Kovalam beyond the lighthouse: a beach without the beach clubs

Kovalam is not one beach. It is a curve of three, separated by low headlands and linked by a road that has been steadily filling with guesthouses, ayurveda rooms and shops selling the same cotton trousers since the 1970s. The name covers the whole bay, but each cove has its own mood, its own prices and its own relationship with the fishing families who were here first.

Three beaches, three different days

Lighthouse Beach is the southernmost and the busiest. The headland, with its red-and-white tower, is the postcard view, and the sand below it is where most visitors end up. It is also where the hawkers are most persistent and where a sunbed comes with an expectation that you will order something. None of that is a scandal; it is simply a tourist beach doing what tourist beaches do. Go early, before the first tour bus, and it is a different place.

Hawa Beach, also called Eve's Beach, sits in the middle and attracts a mixed crowd of Indian families, backpackers and day-trippers from Thiruvananthapuram. It is smaller and steeper, with a strong shore break in the monsoon. Samudra Beach, to the north, is the quietest of the three and the one most often missed. There are fewer places to buy a beer and more places to watch fishermen mend nets. If you want to read for three hours without being asked to buy a boat trip, this is where to do it.

Mornings belong to the fishing village

Before the cafes open, Kovalam is a working harbour. Catamarans come in from the night's fishing, nets are spread on the sand and the catch is sorted and sold in a way that makes no concession to visitors. The village behind Lighthouse Beach is a dense, ordinary neighbourhood of lanes, churches, small shops and houses with boats parked against the wall. Walking through it is one of the best free things to do here, provided you remember that it is somebody's street and not an exhibit.

• Go out between about six and eight in the morning, when the light is soft and the beach is still a workplace.
• Ask before photographing people, boats or the fish auction. A nod towards the camera is usually enough.
• Keep to the edges of the lanes when a motorbike or a boat trailer is coming through.
• The Vizhinjam harbour, a short drive south, is a much larger working port and not a leisure destination; visit with that in mind.

The tourist strip and how to handle it

The strip along Lighthouse Beach runs on repetition: massage, boat ride, tailor, taxi, henna, another massage. Prices are negotiable and the first number is rarely the real one. Decide what a thing is worth to you before you ask, agree the total rather than a per-person or per-hour figure, and be comfortable walking away. A firm no is understood. A polite no is understood too.

Ayurveda is offered everywhere and the quality varies enormously. A legitimate treatment centre will ask about your health and explain what is being used; a room with a massage table and a bottle of oil may still give you a pleasant hour, but it is not a medical consultation. Ask what oil, who is treating you and how long the course is meant to last. Avoid anything that promises a diagnosis on the spot.

The lighthouse and the headland

The lighthouse sits on Kurumkal Hill, at the southern end of the bay, and the climb to it is short but steep. The reward is the clearest view of the three coves and, on a good day, the coast running south towards Vizhinjam. Access to the tower itself has been intermittent over the years, so treat the view from the headland as the reliable part and the tower as a bonus. Check at the gate rather than trusting an old guidebook.

The headland also holds a small temple and the remains of the old Halcyon Castle, a royal guesthouse later used as a hotel. Neither is a major sight on its own, but the walk between them, with the sea on both sides, is the point. Wear shoes that grip: the path is uneven and the laterite gets slick after rain.