Confluence of the Seas

India, is a Peninsula..Surrounded by seas on the 3 sides. The tip of the country Narrows down as we move towards the South, finally ending with a tip at the end. It is at this tip that the seas on the West, East and South of the Country meet. It is at this tip that the land infiltrates into the sea and is known as “Cape”.

Welcome to Cape Comorin (As named by the Britishers) a.k.a Kanniyakumari (The name its generally knows as in India for all practical uses)

Kanniyakumari- The Land of the Unmarried Lady: 

At the confluence of the 3 seas- The Bay of Bengal in the East, the Arabian Ocean in the West and the Indian Ocean from the South is the Town of Kanniyakumari situated. The Bay of Bengal and Arabian sea show their tides supressing the tides of the Indian Ocean which absorbs both the seas into itself and presents a calm smile away from the shore

Legend:

Banasura , a demon, who ruled this region, was ruthless, after receiving a boon from Lord Brahma, that he can be slayed only by an unmarried Woman. Goddess Sakthi, the Universe Creator, was born as a little girl , named Bhagavathy , undertook severe penance to marry Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva assures Devi Bhagavathy  to marry her on an auspicious Brahma Muhurtham before the Sunrise on a particular day. In the meantime, the Lord of Devas, Devendra was ousted from Indra Lokha and the Pancha Bhootas (The 5 elements of Air, water, Fire, Earth and Sky) were in chaos without administration

Devas turned to Sage Narada to help them get rid of the chaos. Since Banasura can be slayed only be an unmarried woman, Sage Narada hatches a plan. Disguising as a cock, he crows loudly on the particular day of the marriage, indicating that dawn broke. Lord Shiva return back unable to arrive at the auspicious time enraging Devi Bhagawathy, who takes an oath that she would not marry anyone and would stay unmarried

Days later, while Devi was having a stroll in the garden, The demon Banasura sights upon her and woos her towards marriage. Anger over not able to marry Lord shiva, Devi manifests herself into her true form and slays the demon. Peace is brought out once again in all the Worlds and a Temple for the Goddess was established at this place, naming the Town “Kanniyakumari”

Temple:

The Temple is located close to shore, near the place where the Mukkadal Sangamam, or the confluence of the Seas takes place. The Goddess is known as Devi Bhagawathy amman or Kanniyakumari Bhagawathy Devi.

The Temple is also famous for the Nose stud placed on the idol of the Goddess. Stories are heard of how the Diamond nose stud was very bright, that the entrance of the temple was shifted from the Shore line towards the Town, to prevent the Sailors from reaching the rugged rocky sea shore near the Temple instead of the Port. The brightness of the Nose stud seemed to have lead the Sailors to believe it was the Light House and sail towards the same and hence wall had to be raised on the sea facing side of the Temple.

The Temple is open from 6AM to 11AM and 4PM to 8PM on all days 

 

The Sea:

Surrounded by Sea on the 3 sides, the long coastline helps in enjoying the sea breeze of the evening as we walk around the Town. The Presence of the Sea on both the sides also helps in a proper viewing of the Sunrise as well as the Sunset on the Shores of the Town, making it a unique viewing at different times of the day, subject to cloud movement.  Of course, owing to presence of certain High Rises, a small walk across the Shore is required to view them in their respective Eastern and Western Points of the Town

 

The sand of the Kanniyakumari shore are deposits of the Tides brought in by the 3 seas. Hence the sands depict a different colour as we walk past the shore. As per the Legend, Devi Bhagawathy was angry on the cancellation of the marriage, and in fury, thre away the plates containing the Turmeric (Yellow colour), Kumkum (Orange colour ) and various other items which is said to have added the colour to the place. However, presence of concrete at various places have minimized the differences in colour to actually look into the same

Vivekananda Memorial and Tiruvallur Statue: 

