This famous beach is one of the most picturesque locations on the Arabian Sea. The people who frequent this site have come from all over the world as it was once the destination to go to for many who rode on the Hippy Trail. Now there is a quite lot of tourists at the peak time, and the beach is more or less a hub of activity every day. It has three beaches – the light house, the hawah and the samudra. The former one is the most frequented and has a lighthouse perched on top of the hillhock 35 metres high.
This is the ideal location to bring your family to, especially the children, as the village features a children’s park, where they can play and have fun under the shade of the trees. This lovely hub has an waterfall, a marvellous fountain and an adult swimming pool, where you can cool down during the hot summer days. Though the star attraction of the tourist village will be the boat ride through the backwaters of the grand Aakulam lake, offering you panoramic views of the almost infinite line of coconut palms.
The Veli tourist village is located near the spot where the Veli lake hugs the Arabian Sea. This location has boating facilities for tourists to paddle and pedle in the lagoon while relaxing. There are great sculptures dotting the landscape and a children’s park for the little ones to enjoy. For those who enjoy the rush, there are speedboats available. The Kerala Tourism Development Corporation, maintains a Floating Café.
This is a most picturesque hill station located in the Western Ghats on an altitude of 1100 metres. The pristine landscape and cozy weather all around is what attracts most of the tourists who come here. It has a tropical forest, inside of which are trails which lead to streams that are crystalline. The place is also an important biodiversity hot spot with over 280 species of birds in its ranges, and several amphibian and insect species. Besides these, there are are the Kallar river and the waterfalls adjacent to the station which is a favourite many tourists.
The Napier Museum was established in 1855. It was named after Lord Napier, the governor – general of Madras, after it was demolished and rebuilt in 1880. Robert Chrisholm was the chief architect, and he embellished the structrure with Gothic style roof and minarets, making it a combination of most but pre-dominantly Indo-Indo Sarcenic. The arts and natural history museum contains a host of archaeological treasures such as bronze idols and chariots.
The Zoologoical Park, established in 1857 by the Travancore Royals and the British as a recreational centre. It is built on a land consisting of more than 55 acres of woodland, lakes and lawns. It holds one of the prestigious position of being one of the oldest zoos in India. The enclosure has shifted to a more conservatory approach and it now holds more than 82 specis of indegenious and non-indeigenious origins.
Varakala Beach is a location that is frequented by the local residents more than foreign tourists. The cliffs located here are the most conspicuous aspect of the beach here,in fact they’ve been declared as separate monuments by the Geographical Survey of India. The beach is an ideal location for sun-bathing and swimming, while the evening sunsets are maginificent to look upon. What makes the beach even more better is the fact that it is located miles away from the hustle and bustle of the city, although there are a fbeachside restaurants here, the ambience of the location is generally peaceful.
Sivagiri is a pilgrimage centre town located near Varkala, where the sage Sree Narayan Guru received enlightenment and got salvation. His tomb is also located here and this attracts thousands of devotees every during pilgrimage days of 30th December – 1st January. The pilgrims come here in yellow attire from all over Kerala and other regions. It is also a location for numerous temples and other religious cantres.
One of the richest temples in the entire world, the Padmanabha Swamy Temple is located inside the East fort, at its centre. One of the oldest temples in the land, it is even mentioned in the Sangam texts dating to the 500 BC. The Maharaja of Travancore is the trustee of the temple, Vishnu is the principal deity of the temple and he is enshrined in the Anantha Sayanam posture, reclining on the snake Anatha Sesha. The temple observes a strict dress code and only people of the Hindi faith can only ente. It contains gopurams later added on in the medieval eras, although the main shrines dates to the ancient Dravidian style of the Sangam age. The vaults of the temple is to a great deal of treasure and anitquities that have become the stuff of legends.
This is a natural port area near the Kovalam beach, located at a crossroads of several international shipping routes that go through the region. There exists a demonstration plant which uses oscillating wave coluns to convert waves into energy. There are a lot of Ayurvedic treatment centres and as well as beach resorts that causes the influx of several tourists from the domestic and international regions. There is a proposal for the building of an international sea port that is about to start functioning in the near future.
Shangumugham beach is located near the Trivandrum International Airport, and has the most striking composisiton of white sand stretching for a long distance and general peace prevailing in the atmosphere of the region. It also has some religious significance and a lot of rituals take place annually on the beach. Perhaps the biggest attraction of the area is the sculpture of the Jalakanyaka( Mermaid) measuring a massive 35 metres.
A Gravity Dam, established in 1958, it has grown on to become a popular picinic destination, as it lays near the Western Ghats, giving it a very scenic view as well as a picturesque Lake, where you can go for boating. A crocodile rehabilitation centre and research centre named Steve Irwin National Park. It also has a lot of yoga centres for mind body relaxation.
The Shri Chritra Art Gallery was established in 1935. Inaugrated by Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma. There are approximately 110 paintiungs inside the gallery, among them are works by Raja Ravi Varma, Nicholas Roerich, Svetoslav Roerich, Rabindranath Tagore etc. Mughal ,Rajput, Rajastani and Tanjore schools of art are represented here, as well as foreign works of the oriental school, including Chinese, Japanese, Bailenese and Tibetean.
The palace complex is a textured granite fortress about 4 kms long. Located at Thuckalay, at the foothills of the Veli Hills. The river Valli flows nearby. Created by Iravi Varma Perumal on 1601 AD. It is dedicated to the deity Vishnu or Padmanabha. In the medieval era, it was of the central of administration when it was the capital of the Travancore Kingdom. It has grand halls and several other palaces inside the complex.
It is located in the Kanyakumari district of the state of Tamil Nadu and is known as a temple, where the daily livelihood of the inhabitants revolve around the temple. The Thanumalayan Temple is the centre of devotion in the town, and it has any legends and fables associated with it. This temple is unique in all of India as it is dedicated to all of the Trimurtis, represented by a single figure called Sthanumalayan in the inner sanctum of the temple..
The southernmost tip of India, where all the three great bodies of water- Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengaland the Indian Ocean converge together at the same spot. This is a very popular location for tourism in India, and it is one of the few locations where you can hear people speaking in the many different tongues of India. The land is also known for a lot of man made structures that have becomea iconic: Thiruvalluvar statue, Vivekananda Rock Memorial, Our Lady of Ransom Church, Bhagavathy Amman Temple and several monuments. The view of the sun setting is going to be a marvellous sight to behold and that itself is worth watching for the sight.
