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St. Xavier Church

St.Xavier an outstanding and dedicated priest visited the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu from Goa, he never missed the opportunity of visiting Kottar in Kanniyakumari district which was a celebrated commercial centre at that time. During his stay at Kottar, he used to worship St. Mary in the small temple. He was popularly known as “Valiya Pandaram” among the people of Kottar. While he was at Kottar, he averted the invasion of Padagas on the people of Venad which was appreciated by the king, who became closer to the Priest. In recognition of Xavier’s services, the king allotted a land to him for the purpose of constructing a catholic church at Kottar. There was already a church in 1544 in the same place, where the St. Xavier’s church stands now.

The church records show that the church was built in the year 1600 A.D. In the year 1865, the Church was enlarged and the shrine of our lady was also renovated and vaulted over. In 1930, the church was raised to the status of a Cathedral.

In 1942, in commemoration of the fourth centenary of the arrival of St.Xavier in India, a beautiful tower to the saint, a grotto to Out Blessed Mother and a small shrine to St.Ignatius who sent him to India were constructed in the Cathedral premises. In 1955, the church was further extended and the chapel of Our Lady was incorporated into the enlarged church.

The Church of St. Xavier enjoys a great fame as a place of miracles from early times. The annual festival is celebrated during the month of November – December lasting for 10 days.

Padmanabhapuram Palace

The ancient historical town Padmanabhapuram is one of the four municipalities in the district is 55 Km. south of Trivandrum, about two km. east of Thuckalay and 35 km. from Kanyakumari on the Trivandrum-Cape Comerin road. This town is surrounded by a fort with an area of 187 acres. The ancient capital of Travancore might be constructed before AD 1601. The palace with an area of seven acres, is situated in the very centre on the Padmanabhapuram Fort, amidst hills, dales and rivers. The palace which is situated in Kanniyakumari District is under the control of a Curator of the Archaeological Department of Kerala Government.

The fort which was built with mud originally was dismantled and reconstructed with granite by Maharaja Marthanda Varma. The height of the walls varies from 15’ to 24’ according to the inclination of the ground.

Entrance Hall:- The entrance to the main edifice is controlled by another ornamental gateway with retainers for watch and ward. The gabled entrance has wooden ceiling profusely ornamented with lotus medallions. The most striking feature of the entrance is the clock-tower which is one of the oldest in India erected in 1832 A.D. and still continues to be in working order.

The first floor the Poomuham has a council chamber or Mantrasala which is meant for holding discussions with ministers and prominent citizens. The floor off this hall, which is polished with the admixture of coconut shell ashes, eggs fermented in molasses and lime reflects the figure like a mirror. Next to the Mantrasala is the Dancing Hall which was used exclusively for the members of the royal family.

Adjacent to the Council Chamber and to the south of dancing hall is the dinning hall called “Uttupura”, with two floors (the ground and the first) each measuring roughly 78 by 6 metres and it would accommodate about 2000 people at a time. Feeding of about 2000 poor persons, it is said, was done here every day and so the king was called ”Dharmaraja”.

Uppirika Malika: - The most attractive building in the whole palace is the ‘Uppirika Malika’ which consists of three storied. ‘Uppirika’ is the abbreviated term of ‘Muppirika’ which means the residence of the eldest member of the family. A wooden cot is erected on the top most floor in the belief that “Lord Vishnu” the chief deity. The first floor contains a wooden cot made of 64 medicinal plants, on which Maharaja used to sleep. The medicinal cot was presented to Maharaja “Marthanda Varma” by the Dutch East India Company in 1750, as a mark of friendship.

The Navarathri Mandapa: - To the west of the Zuppirika Mandapa is the Navarathri Mandapa which is a spacious hall of exquisitely beautiful granite pillars with drooping pendants reminiscent of the Nayakar style of architecture. In the Navarathri Mandapa, performances of Bharatha Natya and musical recitals took place in the royal presence.

Pechiparai Dam

About 43 km. from Nagercoil this dam has been constructed. This dam in Kalkulam Taluk, was built during the days of the Maharaja Sri Moolam Thirunal across the river Kodayar. The construction of the dam was designed on the pattern of the Periyar dam in the Madurai district. The length of the dam is 425.1 mts. It has a catchment area of 204.8 sq.km. There is a camp shed provided at the dam side for the visitors. The weather is very pleasant and hence attracts a large number of tourists.

The reservoir is surrounded by dense forests which are famous for their valuable trees and rich would life such as tiger, elephants, deer etc. A hill tribe, small in number known as ‘Kanikars’ dwell in the dense forests around the lake.

Peer Mohammed Durha

There is a durha named ‘Peer Mohamed Oliyullah Durha’ at Thuckalay named after the great philosopher Mohamed Appa, who was born in Tenkasi of Tirunelveli District. After spending sometime in spiritual pursuits in Peermedu of Kerala State he came and stayed at Thuckalay. Being a Tamil poet of great eminence, he wrote many books on philosophy. He had intimate relationship with the Kings of Chera dynasty. It is said that he laid foundation stone for the Padmanabhapuram Granite Fort.

The Anniversary of the great philosopher poet is celebrated every year on a grand scale on the full moon day in the month of Rajap. Both the people of Kerala and Tamil Nadu attend the celebrations on large numbers irrespective of their caste, creed and religion.

Tirparappu Water Falls

The Kodayar makes its descend at Tirparappu and the water fall at this place is about 13km. from Pechiparai dam.

