About 500m northwest of Kovalam's lighthouse, this small series of tanks displays fish from Kerala's waters, including lionfish and eels.
Vizhinjam Marine Research Aquarium
Kovalam
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
25.14 MILES
With a forest’s worth of intricately carved rosewood ceilings and polished-teak beams, this labyrinthine palace, 35km northwest of Kanyakumari, near the…
-
8.84 MILES
Occupying a handsome 120-year-old heritage building within the Kerala Tourism complex, this intelligently presented museum traces Kerala's history and…
-
8.87 MILES
Housed in an 1880 wooden building designed by Robert Chisholm (a British architect whose Fair Isle–style version of the Keralite vernacular shows his…
-
15.42 MILES
Rising to 1868m at Agasthya Peak and surrounding an idyllic lake created by the 1964 Neyyar Dam, 30km east of Trivandrum, this 128-sq-km sanctuary has a…
-
7.36 MILES
Trivandrum’s spiritual heart is this 18th-century temple (closed to non-Hindus) in the Fort area, which fuses Keralan and Dravidian architecture and whose…
-
24.37 MILES
Fringed by colourful fishers' houses, 12km southeast of Varkala, this laterite-and-concrete fort was built by the British East India Company in 1695…
-
7.31 MILES
Overlooking the Shri Padmanabhaswamy Temple tank, the opulent 18th-century palace of the Travancore maharajas is a classically Keralan world of…
-
Ponnumthuruthu (Golden) Island
27.1 MILES
Around 10km south of Varkala, this acacia-filled island in the middle of a backwater lake conceals a Shiva-Parvati Hindu temple also known as the Golden…
Nearby Kovalam attractions
0.27 MILES
Kovalam's most distinguishing feature is the working candy-striped lighthouse at the southern end of Lighthouse Beach. Climb the spiral staircase – or zip…
0.42 MILES
A powdery stretch of gold-and-black sand, Kovalam's main beach is notable for the candy-striped lighthouse at its southern end.
0.51 MILES
About 1km south of Kovalam's Lighthouse Beach, Vizhinjam village has a busy harbour from where fishing boats head out each day, along with one of Kerala's…
0.52 MILES
Amid neatly tended, banyan-shaded grounds 500m north of Vizhinjam harbour, this small shrine is one of Kerala's most ancient rock-cut temples. A sculpture…
0.71 MILES
Popular with domestic day trippers, Hawa Beach is a busy sandy strand just north of Lighthouse Beach.
1.1 MILES
Around the headland north of Hawa Beach, Samudra's sandy blonde expanse is overlooked by a gold-and-green mosque and the five-star Leela resort.
1.16 MILES
Painted in gold, cream and lime green, this modern mosque sits on Samudra Beach.
7.31 MILES
Overlooking the Shri Padmanabhaswamy Temple tank, the opulent 18th-century palace of the Travancore maharajas is a classically Keralan world of…