Kanyakumari, the land's end of India, or Cape
Comorin, is the southern most tip of India, also known as Indira Point,
is a beautiful tourist attraction of Tamil Nadu State. Easily
accessible by train and availability of rooms at many hotels of all
budgets, should not be missed at any cost. The approximate stay is from
2 to 4 days depending on how much time you can give for sight seeing.
We
took a train from Kottayam, Kerala, in the morning at around 9.30 and
reached Kanya Kumari at around 2.30 afternoon. We had already booked
the Tamilnadu Tourism Development Corporation hotel, which is ideally
located near the beach, and checked in the AC room. The AC room is
really affordable especially in the hot summer season.
After
lunch, we set out to see the Swami Vivekananda Rock Memorial, by boat.
There are regular ferry services from the jetty which is very close to
the TTDC resort. We were lucky to get the last ferry, at 4.30 p.m. and
were taken first to the Thrivallavur Statue, a famous Tamil poet of
yester years. The statue is magnificent and stands tall on a rock near
the Swami Vivekananda Rock Memorial - the author of the philosophical
work Tirukkural - a treatise on the Indian way of life.
Our
next halt was the Swami Vivekananda Rock Memorial which was built in
1970. Swami Vivekananda, is said to have meditated here before setting
out as one of India's most important religious crusaders. The memorial
is one of India's greatest architechtural magnificence, and has a
statue of Swami Vivekananda in the memorial building.
There
is a temple opposite to the entrance of the memorial. The temple is of
Godess Kumari Amman and the footprints of the virgin godess can be seen
here. In one of her incarnations, Parvati, the consort of Shiva, was
born as Kanyakumari Devi, who could not marry Shiva and thus remained
unwedded and a virgin. The rice that was used for the wedding was
scattered on the sands as seven different coloured sands on the beach.
Kanyakumari
is a place where we can see the confluence of the three seas. The Bay
of Bengal, The Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. One can actually see
the three colours of the waters during the low tides.
On
the mainland Kanyakumari is the Kumari Amman temple. A visit to the
temple is a must. The Diamond nose-ring of this godess is famous for
its sparkling splendor which is supposed to be visible even from the
sea.
There is a dress code while entering the
temples in South India. For the males there is the Adda Munda, or
Dhoti, and the Anga Vastra, and saree for the females. Photography is
strictly prohibited inside the temples.
The entrance to the
magnificent beach is just behind the temple. One can find a lot of
curios on the beach, the vendors sell all sorts of shells and
shell-craft. Bargaining is a must. Conches are my favorites. You can
get the most economical conches here than in the rest of India.
There are a lot of eateries on the jetty road, near the temple. STD facilities are also available.
SUCHINDRAM TEMPLE
A
beautiful temple, with typical South Indian architecture, situated just
about 13 kms from Kanyakumari, and is a treat to visit. The insides of
the temple are very intricately carved out of stone. There is a huge 18
feet idol of Lord Hanuman on your right, as soon as you enter the
temple. There are musical pillars, cut out of a single rock. There are
1035 pillars with carvings and stories from the Ramayana and
Mahabharata are depicted on either side of the temple. There is the
pujari who doubles up as your guide and takes you around inside the
temple and describes the details about the idols, the history, and the
construction of the temple. It is believed that Lord Indra was blessed
by Lord Shiva and hence the name Suchi which means "purified" Indram.
PADMANABHAPURAM PALACE
One
of the most wonderful piece of the architecture of Kerala, is the
Padmanabhapuram Palace. Situated at around 45 kms away from
Kanyakumari, this place is worth a visit. One is struck by awe and
wonder at the architecture carved out of wood and it is believed that
there is not a single nail in the entire palace. One can see the
maintenance personnel polishing and shining the black floor with carbon
black and oil and give it a gleaming appearance. Padmanabhapuram was
the capital of Travancore.
HANGING BRIDGE
A long bridge which
spans about a kilometer between two villages is a beautiful sight to
watch. The scenery on either side of the narrow pedestrian bridge is
breathtaking.
SUNSET POINT
Sunset point like any other sunset
point, is about 5 kms away from Kanyakumari town. Here you can watch
the sun go down from behind the clouds on the horizon. People throng
here to watch the sunset. Make sure you hire a cab or an auto rickshaw
to return back to your hotel, after sunset.