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Kanyakumari

Pop: 18,000 Area Code: 04652

Kanyakumari is located at the southernmost point of India, where the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean, and the Arabian Sea meet. It is considered a holy place to bathe. The moonrise and sunset over the ocean here are impressive. During the full moon there is both a dramatic sunset and moonrise. On the full moon day in April you can see both the moon and sun together on the same horizon. It can be visited on a day trip from Kovalam.

The extreme southern-most point of India is marked by two rocks half submerged in the sea called Pitru-tirtha and Matru-tirtha. Many people come to bathe at Kumari Ghat, which is right on the tip of the cape.

The Kanyakumari temple is a popular pilgrimage place. The sand at Kanyakumari is seven different colors. It is said that Lord Siva married the goddess Parvati here, and the seven different colors of rice thrown at the wedding were turned into the seven-colored sands of Kanyakumari. The beach here is not so suitable for swimming.

There is an excellent view from the Lighthouse (3 to 7 pm).

Information and Tours
There are two main roads going through town. One goes north to the railway station (1km), and the other goes west to the bus station, half a km away. The main shopping area and the hotels are mainly near the junction of these two roads. The Kumari Amman temple is at the southern end of town, next to the shore.

There is a Tourist Office (46276) on Main Rd, north of the Gandhi Memorial (Mon to Fri 10 am to 5.30 pm). The TTDC can be contacted at the reception desk of the Hotel Tamil Nadu on Beach Road, by the Gandhi Mandapa.

The Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) conducts a tour from

Thiruvananthapuram that leaves at 7:30 am and returns to Thiruvananthapuram around 9 pm. It covers Kovalam, Padmanabhapuram Palace, Suchindram, Nagercoil, and Kanyakumari. You can start the tour at Kovalam at 8.30 am. The bus does not return to Kovalam in the evening, but returns to Thiruvananthapuram.

Practical Information
Canara Bank, Main Rd, changes cash and American Express and Thomas Cook travelers cheques.

The GPO, Main Rd, is near the Canara Bank. Postal Code: 629702.

Kumari Amman Temple
Located on the shore is the temple of the goddess Kanya (the virgin goddess), who is doing penance. The sage Parasuram is said to have installed this deity. The history of this temple is that the demigods prayed to the goddess, an incarnation of Parvati, to destroy the demons. Soon after appearing, she was betrothed to Lord Siva. Knowing that if she married she would lose interest in killing demons, Narada Muni tricked Lord Siva so that on the way to the wedding he turned back home to Kailash. So after destroying the demons, the goddess, a most charming deity to see, still waits in her temple for her husband to arrive. Sri Chaitanya visited this temple.

The deity of the goddess Kanya wears a brilliant diamond nose ring that is said to emit a powerful ray, which makes ships crash against the rocks near the shore. Therefore the seaside, eastern gate, of the temple is only opened on special occasions.

The temple is open 4.30 to 11.45 am and 5.30 to 8.45 pm. Non-Hindus are not allowed in the inner sanctum. Men must wear a dhoti and be bare-chested to enter the inner sanctum.

Vivekananda Memorial
There are two rocks, known as Pitru-tirtha and Matru-tirtha, about 500m from the coast, where Vivekananda meditated in 1892. There is a ferry that goes there. The Vivekananda Memorial (1970) on the rock is open daily except Tues 7 to 11 am and 2 to 5 pm.

Also here is Sri Pada Parai, the footprints of Kanya Devi. They are installed here in a small shrine, which marks the spot where she performed penance.

You get the ferry (every half-hour) about 100m north of the Kumari Amman Temple. If it is hot you may want to wear thick socks, as you have to take off your shoes before entering and the stone floor can get very hot.

Gandhi Memorial
The Gandhi Memorial is constructed so that at noon on October 2 (Gandhi’s birthday) the sun’s rays falls on the spot where his ashes were kept for public view (marked by a bxe "Gandhi, Mahatma" lack marble box), before being put into the sea at this place. It is located next to the sea at the end of Main Rd. Open daily 7 am to 12.30 pm and 3 to 7.30 pm.

