Kappil Lake
Kappil Lake
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Abhi_K_Paul
Trivandrum, Kerala, India3 contributions
Feb 2013 • Family
For anyone who has travelled in the Trivandrum-Kollam route by Train, Kappil is a place which you will never fail to notice. The magical interplay of land and water, the coconut tree covered islets, people using small country boats for commute and for fishing are certain images that will never leave your memory.
Some time back, during one of our regular Friday evening hangouts, one of my friends suggested to have a local tour with our families the next day. A trip which can be planned within a day, a place which can be reached within an hour or two, a place where we can stay overnight and a place which will be enjoyable for us as well as our better halves. The idea struck a chord and we were on a look out for the possible destinations. After scanning through various travel sites for destinations in and around Trivandrum, we finally came across a not so familiar tourist destination – Kappil.
We packed our baggage and headed towards Kappil the very next day. Kappil is the north-west border town of Thiruvananthapuram and it is 50 odd kilometres away from Trivandrum City and is located 7 Km North of the famous Tourist destination, Varkala. It is well connected by Road and Rail with Trivandrum and it hardly takes one hour drive to reach this picturesque place.
The entrance to the place is marked by a Bridge which offers you a bird’s eye view of the confluence of Arabian sea & Kappil River. As you proceed, the road bisects the two water bodies - Arabian Sea to the west and Kappil River to the east for over a stretch of close to one Km, offering delightful views of the waters on either side. The only hotel in this place, The Lake Sagar, managed by the District Tourism Promotional council is located in this stretch of the road. With just four Non AC rooms and four AC rooms to offer, Lake sagar, is an indicator of the Tourist influx to this sleepy village and luckily for us, all the eight rooms were available that day.
The not-so-well-maintained rooms of Lake sagar offers a majestic view of the Arabian sea from its balcony and the roof top of the hotel gives a feel that it is suspended between the lake and the sea. The big boulders which form the man made sea-wall spoils the view of the sea to some extent, but then it is indispensable as it protects this place from the fury of Arabian sea during monsoon.
The hotel which doubles up as a drive-in restaurant offers a sumptuous meal for lunch with a large variety of sea food to choose from. After the lunch, children wanted to have a nap and their mothers followed them dutifully. The men folk who were left alone, roamed around the hotel premises. The hotel had a vast area of coconut plantation surrounding it and amidst the plantation there were some tree huts and a swimming pool. We spend some time in the pool when we noticed some guys fishing using fishing rods. Inspired by these guys, we went to a local shop, purchased all the items required for making local fishing rods, sourced some ‘lures’ from the hotel kitchen and proceeded to do fishing. For most of us in the group, it was a first experience. Away from the hustle and bustle of life, away from the high technology that causes stress in life. Out in nature, enjoying the silence and just basically finding some time of our own in which we don't have to worry about the everyday things that we constantly worry about. Undoubtedly, fishing was great fun!!!
In the evening, we walked to the nearby beach through the sand strip leading to the lagoon and the beach, amid the coconut trees. Though the beach has nothing special to offer, it is a nice place to spend an evening with your friends and family. There are not many tourists, no vendors and no traffic and all these are a welcome change from the cacophony that we are used to at the regular beaches like Kovalam, Veli or Varkala. The sea is shallow in this part and hence offers you an opportunity to venture into it safely through a small distance.
The next day we booked a safari boat trip arranged by the nearby Priyadarshini Boat club. The boat trip across the lake is one of the best parts of your stay at Kappil. The vast lake which reminds you of the popular boat trips through Kumarakom is at times even better than the Kumarakom trip when the boat takes a detour through the narrow tongues of the backwater amidst the small palm-covered islets. It offers you a glimpse of the life in those islands which in fact is a revelation for all those city dwellers who have never experienced the sanctity of the village life. Thankfully there are not many boats and not many tourists to mar the pristine environment of this place. As the boat trip comes to an end, you are overwhelmed with the feeling that Kappil is one of the best kept secret of God’s own country and you really wish it to be like that.
Kappil is a favourite place of the National Cadet Corps and regular parasailing and adventure water sports activities are held there under the aegis of Indian Air Force.
“The soul of India lives in its villages“, declared M. K. Gandhi at the beginning of 20th century. As you wind up your two day sojourn at this beautiful place, you realise that you have just found the India that touches your heart and stirs your soul! Those amazing sights, sounds, smells and genuine people with a smile on their face...Kappil, we are surely going to come back again..to take a break and to rejuvenate ourselves.
Some time back, during one of our regular Friday evening hangouts, one of my friends suggested to have a local tour with our families the next day. A trip which can be planned within a day, a place which can be reached within an hour or two, a place where we can stay overnight and a place which will be enjoyable for us as well as our better halves. The idea struck a chord and we were on a look out for the possible destinations. After scanning through various travel sites for destinations in and around Trivandrum, we finally came across a not so familiar tourist destination – Kappil.
