Kanyakumari

Kanyakumari is the southernmost point of mainland India, where the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean are traditionally said to meet, and its particular draw is that both sunrise and sunset can be watched over water from the same shore, which is unusual on any coast. Two structures stand offshore on rocks: the Vivekananda Rock Memorial, built in 1970 where Vivekananda is said to have meditated in 1892, and a 133-foot statue of the Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar completed in 2000, reached by the same ferry. The Kumari Amman temple on the shore gives the cape its name.

History

The town takes its name from the goddess Kanya Kumari, and a legend tells that she was to marry Shiva, who failed to arrive on the wedding day, so the uncooked rice of the feast turned to the small rice-like stones on the shore. Another legend says Hanuman dropped a piece of earth here as he carried the mountain with the Sanjivani herb to Lanka, forming the hills of Marunthuvazh Malai, "where medicine lives", and the name was later corrupted by Europeans to Cape Comorin (Wikipedia, Kanyakumari).

What you'll find

• The three seas - the traditional meeting point at the mainland's tip.
• The Vivekananda memorial - the 1970 building on an offshore rock.
• The Thiruvalluvar statue - a 133-foot figure of the Tamil poet.
• The double horizon - sunrise and sunset both over water.

When to go

October to March; the full moon in April, when sunset and moonrise can be seen together, is a particular draw. The ferry is suspended in rough seas, common in the monsoon.

Good to know

Ferry queues to the rocks are long and the boats crowded. The town is heavily commercialised with persistent hawkers. Haze often spoils the sunrise. Swimming is prohibited and dangerous.

Nearby

Padmanabhapuram palace lies northwest; Thiruvananthapuram is north.