Edava Beach, Varkala

Edava is a famous tourist spot located near Varkala. Edava Beach is a serene beach located in Edava Village of Thiruvananthapuram District of Kerala State of India. Serene and beautiful backwaters and beaches attracts lots of tourist to this place.

There is an estuary that links Edava-Nadayara lake to the Arabian sea here. During the monsoon season, water gushes out of the lake and reaches the sea; people from surrounding villages come to watch this natural phenomenon. There is a 1 km stretch of blue lagoon – with the sea and backwaters running parallel with the road in the middle.The view of the water meeting the Arabian sea is breathtaking.

Edava was the frontier of the erstwhile Province of Travancore: Venad. This village is on the northwest boundary of Thiruvananthapuram district adjacent to the Arabian Sea and situated between two municipalities, Varkala to the south and Paravur to the north. The railway line between Trivandrum and Kollam passes through this village. Edava may be the only village in Kerala with two railway stations: Edava and Kappil. There is a road (TA Majeed Road) connecting Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram.

Edava has witnessed important historical events in Kerala. Historical references show that during the rule of Queen Umayamma one `Mughal Sardar’ attacked Venad in the year 1680. His reign extended from the South of Thovala to Edava.During 18th century Tippu Sultan of Mysore came to attack Edava.They stayed in the kapil bhagavathy temple.But he and his army was attacked by the honey bees. In the year 1726, Queen of Attingal gave permission to the British East Indian Company to build a Pandikasala (godown) near what is now called Vettakkada, close to the Arabian Sea. But even before that Denmark traders had constructed a trading centre over there. K P Padmanabha Menon in his work, Kerala History, has quoted English army captain Alexander Hamilton as saying during the first leg of 18th century: “Here on the beach side, Denmark traders have a small factory with coconut-thatched roof. It is in a dilaphidated condition. Their trading is likewise nominal.” The first printing press in the erstwhile Travancore, or perhaps in Kerala, with facility to print in Arabic, was established in Edava in 1936. It was called Coronation Memorial Press and was situated at what is now called Press Mukku. Its establishment coincided with the coronation ceremony of Travancore King.

Edava’s secular credentials are impeccable and sublime, with Hindus and Muslims living shoulder to shoulder without making any ripples in the placid social waters of this pristine village. There is no wonder because the village is just a microcosm of a larger Kerala. Edavites love to wake up to devotional songs from temples and call for prayers from mosques. Edavites, cutting across religious belief, enjoy major temple festivals in the village with all fervor and gaiety, without providing any room for nefarious elements to disturb this glorious tradition. Of particular mention are the temple festivals of Palakkav Temple and Sri Mangalyeshwari Devi Temple.

Edava has beaches and backwaters. There is an estuary that links Edava lake to the Arabian sea here. During the monsoon season, water gushes out of the lake and reaches the sea, people from surrounding villages come to watch the event. There is a 1 km stretch of blue lagoon – with the sea and backwaters running parallel with the road in the middle.

There were people from Edava who went to Indonesia and Malay. Among the expats were Serang Moosa, K. P Mohamed Yousaf (J P), M.R Mohamed Kunju etc. These people were immensively rich.The first Travancore passport was said to be issued to Serang Moosa. K P Mohamed Yousaf was bestowed with the honour “Justice of peace” by the BRITISH EMPIRE. M.R. Mohamed Kunju took more attention in establishing schools in Edava. He started an elementary School and an English High School in Edava which are now known as Edava Muslim High School ( M R M K Memorial H S School)and Gvt Muslim U P S. These schools paved the way for the enormous development of Edavites.

Edava is also the birthplace of Late T A. Majeed the first Kerala PWD Minister, Late Parayil Shamsudeen etc

Town:: The main road of Edava is TA Majeed Road, which connects Varkala to Paravoor through Edava.
Airport:: The nearest airport is Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, 55 km from Edava.
Railway Station:: The nearest main railway station is Varkala railway station.
District:: Thiruvananthapuram
Longitude:: 8.764499
Latitude:: 76.695836