Covelong

Big Rocks in Beach

Kovalam Beach,Chennai - Mid Sea Diving

Remnants of the Belgian fort can be seen in Fisherman's Cove, a luxury Taj hotel in Covelong, while a fort and cemetery built by the Dutch are still to be seen in Sadras, south of Mahabalipuram.

Apart from being a popular tourist destination because of the wide beaches, the shallow ocean and the peaceful backwaters, history has influenced the existence of important places of worship for Muslims, Christians and Hindus. The construction of the Catholic Church, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, begun some time between 1770 and 1780 but it was left incomplete. It was a wealthy Portuguese merchant-prince who was a major land-owner in early 19th Century Madras, Sir John de Monte, who completed it between 1800 and 1808. According to the legend, his only son Christopher died at the age of twenty-two on his way back from Germany. As a result, Sir John's wife Mary, fell into a depression. One night, Sir John had a dream that if he completed the building of the church his wife would be cured. He did; and his wife was cured. He, his wife and his son are buried in the church.

Another benefactor in Covelong was the Armenian Catholic, Sarquis Satur, who built a "chatram" in Covelong (a place where pilgrims could rest, free of charge). A Latin inscription commemorating him is still visible there. It is not clear how long Christianity has been in existence in Covelong. There are three wells that have crosses and cross-bones on their interiors, and this fact seems to pre-date the advent of the Portuguese, because they carved crosses on the exterior of wells, not the interior. It is interesting to note that other wells of the same type are to be found on St Thomas Mount, St Thomas Convent and St Bede's School in Mylapore, Chennai.

• Kovalam
• List of fishing villages
• Samudra yoga school