Kerala park to welcome visitors in Jan

Jatayu Nature Park in Chadayamangalam area of Kollam district.

The Jatayu Nature Park in Chadayamangalam area of Kollam district in Kerala will open its adventure zone to the public in January next year.
Spanning an area of 65 acres, the park is the first tourism project to be built on a public-private partnership model in Kerala under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) mode.
It will house the world's largest bird sculpture (200 feet long, 150 feet broad and 70 feet in height). Spread across three storeys, the sculpture of the mythical bird will house a digital museum, a 6D theatre and offer a bird's eyeview from 1,000 feet above sea level.
The park will also feature an adventure zone spread across three kilometres, an ayurvedic and siddha resort and a cable car system. It is being developed at an investment of Rs1 billion on land leased from the Kerala government.
The first phase of the park will open in the first quarter of 2016. The adventure zone will have more than 20 games, including paint ball, laser tag, archery, rifle shooting, rock climbing and rappelling.
Oommen Chandy, the chief minister of Kerala, and Majid Al Marri, director of stakeholder relations, international operations, Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, conducted an aerial tour of the site on Monday.
Dubai Tourism is the provider of technical and logistical support for the project. Chandy and Al Marri also held discussions on tourism projects in which Kerala and Dubai could co-operate in future.
Speaking at a function to launch the park's website, filmmaker Rajiv Anchal, who has conceived and developed the bird sculpture and is also the chairman of Jatayupara Tourism, said: "Jatayu Nature Park will set a new milestone in Kerala tourism and will elevate the experience of travellers to Kerala."
Ajit Kumar, director of Jatayupara Tourism, said the Nature Park would become a compelling tourist destination for foreign as well as domestic tourists.
"Our aim is to make the park a model for sustainable tourism. The park will look at supporting local communities and undertake projects such as rainwater harvesting and renewable energy. We are also exploring potential areas of collaboration with Dubai Tourism."
- business@khaleejtimes.com