One of my cherished childhood memories is that of a South-India-package tour. For around 10 days, we visited various temples and tourist places in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Though I have limited memory of that trip, I remember the visit to Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanyakumari and the choppy boat ride.
I was keen to visit Kanyakumari given its deep connection with Swami Vivekanand. And presence of Vivekanandpuram was an additional attraction. However, in order to add something new to our itinerary , we decided to visit Varkala in Kerala. Few years ago, Varkala was a little-known beach town which shot into prominence in last decade, primarily due to its popularity with western tourists.
07-Mar-23
We had booked Bangalore-Nagercoil express which departs from SMVT train terminus. This is a new railway station which was recently inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi. Since we were not sure about how long it would take to reach there, we left well in time. We were pleasantly surprised to see the train station, which is built like an airport; with escalators, food-courts and plenty of open spaces. Even ascetically, it is very pleasing. This is “new India” where we are finally getting the infrastructure we deserve !
08-Mar-23
After a comfortable journey, we arrived at Nagercoil at around 7:30 AM. Nagercoil is an important city in the district and is around 15 KMS from Kanyakumari town. We hired an auto-rickshaw and reached hotel “Temple Citi” around 8:30 AM.
One of the key learnings from my travels is to visit the key attractions on priority. Given the huge popularity of Vivekanand Rock Memorial, it was obviously first on my list. We took a short break at the hotel and left for the ferry boarding point.
Vivekananda Rock Memorial is the most popular tourist attraction in Kanyakumari. In December 1892, Swami Vivekananda, swam across the sea to reach the rock where he meditated for three days and nights . It is believed that Swamiji was inspired to serve humanity during his meditations here.
The Vivekananda Rock Memorial was fructified through tireless efforts of Eknathji Ranade – a dedicated Sewak of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He played an instrumental role in the constructing of the Vivekananda Rock Memorial by overcoming numerous political and financial challenges.
I had planned my vacation such that we would be in Kanyakumari during middle of the week. On weekends and holidays, this place is overwhelmed by tourists and have read about those who had to wait for 3 hours to visit the Vivekananda Rock Memorial !
We however, had a short wait of about 15 minutes and boarded the ferry for the 10 minutes ride. The waves were very choppy and the boat swerved wildly. A group of north Indian tourists started chanting bhajans of Lord Hanuman and others joined in. The surprising part in Kanyakumari was the number of north Indian tourists we encountered. I had never heard Hindi anywhere else in Tamil Nadu, but in Kanyakumari, not only the tourists but even the local auto-drivers, tourists guides, restaurant staff were conversant in Hindi. This is in sharp contrast to my experience elsewhere in Tamil Nadu where I struggled to communicate as I do not speak Tamil.
Once we reached the Rock Memorial, we were impressed by the grandeur of the structure. Truly a monument befitting Swami Vivekananad. Eknathji Ranade’s super-human efforts will benefit the generations of Indians. We first visited the main mandapam which has the life size statute of Swami Vivekanand and images of Sri Ramakrishna and Holy Mother Sarada Devi. Besides it, is the meditation hall where we meditated for few minutes and headed to the book store.
The unique aspects of the book store is the availability of spiritual books in different Indian languages. I bought a few books in English and Marathi ,especially on the works of Ekhanthji Ranade.
The link to the video of Vivekananda Rock Memorial is given below
Once back on mainland, we hurried to visit the Bhagavati Kumari Amman Temple (also called Devi Kanya Kumari temple). This goddess is a manifestation of the Hindu goddess Mahadevi in the form of an adolescent girl. According to legend ,her marriage with Shiva was cancelled due to stratagem of Narada who wanted Kanya Kumari to slay demon Banasura. It was preordained that Banasura would be killed only by a virgin, and hence the Kanya Kumari slayed the demon after a fierce fight.
Today the confluence of seas is considered to be holy and devotees bathe in it to absolve their sins.
The link to the video of Triveni Sangam is given below
The temple remains closed from 12 PM to 5 PM and this is true for every temple we visited in Tamil Nadu. In my view, the temple management should re-consider this timing, given the large number of devotees who visit from all over India.
There were very few devotees and we could see the goddess from close. She was dressed on wonderful attire and lighting was mesmerizing . We bowed down to the other gods in the temple and headed back to the hotel.
For lunch, we choose Suchindram Maruti vegetarian restaurant for lunch. The simple Tamil style thali meals suited our taste, and we lunched there next day as well . For dinner we visited North Indian style Delhi Punjabi Dhaba which was acceptable in terms of taste and hygiene.
Viewing sunrise and sunset are the highlights of Kanyakumari. This is unique place where one can view both from nearby spots. In the evening, we firsts visited the “pier”, which is a rocky extension of about 500 meters into the sea. The wind was howling and we could barely hear ourselves speak. In fact, strong wind was a constant during our entire stay there.
The link to the video of Kanyakumari pier is given below
We then hired an auto-rickshaw to visit the Kovalam beach – about 3 KMS from main town (not to be confused with Kovalam beach near Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala). There is good infrastructure to view the sunset from benches, towers etc.
