Kovalam Lighthouse Gets Elevator Facility

Introduction

True beauty of imposing scenery with the blue sea in the background was beyond the limit of people with little energy and old people. Those guys who were not bold and strong enough used to miss this mesmerizing view due to the steep stairs at the Lighthouse near the Kovalam beach in Trivandrum. The famous lighthouse has swirling stairs that take you to its top. These stairs take bends at sharp angles to increase the steepness in accordance with the lighthouse structure. Bearing this in mind, the Tourism Department has installed an elevator/lift for the benefit of the travellers flocking the known destination of Kerala in tourism circuit. In this blog post, we will highlight the new features of this elevator so that the readers visiting Kovalam can make use of this facility to climb to the top of the lighthouse to enjoy the scenery and the cool breeze emanating from the sea.

Lighthouse with Lift

The lift installation has been a long-pending demand of the people as many found it difficult to scale the height with the help of the swirling staircase to reach the top of the lighthouse. Only the energetic and athletic people could climb this steep staircase to reach the top. Yet, people did that exercise as they have something in store at the top. Heeding to the demand, the Tourism Department has decided to install the lift for the benefit of visitors to the Kovalam beach. Some days back, the Director General of Lighthouses and Lightships J.S. Chauhan formally commissioned the lift. With this new feature addition, Kovalam Lighthouse, officially known as Vizhinjam Lighthouse, has become fourth lighthouse in the country to have the lift attached. Previously, the lighthouses at Chennai, Thangasseri and Vypeen only had the elevator facility.

Lift Features at Kovalam Lighthouse

It is a cylindrical lift fitted in the well of the staircase to avoid the space consumption. A pre-fabricated glass enclosure surrounds the lift facility. The lift can carry about 5 people at a time. The total installation cost is about Rs. 80 lakh. The visitors can use the flight of stairs to reach the top also. While using the lift, the visitors can see the scenery as its sides have transparent glass walls. Hence, the users get a good view while going to the top. After reaching the top, the tourists will get the majestic view of the blue see skirting the beautiful cost of Kovalam. Other features of Kovalam and the Vizhinjam project area are also visible from the top of this lighthouse. With the elevator, commissioning the entry fee to the lighthouse has also been enhanced to Rs. 20 for adults and Rs. 10 for senior citizens, students and children.  The fee for carrying the camera is also enhanced to Rs. 10.