ECR for surf, kayak, and fishing for lunch. But go to this luxurious new tented resort

Thirty years ago, this part of Kottaikadu was covered with paddy on the ECR. And among them was Arun Vasu, who was scouring the kingdom in search of untouched places where he could camp and windsurf.

“I used to park here, pitch a tent or sleep in my gypsy. Glad to be here. So I thought, we should do something here,” says Arun, then he bought a piece of land in the area in 2008. (Arun also runs SurfTurf in Kovalam, popular for both its classrooms and cozy restaurants, and is the chief managing director of the TT Group.)

Cut in 2021: The 50-acre expansion is now a plush boutique resort called The Alampara, which offers surfing, kayaking, wakeboarding and standup paddling facilities. The once barren land—formerly used as a prawn hatchery, in ruins with pits far and wide—is now brilliant green, with 500-odd trees giving shade, their leaves gleefully in the air Waves that rarely stop.

The property has four luxury tents – the larger one of 700 sq ft can seat four and the smaller one of 600 sq ft – one with a tented restaurant, a private lake and even a one-kilometre-long sand bar. Could also be a backwater lagoon. This.

“The sand bar is like a private island with a simple deck and a thatched structure where people can spend a day. The only way to get there is on a boat,” explains Arun, CEO of The Alampara. Turtles here from January to April The property also has 60 varieties of birds in season, he said.

Given its proximity to the majestic Alamparai Fort, people can kayak to the monument or paddle to the beautiful salt pans nearby. Surf Turf is in charge of water sports. “We are connecting three villages with us so that guests can go fishing with the locals, whether it’s netting or throwing lines,” says Arun.

And after all that activity, guests can take their fresh catch – prawns, fish, crabs – to the chef who will cook it for them. “One of the highlights is that the women in the villages sit in the water, pick up the clams and pluck them,” says Arun.

The team is connecting with nearby villages to source local produce from the area. “We have a chef’s garden where he grows spices and vegetables,” says Arun, who is educating nearby villages with his team about segregation of waste and plastic. Setting up a recycling plant for the waste.

Local talent is being roped in to create employment opportunities. Arun says, “With plans to completely switch to solar and wind power with a focus on sustainability, the idea here is getting back to nature, where one can relax from their busy lives and gadgets. Where the sound of crickets chirping and birds chirping comes instead of the phone’s beeps and the intoxicating echo of video calls.

Alampara will open on December 27. It is located just before Markaknam, 35 km from Puducherry.