Light House beach is the most popular of the lot. You can easily explore the beach on foot and it takes about ten minutes to walk from one end to the other. There are many resorts and guesthouses all along. Be wary of touts who throng the concrete pavements running along the beach. You can venture out into the sea on surf boards or the wooden kattamaran. Beach chairs and parasoles are also available on hire.
The beach owes its name from the red and white striped lighthouse standing tall on the southern end of the beach. It opens for two hours daily from 3 PM to 5PM when you can scale the 142 spiral steps and twelve ladder rungs to the observation platform. On clear days you can see the stunning views of Beemapalli mosque in one direction and south to Poovar on the other.
Just south of the lighthouse there is a sandy cove that opens out into a larger beach dotted with many upmarket Kovalam hotels which can be accessed by following a small lane that branches off the lighthouse road.
To sample a slice of the local coastal life, head into the cool and shaded coconut groves behind the beach's hotel strip, where you can see ladies gossip and tailors make cheap cotton clothes for the tourists.
