About 6 km north of the main cliff area, Kappil Beach is where the Edava-Nadayara backwater lake meets the Arabian Sea. The narrow strip of land between the lake and the ocean creates a landscape that is unusual even by Kerala standards: backwater canals on one side, open beach on the other, with coconut palms and fishing boats connecting the two.
You can hire a boat at Kappil to drift through the backwaters — past toddy shops, fishing villages, and coir-processing houses — for a few hours. The beach itself is quieter than Papanasam, and the water where the lake outlet meets the sea can create interesting currents. This is a more local scene than the cliff-path tourist strip, and better for it.