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Padmanabhapuram Palace is located close to the town of Thuckalay in Kanyakumari District, Tamilnadu. It is about 20 km from Nagercoil, and about 50 kilometers from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. Though the palace is situated in Kanyakumari district of Tamilnadu State, it is administered by the Government of Kerala archaeology department. The Padmanabhapuram palace complex is inside an old granite fortress around four kilometers long. The palatial mansion is a wooden paradise. The palace is located at the foot of the Veli Hills, which form a part of the Western Ghats. The river Valli flows nearby. It was once the seat of the rulers of old Travancore or Venad State from the 16th to the late 18th centuries. The palace was constructed around 1601 A.D by Ravipillai Ravivarma Kulasekhara Perumal who ruled Travancore between 1592 A.D. and 1609 A.D. The palace draws hundreds of visitors every day continuously. It is one of the best 10 palaces in the world The Padmanabhapuram pal...

Kanyakumari district District consists of those parts known as locally Nanjil Nadu and Idai Nadu. The names of the villages of the district such as Azhagiapaandipuram, Bhoothapandy, Cholapuram and Kulasekaram reveal that these places were governed by several rulers at difficult periods of time.It is learnt that Nanjilnadu was under the rule of Pandiyas till the early 10th century and then under Cheras. The Idai nadu including Kalkulam and Vilavancode taluks were under the rule of cheras. When the power of Chola declined due to the rise of Hoysalas and western Chalukyas, the venad (Travancore) Chief tains (the decondants of central Chera's family) took advantage of the situation and gradually established their hold on considerable areas in Nanjilnadu. Veera Kerala varma one such cheif tain and style himself as "Nanjil Kuravan". The annexation commenced by Veera Kerala Varma was to a large extent continued by his successors and completed by 1115 A.D. For about four ce...

Kanyakumari was once referred to as the Alexandria of the east. Kanyakumari has been a great center for art, culture, civilization, and pilgrimage for years. It was also a famous center for commerce and trade. During the early part of the eighth century AD Islam entered the southern part of India through the sea route with traders and missionaries. Through St. Thomas, one of the twelve Apostles of Christ, Christianity arrived in this area in AD 52. Islam, Christianity and Jainism have greatly contributed to the architectural wealth and literary heritage of this place. Kanyakumari was also under the control of the Cholas, the Cheras, the Pandyas and the Nayaks who were great rulers of south India. The architectural beauty of the temples is the work of these rulers. During the British Raj, Kanyakumari was bestowed the dry title of Cape Comorin, necessitated perhaps by the Englishmen's inability to pronounce local names. Legend has it that Kanya Devi, an avatar of G...