Located at a distance of about 87 kilometres from Thiruvananthapuram, Kanyakumari is the southernmost part of the Indian mainland. The place is the meeting point of the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. Kanyakumari has great religious significance for the Hindus. The place is dedicated to the Goddess Devi Kanya, believed to be an incarnation of Parvati, Lord Shiva’s wife. Pilgrims come here to visit the temple and bathe in the waters here, as they are considered sacred.

One of the major tourist attractions at Kanyakumari is the Vivekananda Memorial. The memorial is built about 400 metres offshore. It was here that Swami Vivekananda meditated in 1892 before embarking on a journey to usher in the religious reforms throughout the country. The mandapam built here in his memory reflects the architectural styles from all over the country.

 Sixteen kilometres away from Thiruvananthapuram lies Kovalam, an internationally renowned beach. The beach has been a favourite haunt of tourists, especially Europeans, since the 1930s. A visit to the beach provides you with plenty of leisure options. You can go for sunbathing, swimming and herbal body toning massages. Special cultural programmes are also organised here.

Kovalam has been developed as an integrated seaside resort by the India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC). The beach complex includes the Ashoka Beach Resort (owned by ITDC), low-budget cottages, Ayurvedic health centres, shopping zones, and swimming pools.

Padmanabhapuram Palace, 64 km from Thiruvananthapuram, is a magnificent wooden palace of the 16th century. This old palace of the erstwhile rulers of the State of Travancore (1550 to 1750 AD) is a fine specimen of Kerala’s indigenous style of architecture. It has rosewood-ceiling carvings in floral patterns, windows laid with jewel-coloured mica and floors finished to high polish with a special compound of crushed shell, coconuts, egg white and the juices of the local plants. Some of the interesting items housed here are the musical bow in mahogany, royal chairs with Chinese carvings, secret underground passages, the King’s bedroom with a four-poster medicinal bed, mural paintings, pictures of Lord Krishna, hanging brass lanterns lit continuously since the 18th century, hanging cage through which eagles tore criminals to death, open-air swimming bath, granite dance hall, Saraswati temple, Belgian mirrors and an outer cyclopean stone wall fitted together without mortar. The palace, though situated in Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, comes under the purview of the Government of Kerala.