Beaches in India

Two coasts and an archipelago, and almost nothing in common between them. The west coast runs from Gujarat down through Goa and Kerala with the Arabian Sea and the monsoon arriving hard from June. The east faces the Bay of Bengal and takes cyclones. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a thousand kilometres out, are closer to Myanmar than to the mainland and hold the coral. Seasons are the whole planning problem. The south-west monsoon closes the western coast from June to September, when huts are dismantled and swimming stops; the eastern coast has its own cyclone season from October. Turtle nesting on both coasts brings protected sections and lighting restrictions between November and March. Beaches are also used for ritual and for work — bathing rites, fishing fleets, markets — far more than for recreation, and visitors are guests in that rather than the main audience. Practicalities: lifeguard cover exists on the main tourist beaches and nowhere else, alcohol rules differ by state, and beach shacks in Goa and Kerala are seasonal structures rebuilt each year rather than permanent businesses.

Three of the five are palm-fringed island beaches; the rest are cliff and calanque beaches and urban icon beaches. Together they account for 13 km of shore. · computed from the 5 records below