an important Vaishnavaite shrine in India and is often referred to as Dakshin Kashi (Benares of the South). The temple is located close to the Papanasam beach, which is considered to have holy waters which wash away sins, and is also an important Ayurveda treatment centre. The temple has an ancient bell removed from a shipwreck, donated by the captain of the Dutch vessel which sank near Varkala without causing any casualties.

Another major landmark in Varkala is the Sivagiri Mutt, established by the social reformer Sree Narayana Guru. The hill-top mausoleum of Sree Narayana Guru is one of the most famous monuments in Kerala. 

It pleasant during Summer upto May or June 

Reach Varkala by air:
If you've plans to reach Varkala by air then, you are lucky that it is easy to connect to the city via regular flights. Although you'll not find an airport in the city but very close to the city lays Trivandrum. The closest airport to Varkala is of Trivandrum. The Trivandrum airport is just an hour's drive from the city centre of Varkala. The airport is well connected to cities like Goa, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Kochi, etc.

Reach Varkala by rail:
One of the very comfortable and easy ways of reaching Varkala is through rail. The city owns a well built railway station which connects you to almost all the major destinations across India. In case you are unable to spot Varkala as the train stoppage from any of the trains then you can opt for a train which connects you to the station of Trivandrum. After reaching the station of Trivandrum one can easily connect to Varkala through public transport.

Reaching Varkala by road:
Varkala is one of the cities which is well connected though a network of smooth roads. One of the easy ways of reaching the city is by taking the route of NH 47 and at a distance of just 47 Kms from it lays Varkala. It is also easy to reach Varkala if you here in Trivandrum. In fact the city is well linked with almost all the destinations of southern India.