We packed our baggage and headed towards Kappil the very next day. Kappil is the north-west border town of Thiruvananthapuram and it is 50 odd kilometres away from Trivandrum City and is located 7 Km North of the famous Tourist destination, Varkala. It is well connected by Road and Rail with Trivandrum and it hardly takes one hour drive to reach this picturesque place.
The entrance to the place is marked by a Bridge which offers you a bird’s eye view of the confluence of Arabian sea & Kappil River. As you proceed, the road bisects the two water bodies - Arabian Sea to the west and Kappil River to the east for over a stretch of close to one Km, offering delightful views of the waters on either side. The only hotel in this place, The Lake Sagar, managed by the District Tourism Promotional council is located in this stretch of the road. With just four Non AC rooms and four AC rooms to offer, Lake sagar, is an indicator of the Tourist influx to this sleepy village and luckily for us, all the eight rooms were available that day.
The not-so-well-maintained rooms of Lake sagar offers a majestic view of the Arabian sea from its balcony and the roof top of the hotel gives a feel that it is suspended between the lake and the sea. The big boulders which form the man made sea-wall spoils the view of the sea to some extent, but then it is indispensable as it protects this place from the fury of Arabian sea during monsoon.
The hotel which doubles up as a drive-in restaurant offers a sumptuous meal for lunch with a large variety of sea food to choose from. After the lunch, children wanted to have a nap and their mothers followed them dutifully. The men folk who were left alone, roamed around the hotel premises. The hotel had a vast area of coconut plantation surrounding it and amidst the plantation there were some tree huts and a swimming pool. We spend some time in the pool when we noticed some guys fishing using fishing rods. Inspired by these guys, we went to a local shop, purchased all the items required for making local fishing rods, sourced some ‘lures’ from the hotel kitchen and proceeded to do fishing. For most of us in the group, it was a first experience. Away from the hustle and bustle of life, away from the high technology that causes stress in life. Out in nature, enjoying the silence and just basically finding some time of our own in which we don't have to worry about the everyday things that we constantly worry about. Undoubtedly, fishing was great fun!!!
In the evening, we walked to the nearby beach through the sand strip leading to the lagoon and the beach, amid the coconut trees. Though the beach has nothing special to offer, it is a nice place to spend an evening with your friends and family. There are not many tourists, no vendors and no traffic and all these are a welcome change from the cacophony that we are used to at the regular beaches like Kovalam, Veli or Varkala. The sea is shallow in this part and hence offers you an opportunity to venture into it safely through a small distance.
The next day we booked a safari boat trip arranged by the nearby Priyadarshini Boat club. The boat trip across the lake is one of the best parts of your stay at Kappil. The vast lake which reminds you of the popular boat trips through Kumarakom is at times even better than the Kumarakom trip when the boat takes a detour through the narrow tongues of the backwater amidst the small palm-covered islets. It offers you a glimpse of the life in those islands which in fact is a revelation for all those city dwellers who have never experienced the sanctity of the village life. Thankfully there are not many boats and not many tourists to mar the pristine environment of this place. As the boat trip comes to an end, you are overwhelmed with the feeling that Kappil is one of the best kept secret of God’s own country and you really wish it to be like that.
Kappil is a favourite place of the National Cadet Corps and regular parasailing and adventure water sports activities are held there under the aegis of Indian Air Force.
“The soul of India lives in its villages“, declared M. K. Gandhi at the beginning of 20th century. As you wind up your two day sojourn at this beautiful place, you realise that you have just found the India that touches your heart and stirs your soul! Those amazing sights, sounds, smells and genuine people with a smile on their face...Kappil, we are surely going to come back again..to take a break and to rejuvenate ourselves.
Written October 6, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
GauravfromIndia
New Delhi, India71 contributions
Dec 2014 • Family
It is very near from varkala. about 15 min drive. Kappil Lake is a beautiful place to be in. Have a restaurant at lake side also. not a must visit type place but its good for localities to enjoy there.
mail me if you hv any query....
mail me if you hv any query....
Written March 15, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
DiFlies
Lyndhurst, UK506 contributions
Feb 2015 • Couples
You can walk to Kappil from Varkala Beach, but it is a pretty hot walk - worthwhile though, with some lovely views along the way. We found a little shop near the green Mosque where we could buy drinks, which was welcome. On other occasions we had a scooter, and it was a very easy journey using that. We loved the quiet of the beach up there. There are sometimes mobile ice-cream stalls near the main access from the road to the beach, just over the bridge which is a pity in many ways, as in that area, the wrappers are just discarded on the ground. We preferred to go a little further on, where the beach was generally deserted. We were excited to spot a momgoose on a couple of occasions.
