Surrounded by the vast Arabian Sea on one side and widespread backwater on the other, golden sanded Poovar Island is hidden heaven in Kerala. A supreme blending of endless water, foamy waves, palm-fringed golden shore, and ever-green vegetation creates a magical ambiance around this part of the world, presenting an ideal offbeat gateway for peaceful holidays. Asides, an exotic boating & floating experience through the emerald backwater is something very special on your trip to Poovar Island; indeed, the journey offers you unforgettable memories of life.

I personally fell in love with Poovar Island not only due to its distinct beauty, but also for the peace and serenity that I find there; when I visited Poovar I noted, only foreign delegates and few local tourists were occupying the place, while nearby commercial destinations like Kanyakumari, Alleppey, Munnar, and Kovalam were flooded with thousands of tourists.

Where is Poovar Island in Kerala?

Situating at the confluence of Neyyar River (to the Arabian Sea), beautiful Poovar Island is a part of Neyyattinkara (Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala). The nearest commercial tourist spot is Kovalam (20 km) and the closest big city is Trivandrum (35 km). So, if you are on a Kovalam trip, you can easily access Poovar to spend a magnificent day, full of excitement, fun, and peace.

Years of sedimentation at the confluence of Neyyar River is the basic reason behind the formation of Poovar Island. During heavy monsoon, most area of the island sinks under the sea, and rises again with new excellence at the post-monsoon season upon the sedimentation of a fresh course of golden sands.

Pure nature and distinct beauty of Poovar Island attract thousands of tasteful visitors every year, including a great number of foreign delegates. If you are on a Kerala trip, undoubtedly Poovar Island is a must-visit place for you.

A Related Article: Magnificent Kalacha Beach in Goa

How to reach Poovar Island?

Poovar Island is a part of Kerala trip. You can reach Poovar Island from Kovalam or Trivandrum by hiring a cab. From Kovalam, it’s <20 km car ride. The boat booking spot lies beside the Poovar Bridge (over Neyyar River).

From Kovalam, follow NH-66, then take right and follow Poovaar Road (Vizhinjam – Uchakkada Rd) or Poovar-Neyyatinkara Rd. Ahead, the same road takes you to Kanyakumari. So, you can proceed for Poovar boating trip on the way from Kovalam to Kanyakumari, or vice versa.

If you are not interested in mangrove boating trip, you can directly reach Poovar Island by car. The route is almost same, but after a certain point, you have to follow Poovar Island Beach Road. However, it is recommended to enjoy the boat ride.

Things to do at Poovar Island

Riverside small village Poovar offers a bunch of excitement to the visitors, including the joy of boat ride, excitement of the mangrove forest, beauty of green vegetation and palm trees, excellence of Golden sanded Poovar Beach, and more.

Let’s have a look, how you can enjoy an exciting day at Poovar Island.

Book A Boat for an Exciting trip Ahead!

The prime attraction of the Poover trip is the exciting boat ride through the mangroves.

The Backdrop of Poovar Island is surrounded by widespread backwater that is directly connected to small canals and the Neyyar River. For reaching Poovar Beach, you have to cross all these waterlines through the ever-green mangroves and canal-side natural garden of coconut trees; so, there is a great scope to enjoy an exciting boating activity.

Just beside the Kovalam-Kanyakumari main road, you’ll find the riverside booking facilities, offering cruise, shikhara boats, and hand-sailed boats. Just pick your favorite ride from the booking counter; the rate varies based on travel time, boat type, and the number of members.

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Deep into the Mangrove forest

In the beginning, the boat sails over the wide-stretched Neyyar River, but the real fun initiates when it takes a speedy turn towards a canal and enters the Mangrove forest.

The boatman fairly follows the serpentine waterline, sometimes slowly, sometimes faster, offering you the ultimate joy of the adventure ride. Passing through lush green walls of mangroves is definitely an ever-exciting experience that you’ll rarely find elsewhere in India.

Baratang in Andaman and Sundarban in West Bengal are two other places where you can enjoy a boat ride through Mangroves, offering you different tastes; but I felt none of those are more exciting than Poovar’s ride.

Between the Natural Coconut Garden

As the canal comes closer to the sea, rows of coconut trees start replacing the mangrove forest, presenting an alternate beauty to the surroundings. At this point, you can see some floating coconut shops, which are actually coconut-loaded boats owned by local farmers. Not being skeptical, you can taste those sweetest Poovarian coconuts while enjoying the trip towards Poovar Island.

Breathtaking view at the front!

After a little ahead, a certain turn offers a breath-taking view at the front that you probably do not expect so far during your ride!