Other Places
There is also the Vinayaka (Ganesh) Temple and Guganathan Temple. The beautiful St Mary’s Church is in the north of town.

Where to Stay—Lower
It can be difficult to find a room, so it is best to get here early in the day, especially from December to February and on weekends. During the high season from November to January, April/May and during festivals, not only can the prices be more than double the ones quoted here, but it may be hard to find a room at all. Rooms are usually rented out for 24 hours. Over all, accommodations here are much overpriced and are not such a good standard.
DKV Lodge is one of the best budget places. It has rooms with bath for Rs 140.
Raja Tourist Home and Gopi Nivas Lodge are north of the Vinayakar Kovil Temple and have decent basic rooms for Rs 80/100.
Township Rest House, on the Main Road, has rooms for Rs 125/150.
Tri Sea Lodge has rooms with bath for Rs 150. It is one of the better budget places.
Kaveri Lodge and Hotel Narmada on Kovalam Rd, have rooms for Rs 175.
NRS Lodge has clean rooms that range from Rs 150 to Rs 600. Off-season the Rs 600 rooms are less than Rs 300.
Vivekas Tourist Hotel (46192) has clean room with bath for Rs 200/250.
Retiring Rooms at the railway station are Rs 60/120.
Retiring Rooms, upstairs in the bus station, are Rs 200 during the season (Oct to Jan) and Rs 140 in the off-season. Rooms have bath and hot water. Dorm beds are Rs 45 (Rs 30 off-season). Some rooms have balconies and a view of the sea. It is a good value.

Where to Stay—Middle
Hotel Sangam (46351; 46627), on Main Road, has double rooms with hot water for Rs 500 and deluxe A/C rooms for Rs 900. Some rooms have a balcony. Their front rooms are noisy.
Hotel Tamil Nadu (46257), west of the temple, is good but usually full. Rooms with bath are Rs 250 for a small double, Rs 400 for a normal double, and Rs 550 with A/C. A dorm bed is Rs 50 and a room with a common bath is Rs 125. Many of the rooms have views of the sea.
Maadhini (46787; fax 46657), E Car St, is a good modern place and some of the rooms have excellent views. It has clean double rooms for 500 and rooms with a view of the sea are Rs 600 and Rs 1000 with A/C. It has a good restaurant.
Manickhan Tourist Home (46387) has rooms for Rs 300/350 and a room with a view of the sea, A/C and a TV for Rs 700.
Hotel Samudra (46162; fax: 46627), near the temple, has rooms ranging from Rs 350 to 550 and comfortable A/C rooms with TV for Rs 900. It has a veg restaurant. It is a good place.
Kerala House (46229), sea-front by the Hotel Tamil Nadu, has standard large rooms with bath and large windows. Some rooms have great seaviews. Rooms are Rs 300/425, Rs 500 for 3 people, and Rs 125 for each additional person.
Cape Hotel (46222) has double rooms for Rs 180 and rooms with A/C for Rs 220. Some rooms have a good view of the cape.
Lakshmi Tourist Home’s (46071; fax 46627), East Car Street, has rooms with a seaview, hot water, balcony, and a TV for Rs 300 during the off-season. Larger rooms with hot water and TV are Rs 400. During the high season fromms are Rs 400 to Rs 500, a triple room for Rs 550, and rooms with A/C and a seaview are Rs 1000. The rooms with a seaview are much better than the other rooms.
Shree Bhagavathi Lodge (46298), across the street, has nice, clean rooms for Rs 250 for a double and Rs 400 for a triple. Some rooms have balconies with a seaview.

Where to Eat
Palace Hotel, in the center of town, has good cheap meals.
Saravana, close to the temple, has good vegetarian meals. It is air-conditioned. They serve South Indian, Gujarati, Chinese and Rajasthani meals at lunch. It has very good dosas.
Family Restaurant, north of the temple, has good South Indian snacks all day and meals from 10 am to 3 pm.
Sankar Guest House, Main Rd, has a good vege­tarian restaurant.
Manickhan Tourist Home has a good restaurant.
Sanga Restaurant in the Hotel Samudra is a higher class place.
Sri Ramdev Restaurant, on the main road to the temple, has north Indian veg food.

