A visit to Valiyazheekal beach in Kayamkulam
We went to visit the Valiyazheekal beach with its black sands and the recently opened pentagon lighthouse. The orange and white bridge, the longest bowstring arch bridge in South India.
Bowstring arched bridge
A little known tourist destination until a few years back, now the beach is crowded with people in the evenings. And the recent inauguration of the bridge has changed the reachability and popularity of this place where you get to view the confluence of sea and backwater.
We reached at 5:00 PM and the crowd was pouring in. Because of the occasional drizzle, there was a cool breeze. There are a number of food joints in the entire beach area. Flying kites and horse riding are some of the activities that you can do on the beach.
Stone bridge at at Valiyazheekal beach
Then we walked on the stone bridge through which you can travel 1km into the sea. Both sided of the stone bridge is filled with tetrapods, a concrete block, to prevent erosion.
People played on the beach on one side, on the other side of the bridge boats rode with passengers, tourists and fishermen. Some of them are fishing boats while others are taking the tourists on boating in the backwaters.
Pentagon lighthouse
On our way to the pentagon lighthouse, we got down on the bridge to get a view of the sea, the lagoon and the lighthouse during sunset.The bridge connects Arattupuzha in Alappuzha with Allappad in Kollam.
The lighthouse was also recently opened,and there is a fairly good crowd even at 6:30 in the evening. We had to wait in a queue to get inside the lighthouse.
The solar powered lighthouse is 41.26 meters tall. Solar powered elevators and Stairs are there to reach the top of the lighthouse. The lighthouse helps fishermen and marine sail through the area.
The view from the balcony was amazing. To watch the confluence of the sea and the salty lagoon and the coconut trees all around was an awesome experience. We had a 360 degree view of the entire area around the beach.
On the whole a third is the seas, a third the backwater and a third the lush green land. The beach, the bow arched bridge and the pentagon lighthouse makes the entire place a beautiful combination of natural and man-made scenic wonders.
We spent two hours at the beach and the lighthouse. You can spend hours on the beach with family and friends or when you want to spend time alone gazing at the sea and the sunset.