Located a bit away from the Mainland, The Vivekananda Memorial was established in 1970 in the  memory of Swami Vivekananda, on the rock where He had meditated and attained enlightenment. The memorial consists of a Meditation Hall and can be reached through by boat services operated from the Main land, taking about 20 mins for reaching the same. The Coastline of India, of Kanniyakumari Town is visible from there. The roaring waves of the seas can be heard from the basement meditation hall of the Rock memorial

Tiruvalluvar Statue was established in the year 2000, on a rock in the sea,  to commensurate for the works of Poet Tiruvalluvar. This statue, like the Sunrise and Sunset can be viewed from across the Town from terrace. The total height of the statue is about 133 ft.The ferry service to Vivekananda Rock, halts here for tourist viewing of this statue also

The Vivekananda memorial is open for public from 8AM to 4PM. The memorial is illuminated in the evenings which can be seen from the Temple/Sangamam shore 

The Temple, the boat ride and Sunrise Point are located very close to the TNSTC bus stand/SETC depot in Kanniyakumari. Sunset Point on the Western side is about 1.5 kms from Ferry Point and Local Autorickshaws available for the same

 

 

Suchindram Temple:

Located on Nagercoil Road, about 11 kms from Kanniyakumari, is the town of Suhindram. The Temple is dedicated to Lord Thanumalayar, the incarnation of the Trimoorthy or the Three Gods – Lord Brahma, Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu in a single form. The temple is famous for innumerous sculptures adorning every pillar and it would require a good amount of time with a Guide to accurately observe each and every sculpture and their speciality and the amount of imagination that has gone into each of them. Musical pillars present inside are one of the main atractions

A single granite statue of Lord Anjeneya, measuring about 22 feet attracts devotees from far and near to the Temple. This statue, forming part of the temple since years, was kept hidden during the invasions under the fear of being stolen or destroyed. The statue, hidden under the ground, was found out about 50 years ago and ever since kept for public viewing.

Suchindram Temple is open generally from 4:30AM to 11:30AM and from 5PM to 8PM. Regular buses plying between Kanniyakumari and Nagercoil/Trivandrum have a stop at Suchindram. The Temple is located just off the Main road and easily walkable 

 

 

Vattakottai Fort:

Located about 7 kms from the town of Kanniyakumari, was built by the Dutch during the rule of Travancore in  the 16th century. Vattakottai, or Circular Fort was built to prevent attack from the sea on either side, as the area was completely sea locked. A small well maintained garden and a series of steps leads into the Fort, which is bounded by the Sea on the side. The fort offers beautiful views of the sea and Western ghats around and Town of Kanniyakumari giving a very picturesque view of the place. 

 

Vattakottai fort is not very well connected by buses. Local autos can be hired to visit the same. The Fort is open for Public from 8AM to 5PM

 

How to Reach Kanniyakumari:

Kanniyakumari is located in Southern Trip of the Country and NH-7 connects to Kanniyakumari from Varanasi via Hyderabad and Bangalore. Kanniyakumari is connected to Trivandrum Panvel Highway NH-47 from Trivandrum located 70 kms away. Trivandrum is also the nearest airport for CAPE

Trains: 

Kanniyakumari Railway station is the nearest station. Kanniyakumari has daily trains from Chennai, Bangalore and Mumbai and Weekly trains to Delhi and Howrah. Nagercoil Junction, located 15 kms away, lies on the Chennai Trivandrum line and is a terminus for daily trains to Bangalore and various other trains connecting to Mangalore and Mumbai via Konkan Railway

Buses:

Regular TNSTC buses connect to Kanniyakumari from Madurai, Tirunelveli and Nagercoil apart from Deluxe buses connecting from Bangalore, Chennai, Pondicherry. Kerala SRTC buses connect Kanniyakumari with Trivandrum at regular intervals.

 

Accommodation and Food

Accommodation is available in Kanniyakumari with major hotels having terrace viewing points for sunrise ans sunset. Food is available through decent restaurants located through the town.