Travel
Air  The closest airport is in Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), 86km north.

Train  The weekly Himsagar Exp (12.30 am, Fri) goes to Coimbatore (12 hr), Chennai, Vijayawada (30 hr), Delhi (62 hr), and from there to Jammu (74 hr). This is the longest train trip in India. The train to Mumbai, the daily Kanniyakumari Exp #1082 (48 hr), departs at 5 am. It stops at Thiruvananthapuram (2½ hr) and Ernakulam (8 hr) on the way. The daily passenger train to Thiruvananthapuram (5 pm, 88km) takes 2½ hours. The Kanniyakumari-Chennai Exp #6122 (3.15 pm) goes to Chennai (17 hr) via Madurai (6 hr).
The railway station is about 1km north of the center of town.

Bus The bus station is about half a km (15-min walk) west of the center of town. The reservation office is open 7 am to 9 pm.

There are buses to Chennai (703km, 16 hr, 7 daily), Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum, 2½ hr), Rameswaram (409km, 9 hr), and Madurai (245km, 6 hr, 3 daily). There are regular local buses to Nagercoil. Nagercoil is a major bus junction, with two large bus stations. You can get buses for all over South India from there. From Kovalam (4 daily) you get the bus to Kanyakumari at the bus stand near the Ashok Beach Resort.

Kanya Travels operates private buses to Chennai, Rameswaram, Madurai, Bangalore, Ooty, Kodaikanal and Tirupati.

Suchindram Temple
This beautiful temple, built mainly in the 17th century, is 13km north of Kanyakumari. It contains a linga, known as Sthanumalaya Swami, which is considered to be Siva, Vishnu, and Brahma in one form. When you enter the temple, you see a laurel (konnayadi) tree that is about 2,000 years old. In the hollow of the tree there is a linga of the Trimurti—Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva. It is said that the sage Atri and his wife resided here and the three gods—Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva—appeared here in the forms of Chandra, Dattatreya, and Durvasa Muni, thus answering their prayers. They are then said to have assumed the form of the Maha-linga, which represents the Trimurti. The bottom of the Maha-linga represents Brahma; the middle, Vishnu; and the top, Siva.

The seven-storey gopuram (entrance gate) is 40m (132 ft) high. There is a huge, white carved Nandi bull in this temple, said to be over 800 years old. At the entrance to the main temple are two large doorkeepers, and on two nearby pillars are two huge yalis. A yali is a lion with an elephant trunk.
It is said that Indra was advised to perform penance here to be relieved of the curse of Gautama Muni. He was cursed for misbehaving with Gautama Muni’s wife, Ahalya. He worshiped the Trimurti here and is said to have been passed through burning ghee to purify himself. Because it is believed that Indra comes to worship the Trimurti from midnight to dawn, the daily rituals are over by dusk, so the night is free for him to perform worship. Suci means “purified” and indram means “Indra.” Suchindram means “the place where Indra was purified.”

There are about 30 shrines in this temple. By the side of the inner sanctum, there is the main deity of Vishnu, made of eight metals. To the right as you enter the temple are Sita-Rama Deities. Across from them is an 5.5m (18 ft) high Hanuman (including his tail). As you enter the temple, to your left is a Ganesh temple. In front of this shrine is the Navagraha Mandapa which has carvings of the nine planets and the signs of the zodiac on the ceiling.

There are numerous sculptures of the Ramayana and Mahabharata carved on the temple. In the Alangara Mandapa, which is to your right as you enter the temple, there are four musical pillars carved out of a single block of granite. Each pillar gives the sounds of a different instrument: mridanga, sitar, tambura, and jalataranga. On Friday around 6 pm, there is a special sunset ceremony with a procession and music. Non-Hindus can enter this temple.

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