Kovalam, India Hotels, Vacations, Tourism

The coastal village of KOVALAM may lie just 10km south of Thiruvananthapuram but, as Kerala's most developed beach resort , it's a world away from the rest of the state. Although hippy travellers started holing up here three decades ago, it was only in the early 1990s, with the arrival of Kerala's first charter tourists, did the boom really kick off; since then the place has changed almost beyond recognition. Prices have rocketed, rubbish lies in unsightly piles at the roadsides, and in high season the beach gets packed with package tourists. more »