The river bed is rocky and about 300 feet in length. The water falls from a height of nearly 50 feet and the water flows for about seven months in a year. The whole bed above the falls is one rocky mass which extends up to a distance of about quarter of a kilometer upstream where the famous Thirparappu weir has been constructed for supplying water to the paddy fields. On either side of the river, on the left bank of the river in between the water falls and the weir, there is a temple dedicated to Siva enclosed by strong fortification. The District Administration has recently constructed a swimming pool for children over here which is very popular among the children.

Maruthuva Malai

The Maruthuva Malai also known as the Marunthu Vazhum Malai – the abode of medicinal herbs, forms from part of the western ghats. According to tradition, the Maruthuva Malai is a fragment of the Sanjeevi Mountain, a piece of which fell down here, and it was carried by Hanuman from Mahendragiri to Srilanka for healing the fatal wounds of Lakshmana, the brother of Rama, the epic hero. It stretches for more than a km, reaching a height of 800 feet at the highest point. It is about 11km. from Nagercoil.

Muttom Beach

The famous beach at Muttom is located about 16 kms from Nagercoil and 32 kms from Kanyakumari. Muttom is famous for its beautiful landscaping and high rocks dipping into the sea at the beach-side. The sun set view point at Muttom is one of the most Panoramic view points in the district. Another attraction of Muttom is the century old light-house built by the British. However so far this beautiful beach has always been unsafe for the tourists since the rocks on which tourists go to see the sea view are slippery and a number of fatal accidents have occurred over the past few years.
The district administration, decided to put protective stainless steel fencing across the entire dangerous areas and also to put up small open huts at the rock tops for the tourists to sit and watch the massive sea waves leisurely with protection from sun and rain. The fencing work and the small huts have already been completed to the delight of the tourists who mob the beach in hundreds during week ends. Sitting benches have also been constructed in a circle for the elders to chit-chat, relax and enjoy the sun set. Seeing the response of the tourists, the district administration has sanctioned for the construction of a toilet complex, a small shopping complex and a children's park at a cost of Rs.11.60 lakhs and there are plans to undertake sculpture - works across the rocks to add to the ambience of the area.

Sanguthurai Beach

Sanguthurai is a beautiful beach resort and is very convenient for the local population of Nagercoil.
It is only about 10 kms from the city. Unfortunately no infrastructure facilities were available in this beach. The district administration has now sanctioned a project for putting up of a children's park, seating facility, open huts (Kudils) with Terracotta roofs and lighting facility at the beach at a cost of Rs.6.00 lakhs. The entire work has been completed. It is also proposed to put up a few shops for Women Self Help Groups at the site, which can provide eatables to the on coming tourists at the beach side.

Vattakottai (Circular Fort)

VATTAKOTTAI (Agasteeswaram Taluk): Vattakottai, a granite fort six kilometres north-east of Kanyakumari cape, forms the terminal of a line of ramparts known as the South Tranvancore lines built by Marthanda Varma to serve as defence for Nanjil Nadu. It is rectangular in shape and covers an area of about three and a half acres. The fort is enclosed by walls 25 to 26 feet high, including the parapet, 29 feet thick at the front, 18 feet at the corners and 6 feet at the rear. The portion running into the area is the most strongly built under the orders of De Lannoy during the reign of Mathandavarma (1729-58). About 1810 A.D. the British forces under the command of St. Leger marched into Nanjilnad through the Aramboly pass and demolished the defence lines. The small river by the side of the fort, and the green vegetation all around add to the scenery of the fort and has now become a holiday resort and picnic centre.

It is said that there is a subway or tunnel about four feet width, supposed to connect the padmanabhapuram palace. Now the tunnel has been closed. On the northern side of the fort is found a slop to being the canon from the lower to the upper part of the parapet of the fort. There is well of about 6’ diameter. The whole wall around the fort is repaired and fresh mortar is being applied. Literary or epigraphical evidences are not in store to know much about Vattakotai. However, from the evidence left by the fort itself, it may be presumed that his fort was the military base to protect the Kumari port which was a rich pearl harbour. Since the emblem of the Pandya Kings was ‘Fish’ and we find this emblem in some of the places of the fort, it can be safely concluded that the Pandya Kings had control over this fort for sometime.

Next to Vattakottai, we can see the traces of a light house in Leepuram being called so after Colonel Lee who has destroyed most of the Kadukkarai Kanyakumari Fort in 1806. This is a picnic spot, the sea is calm and suitable for bathing.

Chothavilai Beach

This beach is about 10 Kms from Kanyakumari, is one of the best natural beaches of the district. The beach has shallow water and High sand dunes on the back ground. The District Administration has through its own funds and through the funds of MPLAD scheme, put up rest shelters, kudils and a view tower over here for the benefit of tourists. The tourists can reach the beach through the newly laid coastal road which is a very beautiful drive along the sea-coast.

ULAKKAI ARUVI

Ulakkai Aruvi is a natural waterfall situated in Azhagiapandipuram village of Thovalai Taluk. Water is available in this water fall in the summer season. Many tourists come here for bathing and to enjoy the nature. The pathway to this waterfall lies in the Reserve Forest.

MUKKADAL

This is a natural dam constructed by T. Chitirai Maharaja. If supplies water to Nagercoil Municipality and it is also proposed to get water from here for Suchindrum and Kanniyakumari. It is very picturesque spot and ideal for picnics by groups.