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Things To Do in Kanyakumari

Kanyakumari (Cape Comorin)


  • Kanyakumari, India

A Unique Tourist Destination

Kanyakumari ( Cape Comorin )More Photos
Cape Comorin or Kanyakumari (virgin girl, or unwedded girl) as it is known in Tamil is a popular tourist destination located at the southernmost tip of India , in the state of Tamilnadu.Here the 3 oceans merge into one another...the Indian Ocean, Arabian sea and the Bay of Bengal.
It has the Sea and the Western Ghats in the background and the town is covered with paddy fields and coconut groves.
It is a holy place for Hindus.There is a temple on the sea shore for Goddess Kanyakumari, consort of Lord Shiva.

It is one of the most popular tourist spots in south India- a spectacular place and has the most unique sunrise and sunset.
There is a gigantic statue of Tamil saint-poet Thiruvalluvar, built on a Huge rock jutting out to the ocean which gets submerged at high tide .This is the tallest statue in the whole of Asia. Just by its side is the Vivekananda rock memorial, which can be reached through ferry boats.

The other major attractions here are the Udayagir fort, an ancient fort of the Chola dynasty, the view from the fort and the park atop a hill is breathtaking to say the least!
There are innumerable ancient temple built by the Chola kings like the 'Adikeshava' temple at Tiruvattar believed to be nearly 2200 years old and the 'Suchindram' Temple at the nearby Nagarkoil.. There is a spectacular waterfall The Thirparappu falls which also has an ancient temple at the bottom of the falls.
One of the largest Aqueducts in Asia The Mathur Hanging Trough is an Aqueduct built across a small river originating from Western Ghats.It has a walkway along the duct which is at a height of 115 ft , one can walk along the side of the Aqueduct and watch the water flow. It is a thrilling experience to walk along with the flowing water..

Kanyakumari is a very interesting tourist spot .The beach is filled with Rocks and it is a lot of fun to jump from one rock to the other.It is safe for children because of these rocks which break the force of sea waves.
The major drawback here is the food .It was cheap no doubt, but the quality was sub standard.There were not many eating joints serving decent food. It was surprising taking into account the number of tourists visiting the place.We were filling ourselves with tender coconut water, water melon, bananas and other fruits.

The Vegetarian meal came at Rs 25 (50 cents) at most places.
The breakfast was good , mainly Souh Indian Idlis and Dosas which was o;k. However I am told that since the time I visited in 2003 and after Tsunami, a lot of things have changed and a great many restaurants have come up serving good food..

Shopping is great in Kanyakumari.One can buy a lot of interesting items ranging from, Straw hats, Conches, Sea shells and Sea shell jewellery, Handicrafts , straw bags and the like, mainly hand made items.

Kanyakumari was one of the worst affected places by Tsunami, which has now been rebuilt and restored , so travelers who had visited the place earlier are bound to notice some changes ...

How To Reach there:

Trivandrum is the nearest Inter national Airport
There are train services from Chennai , Trivandrum., Bangalore, Cochin, Bombay, Delhi and Kolkatta..
From journal The best of India