?Varkala Kerala • India
Varkala
Coordinates: 8°43′59″N 76°43′01″E / 8.733, 76.717
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
District(s)	Thiruvananthapuram
Population	42,273 (2001)
Codes • Pincode • Telephone • Vehicle	• 695141 • +0470 • KL-16

Coordinates: 8°43′59″N 76°43′01″E / 8.733, 76.717 Varkala (Malayalam: വര്‍ക്കല) is a coastal town and municipality in Thiruvananthapuram district situated in the Indian state of Kerala. It is located 51 kilometres (approx. 32 miles) north of Thiruvananthapuram city. , Kerala ( ; Malayalam: കേരളം; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of southwestern India. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links India_Kerala_locator_map. ... Image File history File links Locator_Dot. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ... A time zone is a region of the Earth that has adopted the same standard time, usually referred to as the local time. ... Location of Mirzapur and the 82. ... The divisions of a district. ... Thiruvananthapuram District is the southernmost district of the Indian state of Kerala. ... 2001 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and also: The International Year of the Volunteer The United Nations Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations Events January January 1 - A black monolith measuring approximately nine feet tall appears in Seattles Magnuson Park, placed by an anonymous... A Postal Index Number or PIN or Pincode is the post office numbering or post code system used by the Indian Postal Service (similar to the ZIP Code in the United States). ... For the past decade or so, telecommunication activities have gained momentum in India. ... Licence plates on the back of a taxi in Kolkata. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ... Malayalam ( ) is the language spoken predominantly in the state of Kerala, in southern India. ... A municipality is an administrative entity composed of a clearly defined territory and its population and commonly referring to a city, town, or village, or a small grouping of them. ... Thiruvananthapuram District is the southernmost district of the Indian state of Kerala. ... India is a federal republic comprised of twenty-eight states and seven union territories. ... , Kerala ( ; Malayalam: കേരളം; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of southwestern India. ... , Thiruvananthapuram   (Malayalam: തിരുവനന്തപുരം TiruvanÅ­ntapuraṁ), formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. ...

Sights

Cliffs on Varkala Beach

The landmark hill-top mausoleum of Narayana Guru

Varkala is the only place in southern Kerala where one can find cliffs adjacent to the Arabian sea. These tertiary sedimentary formation cliffs are a unique geological feature in 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. Image File history File linksMetadata Varkala_beach. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Varkala_beach. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (510x768, 59 KB) photohraphed by Pratheepps File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (510x768, 59 KB) photohraphed by Pratheepps File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

JanardhanaKrishna Temple entrance, Varkala

A famous beach resort, Varkala is also famous for its 2,000 year old Janardanaswamy temple, which is an important Vaishnavaite shrine in India and is 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. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Temple dedicated to the worship of Vishnu as Venkateswara. ... Benares (also known as Banaras, Kashi, Kasi and Varanasi (वाराणसी)) is a Hindu holy city on the banks of the river Ganga or Ganges in the modern north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ... Shirodhara, one of the techniques of Ayurveda Ayurveda (Devanagari: ) or Ayurvedic medicine is an ancient system of health care that is native to the Indian subcontinent. ...

JanardhanaSwamy Temple entrance, Varkala

Another major landmark in Varkala is the Sivagiri Mutt, established by the great social reformer Sree Narayana Guru. The hill-top mausoleum of Sree Narayana Guru, also located there, is one of the most famous monuments in Kerala. The adjacent hills house the East-West University of Brahmavidya and Sree Narayana Gurukulam. Both organizations belong to the late Nataraja Guru, a disciple of Sree Narayana Guru, and his famous disciples Muni Narayana Prasad and Guru Nitya Chaitanya Yati. Another important place of pilgrimage located near to Varkala is the "Kaduvayil Thangal Dargah" which is on the National Highway 47 in between Kallambalam and Attingal. Local people, irrespective of religion visit this place to get the blessings of "Kaduvayil Thangal", a muslim saint. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1200 × 900 pixel, file size: 322 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Jaranadha Swamy Temple Entrance I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1200 × 900 pixel, file size: 322 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Jaranadha Swamy Temple Entrance I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Sivagiri is a pilgimage centre in Kerala where one of its social reformer and sage Sree Narayana Gurus tomb is located. ... Narayana Guru It has been suggested that the section Sri Narayana Guru from the article Ezhava be merged into this article or section. ... Nataraja Guru (P. Natarajan) was a direct disciple of Narayana Guru, a great sage and social reformer of India. ...

