Poovar is a popular tourist town in the Trivandrum district of Kerala state, South India. This village is almost at the southern tip of Trivandrum while the next village, Pozhiyoor, marks the end of Kerala. This village has a beautiful beach which attracts tourists.
Poovar lies very close to Vizhinjam, a natural harbor. Poovar has an estuary which connects with the sea during high tides. The 56 km Neyyar River passes through Neyyattinkara taluk into the Arabian Sea near Poovar. Its natural beauty enables it to be a quiet tourist spot
Poovar was a trading center of timber, sandalwood, ivory and spices. In around 1,000 BC, it is believed that ships owned by King Solomon of Israel landed in Ophir, which is identified by some sources as Poovar, while the village was one of the ancient Muslim settlements along the western coast of India. The central mosque in Poovar was built by Malik Deenar, an eighth century Muslim preacher. During the reign of the Chola dynasty, Poovar was a major port. The explorer Megasthenes, Roman writer Pliny the Elder and Venetian traveller Marco Polo mention connections with Greece and Rome.
Poovar emerged as one of the leading tourist attractions of Kerala in just few years. Luxury resorts, well organized boat clubs, floating restaurants, elephant rides, etc. make it a vibrant tourist hotspot. The golden beach at Poovar is a clean and beautiful place. Since it lies close to the International shipping lane, from the beach we can see the huge ships passing by over the horizon. It all started with the arrival of few small resorts and suddenly it caught everyone’s attention.