A trip to Land's End

Reaching as far south as Trivandrum for my niece’s wedding, it would have been a shame not to go on to Kanyakumari, the southern-most tip of India.

We took a day-trip, starting one morning, stopping on the way at the Padmanabhapuram palace, near Tuckalay (which is in the state of Tamilnadu). Driving out of Thiruvananthapuram, within half-an-hour we were in TN.

Built of wood, the palace is inside an old fortress,

at the foot-hills of Velli Hills, which forms part of

the Western Ghats. This 16th century palace was

built by the rulers of Travancore, and is a beautiful

example of Kerala architecture.

This ornate Chinese chair was the King's seat in the Council chamber

Wood pillar made from a single Jackfruit Tree.

Some more exquisite wooden carving at an entrance door.

Some of the windows were specially designed to keep out the heat and dust.

The king's bed, made up of 64 herbs; don't miss the carved Mahogany ceiling.

The palace happened to be full of visiting school-children.

                                              

'Natakasala' the hall of performance:
Notice the shiny black floor, made from coconut shells, egg white, lime, charcoal and river sand.

This dining hall where ceremonial feast were held
could accommodate some 2,000 guests.

After this stop we proceeded onwards to Kanyakumari.  Much discussion on the way about the meaning of Kanyakumari (also called Cape Comorin).  It takes its name from the Kumari Amman (or Kanyakumari) Temple dedicated to the Virgin Goddess, situated in town near the Land's end, at the confluence of the three seas -- the Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean.

We reached in the middle of the hot afternoon and were quite exhausted after the palace visit. So no chance of seeing any spectacular sunset (let alone sunrise) which we had heard much about. Took some quick snaps and hit the road again.

Posing in front of the most famous landmarks here, the two rocky islets just offshore called
the Vivekananda Rock Memorial and the gigantic tall statue of Tamil saint-poet Thiruvalluvar.

We reached the hotel well past 4pm, and not having had lunch, ordered some fish curry and rice, and then in the evening, cooled ourselves with a swim in this infinity pool, watching the sun go down on the shore of the Arabian sea.