JanardhanaKrishna Temple Tank, Varkala

The District Ayurvedic Hospital is also located in Varkala, which has now been almost completely renovated. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1200 × 900 pixel, file size: 317 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) JanardhanaSwamy Temple Tank I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1200 × 900 pixel, file size: 317 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) JanardhanaSwamy Temple Tank I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ...

Another important feature of Varkala is the now dilapidated Varkala Tunnel, through which passes the TS Canal, which was an all-important waterway during pre-independence times since other than this canal, there was no other water transport route for the erstwhile Travancore Dynasty's capital region , the present day Trivandrum. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Beach, Varkala

Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1200 × 900 pixel, file size: 317 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Varkala Beach I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1200 × 900 pixel, file size: 317 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Varkala Beach I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ...

Economy

Varkala Beach

The town has excellent telecommunication facilities, round-the-clock power, an average-rated water supply system, fire station, several post offices and police station. The town boasts a government-run hospital in addition to nearly 10 private hospitals and some dental clinics. Several elementary and senior-secondary schools, both government-run and private are also functioning. In addition to an Arts and Science college named after Sree Narayana Guru, there are several private professional institutions offering courses like nursing and teaching. A dental college, Sri Sankara Dental College, has recently started functioning in Akathumuri with an intake permission of 50 students. Image File history File linksMetadata Varkala_beach. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Varkala_beach. ... Nursing is a profession focused on assisting individuals, families, and communities in attaining, re-attaining, and maintaining optimal health and functioning. ... In education, teachers are those who teach students or pupils, often a course of study or a practical skill. ... A Dentist and Dental Assistant perform surgery on a patient. ...

Varkala has a railway station, with most trains having halts. The station has computerized railway reservation facility, and it is the second most important railhead in the district of Thiruvanthapuram, after the Thiruvananthapuram Central Station. Varkala is an important hub for neighbouring places like Attingal, Kadakkavur, Edava, Kallambalam , Kappil, Parippally, and Kilimanoor. , Thiruvananthapuram   (Malayalam: തിരുവനന്തപുരം TiruvanÅ­ntapuraṁ), formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. ... Attingal is a city and a municipality in Thiruvananthapuram district in the state of Kerala, India. ...

People of Varkala are generally employed in service sector. A very good portion of them are working outside India (especially in u.a.e) mainly in the Middle East region. Varkala also has a very sizeable number of expatriates in the United Kingdom. A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ...

Demographics

As of 2001 India census^GRIndia, Varkala had a population of 42,273. Males constitute 49% of the population and females 51%. Varkala has an average literacy rate of 78%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 77%, and female literacy is 79%. In Varkala, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age. 2001 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and also: The International Year of the Volunteer The United Nations Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations Events January January 1 - A black monolith measuring approximately nine feet tall appears in Seattles Magnuson Park, placed by an anonymous... 1870 US Census for New York City A census is the process of obtaining information about every member of a population (not necessarily a human population). ...

Trivia

• Varkala Radhakrishnan, the lawyer turned politician of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and MP currently represents Chirayinkil constituency which includes Varkala, in the Indian Parliament.

• Joshi, Malayalam film director is from Varkala.

• System 7's Seventh Wave features a track titled Varkala. This uses sampling recorded in Kerala, at a festival with 57 elephants.^[1]

• Varkala is used as a surname among people of the Padmashali caste in Andhra Pradesh^{[citation needed]}.

• Anthony Frosh writes of his Varkalan tales in The Frosh Report [1]

Varkala Radhakrishnan (born 21 August 1927) is a member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. ... Sansad Bhavan, The Parliament of India The Parliament of India (or Sansad) is bicameral. ... Joshi (sometimes credited as Joshiy, Joshy, and Joshy Mathew) is a film director. ... System 7 is a band working in the dance/ambient scene. ... Seventh Wave is the seventh studio album by British ambient dance band System 7. ... Padmashali or Padmasali is a Telugu weavers caste or social group found largely in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India. ... , Andhra Pradesh (Telugu: , Urdu: ), the Rice Bowl of India, is a state in southern India. ...

External links

• All about Varkala

• Varkala Online
• Sree Narayana Gurukulam
• Web site of Sivagiri