Places to visit in Kanyakumari

Places to visit in Kanyakumari

The enchanting natural beauty of Kanyakumari attracts hordes of tourists from far corners of India and the world at large. The tourist attractions in Kanyakumari are chiefly of religious and historic importance. The sea shore of Kanyakumari is well-known for exquisite sunset and sunrise.
Kanyakumari is the southernmost point of peninsular India and the meeting point of three oceans-the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. Kanyakumari was once referred to as the Alexandria of the east. The best season to visit this place would be between October and March.






(1) Kumari Amman Temple
Kumari Amman Temple, a popular pilgrimage of Kanyakumari located on the seashore, was built by the Pandya kings in 8th century and extensively renovated by the Chola, Vijayanagar and Nayaka rulers. The temple is dedicated to the virgin Goddess Devi Kanyakumari who is supposed to have done penance here so that she could marry Lord Shiva.
The image of Mahishamardini is highly fascinating. There is an 18th century shrine with the foot prints of the goddess Kumari who performed her penance at this spot inside the temple. You will be amazed to find that the diamond nose ring of the deity can even be witnessed from the sea.

(2) The Kanyakumari Fountain
Famous for its majestic hills, virgin beaches, pristine rivers and meandering rivulets, the Kanyakumari district also has a fragrance of architecture culture and customs of neighbouring Kerala mixed with the rich deep traditions, culture and architecture of Tamil Nadu. However, for want of promotional campaign and lack of basic amenities most of the tourists coming to this district return back after seeing just Kanyakumari. It was at this juncture that the district administration decided to take up tourism promotion initiatives in a major way. The district administration has established water fountain at the juncture of Kanyakumari to attract more tourists.

(3) Mahatma Gandhi Memorial
The  Mahatma Gandhi Memorial's central shape is 79 feet high representing the age of the Mahatma at the time of the sun at Mid day on 2nd October would fall on the peedam through a hole in the roof. The beautiful Gandhi Memorial completed in 1956, is considered as a memorial to the Father of the Nation.
Mahatma Gandhi visited Kanyakumari twice in 1925 and 1937. An urn  of Mahatma Gandhi was kept here for public to pay homage before immersion.  In 1948 his ashes were immersed in the sea waters in Kanyakumari.

(4) Gugunathaswamy Temple
The 1000 year old, Gugunathaswamy Temple, is said to have been built by the King Raja Raja Chola.  The architectural style of the Cholas is quiet apparent in this temple. There are 16 inscriptions found  in this temple that date back to the years 1038 A.D., 1044 A.D., 1045 .A.D.

(5) Thiruvalluvar Statue
The memorial statue of Thiruvalluvar is in Kanyakumari.  The pedestal of the statue is of 38 feet height and the statue over it is 95 feet tall with a grand total of 133 feet for the entire sculpture. Surrounding the Alankara Mandapa stand 10 elephant statues signifying 8 directions with earth and space down. To help the tourists to worship the holy feet of Thiruvalluvar 140 steps are constructed inside the Mandapa.
The immortal poet of Tamil Nadu, Thiruvalluvar, has given to the world  'Thirukkural' .  The statue symbolically, and artistically signifies that the theme of Porul and Inbam are based on Aram.

(6) Mathoor Hanging Bridge
The  Mathoor Hanging Trough, constructed in 1966 at Mathoor across the river Parazhiyar, is the tallest as well as the longest trough bridge in Asia, having a height of 115 feet and a length of one kilometre. The bridge has become a place of tourist importance and hundreds of tourists visit this place.
The Pattanamkal canal on the bridge carries water for irrigation from one side of a hill to the other side of a hill.  The trough has a height of seven feet with a width of seven feet six inches. The canal is being shouldered by  28 huge pillars.






(7) Vivekananda Rock Memorial
Vivekananda Rock Memorial is a sacred monument, built by the Vivekananda Rock Memorial Committee to commemorate the visit of Swamy Vivekananda to “Shripada Parai” during 24th, 25th and 26th December 1892 for deep meditation and enlightenment.
From very ancient times, the rock has been regarded as sacred place.  In Puranic tradition, it has been known as “Sripada Parai: meaning the rock, that has been blessed by the touch of Shripada feet of the Goddess. According to a legend, it was on this rock that Goddess Kanyakumari did Tapas.

(8) Suchindrum
Suchindrum is a  holy place located on the bank of the river Pazhayar, adjoining fertile fields and coconut groves and the temple is dedicated to Sri Sthanumalayan.  The word denotes Siva, Vishnu and Brahmma as.  Sthanu represents Siva, Mal represents Vishnu while Ayan represents Brhamma i.e. Siva, Vishnu and Brhamma in “One Form”.  It is also said that 'Thanumalaya Swamy Temple' is the only shrine dedicated to the Trinity in India.

