Southern Tip of Indian Mainland - Kanyakumari

Monuments at the tip of India

The mind of a traveler is a multi-disciplinary brain who learns history to understand the culture of a place. It learns Geography to appreciate the natural aspects of the region. It also learns Biology, to understand the regional growth and wildlife of the area. A traveler finds joy in every aspect of a place and appreciate all attributes the place has to offer. This open mindedness also plays a healthy role in life lessons as well.

In this journey, I will take you to a place at the very end of Indian mainland, which is a well known topic of many historical stories, site of pilgrimage and a very unique geological situation. 

Welcome to Kanyakumari !

Kanyakumari or Cape Comorin, belongs to the state of Tamil Nadu, is significantly termed as "The Land's End" and is positioned as the "Southern-most Town of India". The place is considered heaven for beach lovers, a place of pilgrimage for Hindus and a historical treat. The geological significance is the merging of three oceanic bodies of Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal, and Arabian Sea. Historically, this area was ruled by many south indian hindu rulers, like the Cholas, the Pandyas, the Cheras and others. The place also witnessed Dutch rule during colonial times before British occupancy. The demo-graphical aspect shows that the people here follow Hindu culture. Islamic beliefs reached the area through Arab traders who were involved in Spice trades across this area. Christianity too is quite dominant in this area with St. Francis stepping in India through Kanyakumari, with estimate of around 45% of city population spread.

 

Places to Visit

The few famous tourist spots of Kanyakumari town area are as scripted below:

1. Vivekananda Rock Memorial

A huge marvelous architectural structure build on a huge rock, 500m from the shoreline dedicated to nation in the year 1970. The memorial spreads the life and words of Swami Vivekananda. Ferry rides are available which carries tourists to the rock. There is a dark political and religious history during the planning of this structure, which even went into judicial battle. But after years of efforts, the construction of the memorial was done. Much of the funds for the construction was actually collected from nation-wide donation process launched by social activist, Eknath Ranade, who was involved with Rashtrya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and was a disciplined follower of the teachings of Swami Vivekananda.

Vivekananda Memorial

 2. Statue of Thiruvalluvar

A 95 feets statue of famous Tamil poet "Maharshi Thiruvalluvar", which is placed on a base which is around 38 feet in height, which is placed on a rock. The total height of the setup is 133 feets, denoting the 133 chapters of Tirukural. The base of 38 feets height represents 38 chapters of Virtue, and the statue represents Wealth and Love. The statue is beautifully carved by sculpture artist, Vaidyanatha Ganapati Sthapati, and was dedicated to nation on 1 January, 2000. The statue can be visited by ferry rides and tourist can reach upto the feet of the statue.

3. Devi Kanyakumari Temple

Bhagavathi Amman Temple or Devi Kanyakumari Temple is a beautiful coastal temple, which is considered as one of the 108 Shakti Peethas constructed in dedication to Goddess Parvati. The temple is considered 3000 years old, and it presents mesmerizing coastal lookouts. 

4. Gandhi Memorial Mandapan

The structure is constructed in 1956 using Odisha Architecture style to honor the grace of Mahatma Gandhi. After his demise in 1948, the ashes were carried to different parts of the country, and one was brought to Kanyakumari, and was kept at this place for people to pay their last homage. A memorial was constructed around this site, and now it is visited by tourist to witness various different angles of life of Mahatma Gandhi.The place is open for visitors from 7am to 7pm.

5. Kanyakumari Beach

A beautiful evening spot where you can spend your time to relax and have a peaceful time. The beach is properly developed with required amenities, food stalls and other stores. If you focus properly on the gushing waters, you can see three colors of three oceans as they don't mix directly, so layers of water having deep blue, Sea Green and Turquoise Blue colors can be seen. This mixing is better visualized from Vivekananda Memorial. 

Mixture of three seas

6. Thanumalayan Temple

A beautiful temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma but uniquely here, all the three deities are presented in the form of a "Lingam". This architectural beauty has huge gopurams (entrance) with one having 144 feets. There are numerous pillers, which you can't count but people say it is more than 1000 in numbers with intricate designs. A must visit for religious and architecture enthusiasts, and it is around 12 km outer of Kanyakumari.

Beauty of Thanumalayan Temple Area

7. Vattakotai Fort

A beautiful coastal fortification which was constructed by Travencore kingdom. The architecture was developed by Dutch invaders for military use and covers an area of 3.5 acre. The walls of fort are 25-26 feets in height. The sandy beach area around the fort is blank sandy patch. A must visit for photography lovers, with the area open for visitors from 8am to 5pm.

Walls of the Vattakotai Fort

8. Our Lady of Ransom Church

The church is beautiful, having 153 feet length, breadth 53 feet and height of the main tower is also 153 feet. This entire dimension depicts the beads of the Holy Rosary. There are 12 towers in the church which depict 12 disciples of Jesus Christ.The area has good percentage of christian community, with the fact that in 1542, St. Francis Xavier landed at Kanyakumari in his mission to spread the religion. It is said that the initial church was completed in 1700 with support from local rulers. The modern construction was initiated in 1900. 

The church front area

View of Church from Memorial

A Important Non-Touristic Place is "Vivekananda Kendra", which is a spiritual and cultural center of learning, which is working in close association with Ramakrishna Mission and Rashtrya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). It was founded in 1972 by activist, Eknath Ranade. 

How to Reach

As always, my preferred mode is Indian Railways and Kanyakumari has its own railway station with good connectivity with most Indian cities. Dibrugarh-Kanyakumari Express and Jammu-Kanyakumari Himsagar Express which are two of the longest running trains in India starts from here.  Nagarcoil is another nearby station at 20km, and has good road connectivity with Kanyakumari via state buses. The nearest airport is Trivendrum, which is 91km from here. A road drive from Trivendrum to Kanyakumari is enchanting due to the Kerala backdrop.

Where to Stay

Being a popular tourist destination, it has well developed stay options in all price ranges. It is recommended to have a sea facing options. The Gopinivas, Hotel Seaview are good options. It also has multi-state food options as it receives visitors from many states especially West Bengal, due to its connection with Swami Vivekananda. Many home style food joints are available for visitors from West Bengal. 

Getting comfortable at Hotel (I am in the shadows.. Haha..)

 

 

Banana Chips in making

Who should Visit

Kanyakumari welcomes visitors from all categories of people.

No. of Days 

1 Night, 2 Days are sufficient  but you can extend for another day.

 

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Time on the memorial (Pic of 2012)

Kanyakumari is predominantly a multi-dimensional tourist destination which has something for everyone. Beach and nature lovers can have pristine beaches, beautiful ghats; cultural enthusiasts will be charmed with Vivekananda Memorial and Valluvar statue. The religious tourists can have their choices of many temples around the area. These kind of places are perfect hot-spots for cultural interchanges where visitors from various parts of India comes together, and this is where you can witness the true soul of India.

Keep Traveling ! Keep Enriching !