Kanyakumari

Kanyakumari

The Kanyakumari is a place in TamilNadu, which is the union of the three main water sources. This place is the southernmost tip of India, where the Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean and the Arabian sea merges.

History

The Kanyakumari was the place under the rule of South Indian Kings like the Cholas, Pandyas, Cheras and the Nayaks in the history. The architectural beauty in the temples shows the art gallery of the Tamil rulers.

Special Things to see

The sunsets near the sea in Kanyakumari is the visual treat to all the visitors, who come from all parts of the country. Then the coastal sea food and the full moon nights are the other beautiful things to see. there are tourist places like the waterfalls, temples, Churches and the monuments.

Famous Places

1) Vivekananda Rock Memorial

              The Vivekananda Rock Memorial is the famous tourist monument in Kanyakumari. This was built in 1970, honoring the Swami Vivekananda, who made a visit here and obtained bodhi or the enlightenment over this rock. It is believed that the Goddess Kumari, had done penance praying to Lord Shiva. There is a hall for Meditation here called Dhyana Mandapam, which is built in the style of Temple architecture. The visit time from 8.00 A.M to 4.00 P.M.

2)  Thiruvalluvar Statue

The statue of Thiruvalluvar with an altitude of 95 feet, is present over the 38 foot rock in a standing position. This 38 feet represents the 38 chapters in the book Thirukkural. This statue which has the total altitude of 133 feet along with the pedestal denotes the pleasure and wealth.  The statue has a weight of 7000 tons and the 133 feet represents the 133 chapters in the Thirukkural. This statue had faced the Tsunami waves in 2004, but was unaffected. It can withstand the earthquakes of magnitude6 on the Ritcher scale within 100Km.

3) Gandhi Mandapam of Kanyakumari

              The Gandhi Memorial Mandapam was built on the place where the vessel containing the ashes of Gandhiji was kept in before the public, prior to the immersion. On Gandhi Jayanthi(Gandhi Birthday) of every year, the sunlight falls on the place, where the ashes of Gandhi was kept earlier.

4) Kanyakumari Temple

The Devi Kanyakumari Temple is the temple of Goddess Parvati, who is seen in the form of a girl here. The goddess is known by the other name Shree Baala. She has the other names like the Devi Kumari or the Kanya Devi. This Temple is one among the 52 Shakthi Peetams in the world. It is a belief that some parts of Goddess Sati’s corpse fell into this place. The saint Parashurama had done the consecration  of this Temple. The devotees who pray here say that they feel the removal of worries from their mind.

5) Kanyakumari Beach Thirparappu Falls

The Thirparappu Falls starts from the Kodayar river. This Falls is at a distance of 13Km from the Pechiparai Dam. This river of about 300 feet in length, has the rocky bed.  This entire river bed contains the rock, that expands upto 250m upstream. In between the weir and the waterfalls, on the left side of the river, there is a Temple for Lord Shiva with strong construction. There is also a swimming pool for the children, built by the District Administration. The water flows for 7 months every year.

6) Suchindram Kumari Amman Temple

The Kumari Amman Temple is located here to the virgin Goddess Kanyakumari Amman, who is said to protect the country. This 3000 oldest Temple, is surrounded by the wall near the ocean. The Goddess faces the sunrise direction in this Temple. The northern gate is open for the visitors, while the other gates remain closed except the special occasions.

7) Padmanabhapuram Palace Wax Museum

The Padmanabhapuram Palace Wax Museum, is a Travancore period palace in Kanyakumari, which is also known as Kalkulam Palace. The Padmanabhapuram was the capital city of the Travancore Kingdom, in the past history. This Palace contains the fortresses of old granites nearly for 4Km long. This is located under the Veli Hills, which is a portion of the Western Ghats, near the Valli river.

The Courtallam Falls and the Thanumalayan Temple are the other places to visit in this area.

Best time to visit

              The suitable time to visit this place is from the November month to March month, during the time when a number of visitors are seen here.

Climate

              The summers in Kanyakumari are humid and hot, with the temperature of  25ºC to 34ºC. Then the monsoons brings an average rainfall in Kanyakumari . During the winter, the weather is from17ºC to 22ºC, which is the cool climate to visit.              

Other places to see

The other nearby places in Kanyakumari are the Udayagiri Fort, Vattakottai Fort, the Nagaraja Temple in Nagerkoil, Tiruchendur and the Courtallam Falls.

Festivals in Kanyakumari

  The Chitra Pournami festival( in April month), the Onam festival, the Holy Annual Festival(in the Church) and the Navratri are the main festivals celebrated here.

Transport facilities                      

You can to Kanyakumari, through all modes of Transport. The Districts like the Nagarkoil, Tiruchendur, Rameswaram, Trivandrum, Tirunelveli, Tuticorin, Madurai and Kutraalam. To reach Kanyakumari, the nearest railway station is Tirunelveli, which can be reached by road through Nagerkoil. This place has the railway network to connect to the  Delhi, Tiruvandrum and Mumbai. The nearest Airport is at the Trivandrum, as flights are available to the Mumbai, Goa, Chennai, Delhi and Goa. From Trivandrum, you can take a road to reach the Kanyakumari.

Location: Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu.

Timings: Different places will have various timings – Open in all the days

                (But timings may occur in different occasions)

Best time for Visit: November to March.

Total Area – The total area covered by the Kanyakumari is 1672 Sq.Km.