COAST TO COAST (BEACHES OF INDIA)

India’s 7,600-km-long coastline is –apart from famous interruptions like Goa-virtually one huge stretch of untouched beach. The best-kept secrets are in the east, but the sun has by no means set on the western coast. A state-by-state round-up:

Orissa
The only tourists who ventured onto its silken sands used to be Bengali families or pious folks visiting Puri’s Jagannath temple. Despite being a favourite target of cyclonic devastation, the state has remarkable beaches with pretty, unfamiliar names: Balighal, Beleswar, Chandball, Chandipur, Chandrabhaga, Pati-Sonapur…Tourist facilities are low-that may be part of the charm for some, but don’t even expect convenient beach shacks.

Andhra Pradesh
Even fewer visit this state for its beaches. Four are near Visakhapatnam (Rishikonda, Lawsons Bay, Ramakrishna beach, Dolphin’s Nose). Bheemunipatnam (aka Bheemli) is a town rife with mythological explanations for its existence and is a centre of some religious significance. Its light-house is supposedly the country’s oldest; it also has the remains of a Dutch fort. Other beaches: Kalingapatnam (30 km from Srikakulam), and Andhra’s ‘oldest’ beach, Baruva. The latter, located 109 km from Srikakulam, is also interestingly remote.

Tamil Nadu
The best-known beach holiday site is Mamallapuram. There are several resorts near the town famous for its 8th century temple sculptures, popular also for their accessibility from Chennai.Pondicherry is also well-loved. Rameswaram and Kanyakumari host a steady stream of religious tourists. But few visitors from outside the state visit the beaches further south. Point Calimere, or Kodikkarai (115 km from Thanjavur), is unusual- it’s where two very differently-behaved water bodies, the Bay of Bengal and the Palk Strait, meet. Manora has a curving beach on the calm waters of the Palk Strait. The Kurusadai Island beach, 20 km from Rameswaram, is a beautiful marine biosphere. Tirunelveli is a quit pilgrimage centre with a pretty beach.

Kerala
After Kovalam tried to grow up and become Goa and failed, the task fell to other towns on its coast. Varkala briefly held the public eye when the Taj opened a resort there; Cochin is special, but its beach is hardly the best reason to visit it. Further up, Kappad beach at Kozhikode and Bekal beach at Kasargod are of historical interest. There are two notable beaches near Kannur: Muzhapillangad and Payyambalam. For a traditional beach holiday in aesthetic surroundings, stick to the Marari Beach Resort.

Karnataka
Karnataka’s coastline offers even more idyllic, completely unspoilt beach holidays. Plus the names of beaches are shorter-Karwar, Gokarna, Ullal, Marwanthe, Malpe…. Best comfort option: the Devbagh Beach Resort on an ‘island’ off Karwar.

Maharashtra
Marve, Manori, Gorai, Mandwa, Kihim, Murud, Harihareshwar, Velneshwar, Ganapatipule, Vengurla and Tarkarli are the notable beaches down the state’s coast. MTDC has holiday homes at these-some of dubious standards.