The canal-end widens suddenly and meets a huge natural reservoir at the front that is surrounded by thousands of coconut and palm trees; the golden sand of Poovar Island appears far away. Your journey through the dark and deep forest suddenly ends and enlightens by the exposure of the open sky, furnishing a completely different ambiance.

The magnificence of the place is unexplainable in written form, but I can still remember the excitements that blasted inside me with this splendid sight.

The widespread backwater of Poovar is a Reliable home for thousands of birds, including sea-gals, egrets, eagles, kites, kingfishers, Indian cormorants (Pankouri), and many more. Now, your camera tends to be mad, providing his restless service; on one hand, there are beautiful landscapes, alongside it gets a new job of capturing precious bird-shots!?

Floating Restaurant

Once the boat enters the widest part of the backwater, the boatman accelerates the speed towards Poovar Beach. On the way, you can see several floated huts on one side, while the other part of the backwater is enveloped by lush green; tall palms peeping from the top of all elements.

If you book a lengthy trip, you can spend some time at one of the floating restaurants, having your lunch in the middle of Poovar backwater. Alternatively, you can pre-book one of the floated huts and experience the excellence of Poovar Island for full day and night.

Exotic Poovar Beach

The final pleasure of this exciting boat trip awaits at the bay of Poovar.

After crossing so many waterlines and the vast backwater, when you land on the golden sand of Poovar Beach, you can feel the freshness by heart and soul. Poovar Beach very widely stretched; when we reached there a few foreign delegates and local tourists were hopping around, else it’s an almost virgin beach.

Waves are pretty stable closer to the beach, but they thud heavily on rocky part at the far north.

Calm and serene atmosphere of picturesque Poovar Island is the ultimate place to spend solitary hours in the lap of pure nature; indeed, it’s a perfect destination for honeymoon couples.

If you are on a day trip to Poovar, your time is limited; The boatman allows you to stay at Poovar beach for 30-60 minutes based on your book trip. So, it’s time to get back.?

2 hours of short boat ride definitely provide some excitement and fun, but I felt, the Poovar trip remains incomplete unless you spend there for at least one night to heartily feel the ecstasy of the place.

Other Popular Beaches near Poovar Island

I admire, Poovar Inland is the best tourist spot around Poovar, but the Glory of Poovar trip doesn’t end upon the completion of the Boat trip; You have several other nearby places to attend you you have enough time in your hand. First, let’s explore the nearby beaches where you can visit alongside.

Poovar Beach (North)

The boat trip takes you to Poovar Beach – South. Also, the luxury resorts and floating huts are adjacent to Poovar South. Standing on this beach you can see a very widespread beach at the north, known as Poovar Beach – North. This beach is separated from Poovar-South by the confluence of Neyyar River, and it’s more empty and serene.

By road, it takes around 20 minutes to reach Poovar Beach (North) from Poovar South. If you are on a longer vacation at Poovar Island (1-3 nights halt), you can visit Poovar-North for a day trip.

Kovalam Beach

Kovalam is one of the most popular tourist places near Poovar; in fact, most tourists generally halt at Kovalam (or Trivandum) and plan a day trip to Poovar Island.

Unlike Poovar, Kovalam is a highly commercialized destination, hence a little more overcrowded compared to Poovar Island. However, Kovalam beach becomes very famous worldwide due to its finest black sand, spectacular beach view, and low tidal waves.

Lighthouse Beach

This is an adjacent beach to Kovalam, separated from Kovalam Beach by a line of hillocks. The hilltop lighthouse is a special attraction of this beach, offering you a breath-taking bird’s eye view of the surroundings from the top.

Equipped with rows of coconut trees at the backdrop, finest beach sand, and low tidal waves, lighthouse beach is a world famous tourist spot, ranking 18^th among all Indian Beaches.

Eve’s Beach/ Hawa Beach

This is a picturesque beach close to the Lighthouse Beach, much less crowded compared to Kovalam or Lighthouse Beach, and the best place for taking sunbath around Kovalam.

Eve’s Beach generally remains occupied by foreign tourists throughout the year, mainly due to the serene and peaceful ambiance, high security, and splendid scenic beauty of the place.

Other Places to Visit near Poovar Island in Kerala

Alongside you can frequently visit some other attractive places during your holidays at Poovar. The following are the top nearby attraction that you can explore without any hassle.

Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary

Built across 12000 hectares of land, Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary is the home of 170+ birds species and 40+ mammals. Also the sanctuary is rich with the rarest flora and fauna, being a heaven to the botanists. Elephant and deer rehabilitation centers at Neyyar Sancuary are very special attractions for the youngers.

