Thiruvananthapuram

Trivandrum is one of India’s most iconic travel destinations and offers amazing array of sights, activities and events. Even the first time visitors will quickly be enthralled by how fun and fascinating it is. Trivandrum mixes old world charm with a modern and vibrant night life. Trivandrum known as Thiruvananthapuram in local language is the state capital of Kerala. There is a wide selection of cultural attractions in the city with two main tourist centres that punctuate the ends of Trivandrum’s main thoroughfare, Mahatma Ghandi street (MG street). Do not miss the Museum Complex, a cluster of cultural highlights surrounding a large and pleasant public park, which houses Napier Museum, Observatory and Trivandrum Zoo. At the other end of MG road you can see Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple and the Puthin Malika Palace Museum. Also visit Sri Chitra Art Gallery. Between these two, there are other interesting sites around Trivandrum. But many tourists will find the Kovalam beach much more rewarding.

Sightseeing in Thiruvananthapuram

The Science and Technology Museum
The Science and Technology Museum was established in 1984. This is setup by the Kerala government. This was designed to inculcate scientific awareness in the minds of the youngsters. This is a place including recreation with study and is also an essential tourist attraction. The science and technology museum is very interesting as it explains all the features in detail and this develops the children in raising questions. This museum is well maintained and is the right place for children to spend some time to gather information that may be useful in the future. Science is a fact that cannot be denied, and perceiving things directly always has a better impact than merely studying.

Sree Chithra Art Gallery
Sree Chithra Art Gallery is open for public from 1000 to 1645 hrs. This gallery is closed on Mondays and Wednesdays afternoons. This gallery is situated adjacent to the Napier museum and has an explicit collection of Raja Ravi Varma paintings and excellent works of the Mughal, Rajput and Tanjore art schools are displayed. The displays also include china, Tibet, Bali and Japanese paintings. The architecture has a combination of Kerala tradition. Bronze images, ivory carvings, temple chariots and historical ornaments present an excellent collection. One can spend few hours easily viewing all the displays.

The Napier museum
The Napier museum is located in the capital city of Kerala at Trivandrum. The architecture of the museum building is amazing. The best time to visit this museum is in the months of October to march. This museum is 150 year old and was built by Travancore Maharaja in 1855. The museum has numerous collections of cultural importance, Kathakali models, traditional musical instruments, and many more vivid collections. Stone sculptures of the 8th and 18th century are exhibited. Railways, roadways and airways, all three modes are convenient to arrive at Trivandrum.

The Kanakakunnu Palace
The Kanakakunnu Palace is sited adjacent to the Napier Museum in Trivandrum. The Kanakakunnu Palace was built during the rule of the Travancore King. Royal banquets viewed the palace as the main venue. Later Sree Chithira Tirunal altered the palace and built tennis courts inside the palace premises. This palace is on a small hill encircled with meadows as well as grooves and is a perfect model for people who have the taste for art. The building is beautiful and the magnificent appearance of the building is awesome. This palace is a major tourist attraction in Trivandrum. The royal feeling can be yet felt in the palace.

Zoological park
This is the first zoological park in India. It is situated in the centre of a perfect botanical garden. The animals are kept in natural habitat surroundings. Rare animals include the Nilgiri Tahr, the Asian Lion, the Bengal tiger, etc. The zoo has a good snake park housing varieties of snakes. The snakes are also given the feeling of a natural habitat. The botanical garden has huge trees such as jacaranda and frangipani. The lawns and the garden almost resemble a small jungle in the core of the city. Being the first zoo in India and as it is well maintained even today it is indeed worth visiting.

Shanghumugham Beach
Shanghumugham Beach is one of the popular beaches adjacent to Trivandrum airport. This is a beautiful and charming beach sited in Kerala. This beach is a relaxing holiday option for the city residents. Shanghumugham Beach is a place liked by tourists. There are numerous recreational facilities on the beach. This beach displays a festive look during festivals in the temples. A children's training park for traffic is associated with star shaped restaurant and is the most delighted place for families who have children accompanied with them.

Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple
This temple has an idol 18 feet long. Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple is adorned with gold and precious stones. This temple always has thronging visitors and devotees. The idol of Lord Vishnu on the Serpent Anantha in a reclining posture is made of Kudusarkara blended with expensive things. This idol also includes herbs and Salagramam, which is usually not used in Kudusarkara idols. The detection of gold jewels on the idol developed great interest in the temple and made a significant record in the history. This temple is the historical landmark of Trivandrum. This temple is an illustration of Dravidian as well as South Indian architecture. Once in 6 yrs a 56 day long Murajapam is performed.

Things to do in Thiruvananthapuram

Water Theme park
Children and fun lovers like Happy land water theme park situated in Vembayam, the outskirts of Trivandrum city. Happy Land Water Theme Park, spreads over a larger area on hillside blended with architectural and natural beauty. Happy Land Amusement Park is filled with many amusement options, out of which some are exclusively found in Happy Land, eg Mini "Kuttalam", Colombus, Uphill Drive to name a few. Kids Village, family entertainments and much more awaits you at Happy Land Water Theme Park a memorable experience to cherished for long.

Beach Tour
Shanghumugham Beach is one of the popular beaches adjacent to Trivandrum airport. This is a beautiful and charming beach sited in Kerala. There are numerous recreational facilities on the beach. A children's training park for traffic is associated with star shaped restaurant and is the most delighted place for families who have children accompanied with them.

Boating at Akkulam
Located on the banks of the Akkulam Lake, Akkulam Tourist Village boasts some of the most picturesque picnic spots in Southern Kerala. It is a lovely backwater destination with a calm and serene atmosphere. It is located 10 km from Thiruvananthapuram city and possesses numerous boating options. It has a well-equipped children’s park, a paddle pool and a swimming pool for adults.

Visit Museum Complex
In Trivandrum one can visit the Museum with its profusion of gables and turrets. A repository of fine works of art, the chief attraction here is the 250-year-old temple car made for Lord Vishnu, artistically designed and ornamented. Besides this, objects carved out of wood, models of temple, antique jewelry, etc., make the museum worth a visit.

Temple Darshan
A must on every tourist itinerary for Trivandrum, the Padmanabhaswami temple with its gopuram (tower) soaring majestically upwards, is believed to be one of the 108 shrines sacred to the Vaishnavites in India.

Spot Wildlife
The Peppara was declared a sanctuary in 1983. Forests consist of part of the Palode reserve (24 square kilometres (9.3 sq mi)) and part of Kottoor reserve (29 square kilometres (11 sq mi)). The total water spread of the reservoir is 5.82 square kilometres (2.25 sq mi). Recently, a joint effort has been made by Kerala Tourism with the State Forest Department and the Kerala Water Authority to beautify the dam site and provide more entertainment and leisure facilities here.

Art Gallery
Sri Chitra Art Gallery proves to be an ideal place for art lovers. The piece de resistance is the large section devoted to the paintings of Raja Ravi Varma, an Indian painter of distinction in the history of the country's modern art. Besides him, the Indian section also contains works of Rabindranath Tagore, Jamimi Roy, K. K. Hebar, miniatures from the Rajput and Mughal schools of painting and the famous Tanjore paintings encrusted with semi-precious stones. The gallery's collection also includes paintings from Indonesia, China, and Japan.

Rejuvenate
Kerala is the land of Ayurveda. From here it spread across the world. Trivandrum has lots of good Ayurvedic centers where you can tale a rejuvenation massage or go for special treatment.

How to reach Thiruvananthapuram

Nearest bus stations: Trivandrum has both private and KSRTC bus stands
Nearest railway station: Trivandrum in the city itself
Nearest airport: Trivandrum International Airport, about 12 km from city

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