If it’s a chilled hippy hideout with a spiritual air and myriad magical charms you’re looking for, then Varkala in the Kerela region of Southern India might just be your dream destination.

I returned to this lush subcontinental paradise in late March, just before the rainy season, when the weather is at it’s most sultry and the region’s vibrant religious festivals are at the peak of their cycle.

First I spent a week at the delightfully eccentric (and at the time rather haunted) guesthouse, Davina Lagoona, which specialised in ayurvedic meals and massages in an animal-themed boutique at the edge of the Kerelan backwaters. After five days of green tea, delicious vegan dishes and early morning yoga in the sweltering heat, my wintery pastiness had made way for a light, sub-tropical glow.

For my next stop it was a choice between heading for the hills to a full-time yoga retreat and monastic regime, presumably with the goal of some form of enlightenment and/or levitation, or pack up and go to the beach at Varkala. As you’ll see from the picture postcard shot taken from my favourite cliff-top cafe, Varkala won hands down.