Thirparappu waterfalls

At a distance of 32 km from Poovar, Thirparappu waterfall is a must visit place on your Kerala trip, especially if you are staying at Poovar. Originating from Kothai River, the water flow converts to a magnificent cascade at Thirparappu, widely dropping down from an altitude of 50 m. The natural pool that forms at the base of the casecade always remains filled with crystal clear water, and is ideal for taking a fresh bath.

Agasthyamala, Agasthyarkoodam Peak, and Neyyar dam

Standing at an altitude of 1868m, Agasthyarkoodam peak is mostly popular among the trekkers’ community. The trekking permits need to be taken from the Forest Department of Kerala. It’s a part of Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve forest that is the safe home for Elephants, wild bulls, Leopard, a variety of Reptiles, Travancore Tortoise, and more.

Neyyar Dam is another charming place situating at a close proximity to Agasthyamala, known to be a popular picnic spot.

Vizhinjam Harbour

Situating 3 km away from Kovalam, it’s a spectacular natural harbor having historical significance. Rock sculptures and cave temples are some nearby attractions that are distributed around Vizhinjam and Tirunandikara.

Sagarika Marine Research Aquarium

Close to Kovalam, this marine research aquarium is a popular destination for children to seniors (especially biologists), where you can explore a wide variety of marine life, including, clownfish, angelfish, seahorses, eels, cowfish, wrasses, colorful corals, and many more. Observing the Image Pearl Technique is a special attraction at Sagarika Marine Research Aquarium.

Where to stay near Poovar Island

Most tourists visit Poovar Island for a day trip, considering Kovalam or Trivundam as the base; There are plenty of hotels and resorts around these places, you can pick the suitable one based on your requirements and budget.

In general, nature lovers and foreign delegates don’t prefer to miss the opportunity to stay at the center of the magnificence of enchanting Poovar. If you are looking to spend your precious holidays right into the pure nature, you should book your stay at any of the luxury resorts around Poovar Island; Poovar Island Resort, Poovar Estuary Island Resort, Isola Di Cocco Beach Resort, and Havelia Island Resort are some of the top choices among tourists in Poovar.

FAQs

FAQ-1: How to book Taxi for Poovar Island trip?

Top four taxi booking platforms for Kerala trip are,

•  Pepper Kerala
•  Kottayam Taxi
•  Kerala Taxi
•  Munnar taxi

It’s recommended to hire a taxi for the whole Kerala tour rather than individual booking for each day.

Approx. rate for 6night 7 days Kerala trip:

Up to 1050 km you have to pay INR 19000-20000/-. Then INR 15-16 per km. The rate varies with car category.
For the Poovar Island trip only, you can simply book it from Kovalam or Trivandrum.

Contact info of some taxi drivers:

• Joseph: 8089372721
• Binu Sarangadharan: 9846147523

FAQ-2: What should be the Budget for Poovar Island trip, including 1-night stay?

It depends on your tour budget. The standard night stay accommodation in Poovar varies from INR 2000-9000/- per night. Though you can get a few hotels at low budget, INR 1200-2500/-, those are not well recommended.

For boat ride you have to pay approx. INR. 1500-2500/- for 2 people (depends on boat-type). The rate varies with travel time (1hr – 2 hr).

If you have a higher number of people in your group, you can save more. In that case, you can book the whole boat for your group.

The booking rate increases in the peak season (up to 2 times).

Now, you can calculate the total budget for Poovar Island trip (Boat ride + one night stay)

• 1 night stay at a cheap Hotel: Approx. 1200/- (Not highly recommended)
• 1 night stay at premium resort: Approx. 3000-4000/- (minimum cost)

Poovar Island in Kerala: A summary

Wrapping Up

Starting from the thrilling boat ride to the magnificence of Poovar Island, it’s a complete package that every traveler should experience. My personal experience with this exotic place was really undefined; Poovar Island provided me with a bunch of unforgettable memories of life! If you are planning a Kerala trip, or even a Kanyakumari trip, must include Poovar Island in your visiting list, at least for a day trip.

If you have any further queries, don’t hesitate; just post your question in the comment box below. I’ll be more than happy to help you out.

Have a nice trip!

Suvankar Das

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Dr. Suvankar Das is a scientific advisor by profession, associated with a CRO organization. He pursued his doctoral degree in Chemistry in 2015. Later, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher & scientist in a couple of institutes/companies.

Besides his scientific journey, Dr. Das is also a passionate traveler and travel blogger. He loves to share all his travel experiences with other travelers so that everyone can enjoy hassle-free holidays with their own tour plans.

He believes, the most beautiful thing in this world is the WORLD itself. so there is no way to live like a clock; rather live it like a compass!

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