Varkala voted India’s most welcoming destination
Varkala in Thiruvananthapuram voted the ‘most welcoming place in India’ as per a poll conducted by Booking.com. According to the 7th annual edition of the Guest Review Awards survey, five destinations from Kerala got place in the total 10 most visited places in India. Varkala came first, in the Top 10 list in India, followed by Kochi (Kerala) and Jaisalmer (Rajasthan).
Thekkady (4th Place in India), Alappuzha (6th) and Munnar (8th) are the other three destinations from Kerala got enlisted in the top ten list of India.
Jodhpur in Rajasthan (5th), Puducherry in Tamil Nadu (7th), Udaipur in Rajsthan (9th) and Agra in Uttar Pradesh (10th) are the other destinations voted as the best welcoming places in India.
Hovering almost terrifyingly along the edge of majestic 15m-high red laterite cliffs, 50km northwest of Trivandrum, Varkala has a naturally beautiful setting that has allowed it to steadily grow into Kerala’s most popular backpacker hang-out.
The Papanasam Beach (also called as Varkala Beach), is renowned for a natural spring, which is considered to have medicinal and curative properties. A dip in the holy waters at this beach is believed to purge the impurities and sins of the body and soul; hence the name ‘Papanasam Beach’.
Papanasam is also renowned for the Hindu ritual ‘bali tharpanam’, which is performed to propitiate departed souls on the auspicious occasion of ‘Karkitaka vavu’, the eve of the new moon of the last month of the Malayalam calendar. It is believed that by doing this ritual the departed souls will get eternal salvation.
‘Bali tharpanam’ at Papanasam Beach
A two thousand-year-old shrine, the Janardhanaswamy Temple, stands on the cliffs overlooking the beach, a short distance away. The Sivagiri Mutt, founded by the great religious reformer and philosopher Sree Narayana Guru (1856 – 1928) is also close by. The Samadhi (the final resting place) of the Guru here attracts thousands of devotees every year during the Sivagiri Pilgrimage days – 30th December to 1st January. Sree Narayana Guru propagated the ideology: “one caste, one religion and one God”, in a society torn by the taboos of caste system.
Janardhana Swami Temple, Varkala
Varkala offers excellent accommodation facilities for tourists and is fast becoming a popular health resort with many Ayurvedic massage centers, which helped it to top the list of ten most welcoming places in India.
India ranked ahead of Switzerland Taiwan, Belgium, and China in terms of the number of properties being honoured with a total of 6,125 accommodation providers from the country being recognized.
India ranks as the 29th most welcoming country on the planet ahead of Switzerland (30th), China (40th) and Malaysia (45th).
B’Canti Beach Resort, Varkala
“No matter the type, size or location of the property, what we see from our customers is that they value a human connection when they travel, whether it’s some extra attention to detail or a truly individualized approach to service,” says Olivier Gremillon, Vice President at Booking.com.
“With these awards, we celebrate and thank all of the amazing accommodation providers who create special travel experiences for our customers on a daily basis.”
To be recognized with an award, properties had to have an average review score of 8.0 or higher based on at least 5 reviews as of 11:59pm (CET) on October 31, 2018. Only customers that have actually stayed at an accommodation can leave a review of their experience on Booking.com.