Nature & WildlifeBeach

Mundakkal Beach

Kollam city beach where pilgrims perform ancestral rites, known for the dredger that washed ashore in 2016

Photo: Arunvrparavur · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

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01 — The story

Mundakkal Beach lies in Kollam city on the Kollam–Paravur coastal road, about 4 km from Chinnakada and 11.2 km from Paravur. Mundakkal itself is a neighbourhood known for cashew processing. The beach is also called Mundakkal Papanasham Beach, and devotees believe a dip in its waters washes away a lifetime's sins.

It became a popular sight after the empty dredger Hansitha, anchored about 3 nautical miles off the coast since 2013, was driven ashore by heavy waves on 21 June 2016; scrapping began in October 2017. Each year on the new-moon day of the Malayalam month of Karkidakom, thousands of people, including women and children, come to perform balitharpanam, offerings to their ancestors, on this beach and at Thirumullavaram Beach.

Unmapia

02 — About

Coming soon

We’re still writing about Mundakkal Beach: its history, what’s there and why it’s worth the trip.