Tourism News

The next tourist season at Kovalam would have the visitors admiring the rural attractions of Kerala in the same breath as the famed beaches of Kovalam. 

Aarankal, a place near Kovalam is being transformed into a patch of rural Kerala with ingredients that would have the visitors enjoy some of the rustic attractions of Kerala. The project is being implemented by Kerala Tourism in association with KITCO and other agencies. The rural Kerala enclave is modeled after the “Delhi Haat” in terms of representation and function. 

The upcoming rural Kerala enclave, coming up on a seven-acre land would have representations of all the 14 districts of Kerala. Other features of the enclave are stalls and display areas for exhibits of artistic value, handicrafts and also spaces for artisans, small sales outlets, a spacious food court for trying food specialities of different districts and a pond with a capacity of five lakh litres. An attraction of the rural enclave would be an Ettu Kettu house based on traditional Kerala architecture. There will also be an open-air performance centre akin to the Nishagandhi in the heart of Thiruvananthapuram city. Visitors would be able to enjoy the rural art forms of Kerala at this centre. 

Apart from entertaining and informing visitors from outside Kerala, the upcoming rural Kerala enclave is also an earnest attempt to make the new generation aware of Kerala’s ancient rural practices. The rural enclave is coming up on land with hill slopes and rocky outcrops and offers a great view of the Arabian Sea and the setting sun from its highest point. The project is expected to be completed by the end of this year.