Kovalam was discovered by the European guests of the then Travancore kingdom in the 1930s as an ideal beach destination for relaxation. However, Kovalam shot into limelight in the early seventies with arrivals of the masses of hippies. This exodus started the transformation of a casual fishing village of Kerala into one of the most important tourist destinations in all India.Kovalam has three crescent shaped beaches separated by rocky outcroppings. Shallow waters stretching for hundreds of metres are ideal for swimming.The larger of the beaches is called Light House Beach for its 35 metre high light house which towers over it atop Kurumkal hillock. The second largest one is Hawah Beach named after the topless European women who used to throng there.Ashoka beach & Samudra Beach are also the parts of Kovalam beach.