The sea in Kanyakumari is very rough and entering water is not , recommended . In fact , there are policemen on the beaches to dissuade anyone who attempts do so. So we took our seats and viewed the beautiful sunset.
We ended our first day in Kanyakumari with memories of this sunset
09-Mar-2023
Kanyakumari is one of the few places where one can view sunrise as well as sunset. Hence on the second day, we woke up early at 5:30 AM ( not common occurrence in my life !) and headed to the Sunrise viewing point. It was a cloudy morning, hence we could not view the actual sunrise but it was quite a sight to see the sun rays over the sea at such an early hour.
Post our breakfast at the hotel, we decided to visit the lesser known attractions of Kanyakumari. We hired an autorickshaw and headed to Vattakottai fort about 6 KMS from our hotel
Vattakottai fort was built in the 18th century as a coastal defence-fortification by the former Travancore kingdom. It commands a picturesque view of the Bay of Bengal on one side and hills on the other. There is nothing much inside the fort and we took some pictures from vantage points.
The link to the video of Vattakottai fort is given below
On our way back we saw a sign board “Dattatreya temple”. Lord Dattareya is a well known Hindu god in Maharashtra and I was intrigued to see his temple in Kanyakumari. It is a fairly modern temple and managed entirely by Maharashtrians. Truly, the cultural distances are decreasing and we are becoming “one India”
That evening, we visited the most interesting part of Kanyakumari – ‘hidden twin beach”. As the name suggests, it is not well known and we were the only tourists on its small but beautiful rocky shoreline. It was good experience to view the sun set from this beach
The link to the video of Hidden Beach is given below
Though Kanyakumari is a very popular tourist destination amongst tourists from all over India, the infrastructure of this town does not appear to have kept pace with the rise in tourists. One can easily imagine the chaos and confusion during the holidays. Its recommended to visit only on weekdays and preferably in non-peak-season.
09-Mar-23
Next morning we checked-out of hotel to board a train to our next destination – Varkala in Kerala. In last few years, Varkala has become one of the most sought-after beach destinations amongst Indian and international tourists. The key attraction is the cliffs adjacent to the Arabian sea, the only place in Kerala with such geographical feature.
The train network in Kerala and Tamil Nadu is pretty good and it is a convenient way to get around. We boarded the Kanyakumari-Pune express at 08:40 AM after having breakfast at the railway station.
After a pleasant journey , we arrived at Varkala railway station and checked into Dahlia Beach resort near the beach. There is no construction allowed on the beach itself and all the hotels are on the cliff which overlooks the beach.
After a quick lunch at local restaurant which served home made food and some rest, we headed towards the cliff. This reminded us of Cola Beach in south Goa, which has similar views from elevation. After clicking a few pictures from the cliff, we walked down around 100 steps to the beach. This is one of the longest and broadest beaches I have ever seen . Though it was fairly crowded we found a quiet spot to view the sunset. Sunsets from beach never fail to mesmerise me !
Post sunset, we walked around the market on the cliff. There are numerous restaurants and shops here and one can spend few hours on this strip.
Link to view of Varkala beach from cliff
We dined at Little Tibet restaurant, but it was a bit of a search to find anything suitable for vegetarians. Am sure as the number of tourists increase, there will be few high-quality vegetarian restaurants, but till then it is a challenge for those like us.
10-Mar-23
Next morning, we hired a two-wheeler (INR 500 per day) and visited the little know Kappil beach. Adjacent to this beach, is an estuary which flows into the sea. After a scenic ride of about 7 KMS, we reached the beach. The last few meters were not tarred and one must drive on the sand , which can get very tricky !
The views of sea, the coconut trees and the estuary together create a splendid view and spent some time there. The water in estuary was crystal clear and appeared more like lake water
These isolated beaches are excellent for those who want to get away from the crowds and just view the sea in all its splendour
The link to the video of Kappil beach is given below
That evening we went for a long walk on the Varkala beach. With water splashing on our feet, we walked for more than 2 KMS, viewing the sunset. I find this to be a therapeutic experience
Our next destination post sunset was Janardana Swami Temple which is a 2000+ year-old temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu. It is a fine example of Kerala style architecture with circular sanctum sanctorum and conical dome. This is large and well maintained temple complex with other deities like Shiva, Hanuman, Garuda etc. I spent about 30 minutes here before heading back to Varkala cliff.
The numerous shops lining the cliff provide an opportunity of shopping for clothes, handicrafts, imitation jewellery and souvenirs.
12-Mar-23
Our final day of vacation start bright and sunny. We just walked around the cliff to click a few pictures and departed to railway station. The vendors and auto-drivers in Varkala speak good Hindi and we found the place to be friendly and relaxed. It is easy to understand why it has become so popular.
In this trip, I could not visit the Sivagiri Mutt, where the Sree Narayana Dharma Sangham headquarters are located. It was founded by Sree Narayana Guru to propagate his concept of “One caste One Religion and One God” for man. A place to visit next time in Varkala.
As we boarded our train to Bangalore, I reflected on the different places we had visited in our short vacation; from Vivekananda Memorial, temples, beaches and forts. Truly there is so much to see in our magnificent country !
Temples of Karnataka 