Written March 2, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Scarlet
Milan, Italy108 contributions
Jan 2019 • Couples
I’ve been to the beautiful backwaters in Aleppo last year so I wanted to visit also Kappi lake’s backwaters.
I was aware that the backwaters in Kappi are less interesting (Quite small, no turist, no facilities) then Aleppo but we tryed as well.
If you want to do the same, be aware, that either the local boats renting either the taxi/tuc tuc drivers here tend to take your money in a very unfair way.
first the tuc tuc driver, drivers you in kappi to the only boat rent available(where he gets a percentage): Swim Adventure and water sports where they ask you a high price with no possibility of discount.
Finally we agreed to pay and they gave us back a piece of 500 broken which here nobody can spend.
We got aware of that just when we tryed to payed the tuc tuc driver that did not accepted this money.
Moral of the story? Go to Aleppo, and if you go to kappi lake don’t use the service of boat rental.
I was aware that the backwaters in Kappi are less interesting (Quite small, no turist, no facilities) then Aleppo but we tryed as well.
If you want to do the same, be aware, that either the local boats renting either the taxi/tuc tuc drivers here tend to take your money in a very unfair way.
first the tuc tuc driver, drivers you in kappi to the only boat rent available(where he gets a percentage): Swim Adventure and water sports where they ask you a high price with no possibility of discount.
Finally we agreed to pay and they gave us back a piece of 500 broken which here nobody can spend.
We got aware of that just when we tryed to payed the tuc tuc driver that did not accepted this money.
Moral of the story? Go to Aleppo, and if you go to kappi lake don’t use the service of boat rental.
Written January 7, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ondrique
Ostrava, Czech Republic20 contributions
Sep 2013 • Family
I walked from Varkala to here (It is about 5kms from the Thirumvambadi (Black) beach). Pathway is nice, passing around two mosques, some small beaches etc. When I first saw the Kappil beach I was stunned, really worth the one hour walk! Apart from few fishermen, there was noone on this few kms long beach! Great!
Written October 4, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
shailmohan
Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), India33 contributions
Apr 2015 • Couples
Breathtakingly beautiful location. Not too many people around. Sea on one side and the backwaters on the other. Paradise. But the spoiler is the litter,, paper flying around in many places (thankfully not on the beach). The saddest thing to note was the plastic/bottles and other waste towards the bank of the lake. Really, really sad and ashamed that people should be so careless. Even the waves threw up a couple of liquor bottles.
Written April 21, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sowmya N
Chennai (Madras), India11 contributions
May 2018 • Family
it was raining when we reached kapil lake and hence we just went to the boating alone as it was covered. the boating costs 900 rs for 30 min. the person will cover almost the full lake and will take you back to shore. Banana ride, para gliding and so many other acvtivities are available.
Written May 31, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Zanir E
London, UK7 contributions
Apr 2014 • Family
Some may find it boring. But good canal and lake trips. Speedboats too. Breath taking location. Nearby beach becoming popular. Expecting this area to become busier with tourism arriving in Edava.
Written March 25, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Anand G
Kochi (Cochin), India2,075 contributions
Jan 2015 • Family
The beach being not projectd as a tourist place is almost clean. The road that divides the sea and the lake gives a set of fantastic views. The road has little traffic which enhances the experience. A good detour if you are looking for alternate and pleasant route from Varkala to Kollam.
Written February 17, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jetskii
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia153 contributions
Sep 2013 • Friends
Kappil Lake is an amazing attraction. The scenic beauty is just marvellous. The best place is the part where the sea meets the lake. The beach there is clean and was not overcrowded. Safari Boat is available for a tour (1 Hour Rs 1000 , 40 mins Rs. 800 and 20 mins Rs 600). A must visit with friends.
Written September 8, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
s or u may approach swim adventure water sports they will arenge vehicle for u
Written March 13, 2018
300 for single and 500 for double kayaking
Written March 13, 2018
Hi, I wanted to know whom can i contact for an appointment for Parasailing or paragliing at Varkala. I have plans to visit Varkala on Aug 19 & 20. Can you please guide me as to which store (local i assume, as no specific contact available on internet). can I touch base with for any of the above adventure sports.
Written August 16, 2016
Hi, how much does the boat trip cost for the day ?
Written October 11, 2015
Hi,
We had booked the entire boat for ourselves for a 1 hour ride and it costed INR 1200. Dont think this backwater lake warrants a full day trip, 2 hours will be more than enough to have a leisurely ride.
There are two operators - one of them operates speedboats (Priyadarshini boat club) while the other has a motor operated boat which travels slower. We opted for the latter and enjoyed it (recommended option). Not sure of the cost of the former.
Hope this is useful.
Happy travelling!
Happy travelling.
Written October 12, 2015
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