7 Case study _ kovalam, veli, varkala

K. Raghuraman

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Proposed landscaping of kovalam beach:

Kovalam, an overview…

Kovalam village is small village situated on the malabar coast along the kerala shoreline. This sleepy town suddenly caught the attention of tourists from all over the world when its fabulous beaches were discovered.

Kovalam beach can be divided into three parts.

• The most popular among the three beaches is the southern most known as the lighthouse beach.

• Middle one is called hawah, which acts as a base for the local fisherman every morning.

• The northern most beach, samudra, is least affected of all by the changing times and the tourist inflow.

The landscape proposal for kovalam beach includes the following

• Creation of an entry points & entrance plaza.

• Creation of sloped lawns, seating galleries in light house beach.

• Preservation of existing significant vegetation.

• Facilities planning and provision of amenities conducive to beach activities.

• Creation of a sea wall along the entire length, that serves to protect the prestine coastline.

• Creating an urban character that relates to the beach that is kovalam.

• Stretch along the southern half of the beach.

• Entry along the light house is highlighted by way of a terraced plaza that takes users over the existing drain.

• Beach near the lighthouse offers scope for slope lawns that are as wide as 6m also.

• Seating galleries are created at regular intervals to offer views of the beach.

• Life guard kiosk, information kiosk, police kiosk, etc. Are provided along this stretch.

Landscape plan

Proposed landscaping of veli beach

Veli beach lies 1 km away from shanghumugham beach, by the side of the veli lagoon or lake. The veli lagon is seperated from the arabian sea by a narrow sand bar. A beautiful park and a floating restaurant attracts tourists. Boating in fibre boats through the serene backwater watching the natural beauty of the surroundings is a fantastic experience to anyone who loves nature. There are facilities for pedal boating, row boating, speed boating, swimming and small parties in veli.