Thiruvananthapuram Tour
Kerala, South India
Thiruvananthapuram (The city of the Lord Anantha) is also known as Trivandrum. The city maintains the old world charm of Kerala and is its Capital. Referred as the “Evergreen City of India” by Mahatma Gandhi, is surrounded by low coastal hills. The city is situated near the southern tip of mainland India. The city with its long winding roads, dotted with old styled houses and small shops will give you the feel of a small town though it’s the capital of Kerala.
Overview
Experience
The capital city with the old-world charm … Thiruvananthapuram or Trivandrum. The city has ancient monuments like the old palace, the temple that was built in the 8th century, institutions that teach the ancient martial art form, old museums and museum of Natural history. The art gallery has paintings of all genre right from the Tanjore paintings to the Mughal paintings to contemporary ones. A highlight here is the paintings by Raja Ravi Rama, who was the king of Travancore and one of the greatest painters of India.
Thiruvananthapuram lies on the shore of the Arabian sea. Close by is the most famous beach of Kerala, the Kovalam Beach. Its one of the beaches that has a lot of tourists and is a very popular one since the 1980’s. The Poohar island is also nearby.
Around 90 kms to the south is Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of mainland India. It has an old temple and in the midst of the sea is the Vivekananda Rock that you traverse by boat. The sunrise and sunset at Kanyakumari is extremely popular among tourists and you can see the sun in all it colours during this time. Enroute to Kanyakumari you should see one of the old surviving palaces in South India and visit the citadel/ temple town of Suchindram. North of Kanyakumari is the Varkala beach. It’s a unique beach that has stone cliffs around it. This gives you a sight that one would not have seen. The beach is not as crowded as other popular beaches.
PLACES TO VISIT:
Kanakakunnu Palace, Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, CVN Kalari Sangham, Kuthiramalika Palace Museum, Shri Chitra Art Gallery, Napier Museum, Natural History Museum, Kovalam, Poohar, Chalai Market, Padmanabhapuram Palace, Suchindram, Kanyakumari, Varkala, Jatayus Earth Centre.
THE KANAKAKUNNU PALACE
Kanakakunnu Palace is one of the most beautiful and historically important palaces in Kerala and is located in the heart of the city, due to which it is easily accessible. Surrounded by green parks, it has a red façade, traditional roof patterns and lovely designs. It is said to have been built during the rule of Sri Moolam Thirunal, who was the then king of the Trivandrum region, in the 19th century. Since then, it has been a major centre of attraction for local tourists and history lovers. Kanakakunnu Palace was constructed to serve as a guest house. Today, it is under the control of the tourism department of Kerala and is used as a site to host several cultural programmes including competitions and exhibitions.
SREE PADMANABHASWAMY TEMPLE
It dates back to the 8th century. Marthanda Varma, a very famous king, did a major renovation of the temple and dedicated his kingdom to Lord Padmanabha, a form of Vishnu who reclines on the serpent Anantha. The shrine is currently run by a trust headed by the erstwhile royal family of Travancore. The temple architecture stands out for its work in stone and bronze. The temple interiors are adorned by beautiful paintings and murals.
CVN KALARI SANGHAM
Very near to the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple is this Kalari. Kalaripayattu is an ancient martial art form, tracing its roots from the 12th century. Some believe that it is the forerunner of all martial arts. The Kalari is part gymnasium, part school and part temple where students are trained by their teachers. Payattu is a duel. An intricate blend of physical prowess, mindset, martial techniques and indigenous medical system, this form of armed, close quarter, hand-to-hand combat is unique to this State.
KUTHIRAMALIKA PALACE MUSEUM
Very near to the Sree Padamanabhaswamy temple, 122 smiling wooden horses await all who visit ‘Kuthiramalika’, which means “palace of horses”. Formally known as Kuthiramalika Palace Museum or Puthenmalika Palace Museum, it is a pristine two-storied palace near the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram. Built by Swathi Thirunal Balarama Varma, who was Maharaja of the Kingdom of Travancore in British India, it takes one back to the 1840s when it was first constructed. It is a great example of the Kerala school of architecture and is made from teakwood, rosewood, marble, and granite. The museum houses idols and sculptures made from white marble, Kathakali figures, Belgian mirrors and paintings.
SHRI CHITRA ART GALLERY
Around 3.5 kms from the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple is The Sri Chitralayam, popularly known as Sri Chitra Art Gallery, that was opened to the public by the erstwhile Maharaja of Travancore Sri Chitra Thirunal on the 25th of September 1935 for the enjoyment, education and development of artistic taste of the people. It has a collection of paintings representing the various genres of paintings in India, along with a few from other parts of Asia with a distinct stamp of Indian culture.
NAPIER MUSEUM
Around 1.5 kms from the Kanakakunnu palace is the Napier Museum, named after the former Madras Governor General, John Napier. Also known as Government Art Museum, the architectural style of museum is a mix of Indian, Chinese, Kerala and Mughal Schools of Architecture. Built in the 19th century, it has its own natural air-conditioning system. It contains a host of historical artefacts including bronze idols, ancient ornaments, a temple chariot and ivory carvings. People are especially impressed by the Japanese shadow-play leather that is used to depict the epics of the Mahabharata and Ramayana.
THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM
Natural History Museum, a modern structure, houses some excellent exhibits like the skeletal, bird, animal and taxidermy galleries. It has one of the most exhaustive collections among the Natural History Museums in the country. It illustrates an excellent attempt made in the past to depict the different kinds of wild animals in their natural habitat. The panoramas so created in the past signify the present day relevance of in-situ conservation of wildlife and their habitats.
CHALAI MARKET
An old traditional market its a nostalgic emotion that has been passed from generations to generations and that passion confines the old flavors of the city unscathed. The colours of the flowers, vegetables, clothes, shops, 2 wheelers and 4 wheelers that will brush you, will give you a sight and smell that you may rarely get in any other part of the world. The place is filled with eateries that would provide you with rustic taste, simple but lip smacking.
KOVALAM BEACH
18 kms from Thiruvananthapuram is the internationally renowned Kovalam Beach with three adjacent crescent beaches. It has been a favourite haunt of tourists since the 1930s. A massive rocky promontory on the beach has created a beautiful bay of calm waters ideal for sea bathing.
POOVAR
Poovar Beach offers one a wonderful view of the formation of the backwaters. The golden sands are home to some of the best picnic spots in the area. This area is located at the juncture of the Neyyar River joining with the Arabian Sea. Boating trips in the area are exquisite and can be arranged at nominal rates. Located 12 km from Kovalam in Thiruvananthapuram, here one gets to see a slice of life in a coastal village. It is a beautiful location that is garnering more attention with each passing year.
PADMANABHAPURAM PALACE
60 kms from Thiruvananthapuram, it was the capital city of the erstwhile Hindu Kingdom of Travancore. The palace is complex inside with an old granite fortress around four kilometers long.
SUCHINDRAM
11 kms from Kanyakumari is a very important and ancient pilgrimage centre and the site of Thanumalayan temple.It is unique in the whole of India in that it is dedicated to three different deities represented by one image in the sanctum and is called Sthanumalayan (Sthanu-Shiva; Maal-Vishnu and Ayan-Brahma) kovil. The temple is rich in sculpture and architecture and a visitor to this temple is amply rewarded with the sight of such exquisite art of hundreds of years old.
KANYAKUMARI
Also known as Kanniyakumari and Cape Comorin is the southernmost town in mainland India, it is sometimes referred to as ‘the Land’s End’.
A popular tourist destination in India, it is famous for its unique ocean sunrise and moonrise, the 133 feet Thiruvalluvar Statue and Vivekananda Rock Memorial off the coast, and as a pilgrimage centre. Lying at the tip of peninsular India, it is the confluence of the Arabian sea, the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean. It has a coastal line of 71.5 km stretched on the three sides.
The town is situated 20 km south of Nagercoil, the headquarters of Kanyakumari District, and about 90 km south of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala.
It has great significance for Hindus who visit the temple of Devi Kanya, an incarnation of Goddess Parvati.
VARKALA
51 kms to the north of Thiruvananthapuram is Varkala.The golden beach on laterite cliffs will proved you with a unique mix of adventure and calmness. These tertiary sedimentary formation cliffs are a unique geological feature on the otherwise flat Kerala coast, and is known among geologists as Varkala Formation and a geological monument as declared by the Geological Survey of India.
The Papanasam Beach (also called as Varkala Beach), which is ten kilometers away from Varkala, is renowned for a natural spring. Which is considered to have medicinal and curative properties. A dip in the holy waters at this beach is believed to purge the body of impurities and the soul of all sins; hence the name ‘Papanasam Beach’.
A two thousand-year-old shrine the Janardhanaswamy Temple stands on the cliffs overlooking the beach, a short distance away. The Sivagiri Mutt, founded by the great religious reformer and philosopher Sree Narayana Guru (1856 – 1928) is also close by. The Samadhi (the final resting place) of the Guru here attracts thousands of devotees every year during the Sivagiri Pilgrimage days – 30th December to 1st January. Sree Narayana Guru propagated the ideology: “one caste, one religion and one God”, in a society torn by the taboos of caste system.
JATAYUS EARTH CENTRE
27 kms from Varkala,you will certainly get mesmerised with this latest tourist attraction, the Jatayu Earth’s Center that hosts the world’s largest bird sculpture. Spanning over 65 acres across four hills, this is the State’s first ever BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) tourism.
The monumental statue of Jatayu resting high up the hill catches your attention even from afar on your way to Chadayamangalam in Kollam district. Jatayu is a legendary bird from the Indian epic Ramayana.
You can reach the hilltop using a cable car. A multitude of experiences await the traveller in Jatayu Rock. One such is the museum and the 6D theatre inside the sculpture. You can even have a hele-taxi experience from here!
All adventure junkies, this is your perfect weekend getaway! Engage in adventurous games in the backdrop of breathtaking views of nature. Whether it be Burma bridges, commando nets, log walk, vertical ladder, chimney climbing or side joola, choose your pick and let the adrenaline rush through the body.
Now what adds to the thrill is the Paintball zone!
Besides all these exclusive experiences, the place also has provision for Ayurveda, camping, trekking, live kitchen and a lot more to make your trip splendid.
Visit the place for a unique experience that no other tourist hotspots in Kerala can offer!
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