Kanyakumari is worth a visit?

rangss

I will take Rameswaram any day...

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dilbharatmain

yeah, if you are down that far in India, you may as well get to the southern most point - but it is easy enough to do as a day trip from Trivandrum, or if you are carrying on, get to Kanyakumari by lunchtime, go out to Vivekananda Rock, and be on a bus to somewhere else by mid-afternoon. I stayed in a really shoddy dive in Kanyakumari (name forgotten), but there was nothing to do in the evening, so would have been better to leave town. However, further round the coast, Rameshwaram is really worth a few nights, I thought.

RobStuar

I was in Kanyakumari in mid June, '92 and I lucked out as there was a lot of activity at the temple at night. The Goddess and Shiva were brought out of the temple on bamboo pole palanquins by shirtless, beturbaned men carry torches with jungle drums beating. It was quite something.

Up until reading this thread, I assumed this was a nightly activity year-round. I guess I unknowingly walked in on a religious holiday. Any one care to guess?


Stuart

batistuta

That is the day when the deity in the temple was supposed to marry lord Siva. I don't remember the day, but it happens once in a year.

jyotirmoy

A word of caution, do not go swiming here. I had almost killed myself once, ended up in the hospital completely bruised.

roopesh_kohad

Kanyakumari has more of a symbolic value than scenic value. You just go there to get a high that you have been there, the last point of mainland Indian subcontinent. You could point out all the "last" things, last house, last temple, last cybercafe

I remember the excitement travelling from Tirunelveli towards KK. I felt the small hills converging as I approached KK and I was thought train is going to run into the sea

Vivekananda memorial and Thiruvalluvar statue are worth spending time and try and place yourself in the shoes of Vivekananda and come up with your own vision of India There is a small meditation room there where you could spend some time. The ride to them was also great with sea being rough. Even though boundary of two places are barealy 20-30 meters apart still you have to get onto the boat and go from Thiruvalluvar statue to Vivekananda memorial.

shashank.aggarwal

And the confluence of three Oceans...

Bay OF Bengal, Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean..

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tstfs

BUT IF YOU DO A DAY TRIP FROM TRIVANDRUM, WONT YOU MISS THE SUNRISE/SUNSET? IS IT SAFE TO TRAVEL BY CAB, IN THE NIGHT?

tstfs

come on guys, is KK worth a night halt.

zoltan

I've been there twice. First time was in 2000 the most recent was in 2004.

The first time was brilliant. Spent only 24 hours there but got some magnificent photos of the sunrise which changed the colours in the sky every few minutes and the sunset which was breathtaking - the suns rays glistening on the incoming tide and the golden sand reflecting the same.

Unfortunately, on the 2nd journey, the sky was clouded over and the sunset was a bit ordinary.

Having been there twice and seen all that it has to offer, I wouldn't go again.

But for those who have not been there yet, I would recommend it as a place to stop over for 24 hours.

Cheers
Zoltan

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Nick-H

I went there once and didn't like it. A friend from Kolkatta was there a couple weeks back and thought it was wonderful.

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IndiaMike Mod Team (The Grumpy One)

snonymous

Have to agree with you Nick. I went there first in 1979 and found it way too commercial even back then. Went again sometime in the eighties and found too much litter on the beach ! Perhaps it is better now. Tamil Nadu's tourism department has cleaned up most of the popular tourist destinations, not sure whether that extended to KK. Its not the governments fault. Our litterbug public are the real culprits - everywhere. Nowadays in Mumbai [city area] you see armies of street cleaners on the job throughout the day, but what is the use when the public continue to litter?

federica

I was warned, that I would be disappointed... but I liked it. The people, the boat trip, Vivekananda museum...

And it was a great experience to wait for the sunrise with so many around... and all just wanted to see the sun, nothing else