(9) Udayagiri Fort
Udayagiri Fort has a magnificent structure and quite surrounding atmosphere. The fort was rebuilt in the reign of Marthandavarma, the Venad King, during 1741-44. Prisoners captured in the campaign against Tippu were confined in this fort for sometime.  It is further said that a brass gun 16 ft. long bored as a 22 ponder, found in the fort could not be removed even for a few yards by a large number of people, even with the help of 16 elephants.
Now they have established a Biodiversity Park in collaboration with the forest department. Tourists can see deer, ducks, fountains, birds and over 100 varieties of trees inside the fort.

(10) Ulakkai Aruvi
Ulakkai Aruvi is a natural waterfall situated in Azhagiapandipuram village of Thovalai Taluk.  Water is available in this water fall in the summer season.  Many tourists come here for bathing and to enjoy the nature.  The pathway to this waterfall lies in the Reserve Forest.

(11) The BayWatch
The water theme amusement park at sunset point offers a unique way to experience the exotic grandeur of Kanyakumari in its integrals.  Great fun styles equaling international standards keep you on the ecstatic brink of frenzy.  Fun loaded rides like Bumping Car, Sky Cab, Crazy Chairs, Hot Tea Cups, Giant Wheel, Columbus, Wave pool, Milky Way, Multiple Splash, Kids Pool are some of our attractions.
The search for providing unique and multiple entertainment facilities that match with international standards pave the way for introduction of India’s first Wax Museum, which is line with the Madam Tussauds Wax Museum at London.

(12) The Church of St. Xavier
The “Church of Our Lady of Joy” built by St. Francis Xavier is located at the southern edge of the town. The church is believed to have been founded in the year 1540. St.Xavier an outstanding and dedicated priest visited the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu from Goa, he never missed the opportunity of visiting Kottar in Kanniyakumari district which was a celebrated commercial centre at that time.
During his stay at Kottar, he used to worship St. Mary in the small temple.  He was popularly known as “Valiya Pandaram” among the people of Kottar. The Church of St. Xavier enjoys a great fame and is visited by large numbers of devotes during the annual festival celebrated in between November and December which lasts for 10 days.






(13) Padmanabhapuram Palace
Padmanabhapuram is an ancient town and has a magnificent fort spread over an area of 187 acres. The palace is present at the very centre of this Fort, amidst hills, dales and rivers. The eye-catchers of this palace are the Entrance Hall, Uppirika Malika, and the Navarathri Mandapa. The palace is now under the control of a Curator of the Archaeological Department of Kerala Government.

(14) Tirparappu Waterfalls
The whole bed above the Tirparappu Waterfalls is one rocky mass which extends up to a distance of about quarter of a kilometer upstream where the famous Thirparappu weir has been constructed for supplying water to the paddy fields. The water falls from a height of nearly 50 feet and the water flows for about seven months in a year. On either side of the river, on the left bank of the river in between the water falls and the weir, there is a temple dedicated to Siva enclosed by strong fortification.

(15) Maruthuva Malai
About 11kms from Nagercoil, the Maruthuva Malai - the abode of medicinal herbs, forms from part of the western ghats.  Tradition says that - the Maruthuva Malai is a fragment of the Sanjeevi Mountain, a piece of which fell down here, and it was carried by Hanuman from Mahendragiri to Srilanka for healing the fatal wounds of Lakshmana, the brother of Rama, the epic hero.

(16) Muttom Beach
The Muttom Beach is famous for its beautiful landscaping and high rocks dipping into the sea at the beach-side. The sun set view point at Muttom is one of the most Panoramic view points in the district. Another attraction of Muttom is the century old light-house built by the British. This beautiful beach, however, has always been unsafe for the tourists since the rocks on which tourists go to see the sea view are slippery and a number of fatal accidents have occurred over the past few years.

(17) Vattakottai Fort
Vattakottai Fort is a symbol of the military history of India, which was formerly a Dutch and then a British colony. Vattakottai Fort is a specially erected fort on the sea coastline on the southern tip of India. This fort is also famous for the black sand beaches that is situated across its coast. Vattakottai Fort was set up as the southern most sea coast defense point by the Dutch and was constructed under the command of Captain De Lannoy.

(18) Festivals
The Chaitra Purnima Festival (first week of May), Navratri (last week of October), and the Holy Annual Festival of the Roman Catholic Church (fourth week of December) are the notable festivals celebrated in Kanyakumari.

- Reach Kanyakumari
The nearest airport is at Trivandrum (80 km). It is directly connected with Bangalore, Bombay, Cochin, Delhi, Goa, and Madras by regular flights. Kanyakumari is connected to Trivandrum, Delhi, and Bombay by broad-gauge railway network.


- By Sunil R Yadav

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