Indian Columbus

Padmanabhapuram Palace is the second most famous palace in South India, after  Mysore Palace . It is located inside the Padmanabhapuram fortress at the foot of Veli Hills, a part of the Western Ghats.  Padmanabhapuram Palace is located at a distance of around 20 km from Nagercoil and 50 km from  Thiruvananthapuram . The nearest town to Padmanabhapuram is Thakkalai. Even though Padmanabhapuram Palace is situated on the Tamil Nadu state border, the palace is administered by Kerala Government's archaeological department. Moreover, the palace stands as an example of  Kerala  architectural style. It was built by the Travancore king, Iravipillai Iravivarma Kulasekhara Perumal, in 1601 AD. After the capital of the Travancore kingdom was shifted from Padmanabhapuram to Thiruvananthapuram in the late 18th century AD, it lost its glory. The palace is one of the most beautiful monuments in South India. It is an excellent example of the typical Kerala style of architecture ...

Zoo and Museum are located in the heart of  Trivandrum  city (also called Thiruvananthapuram), the capital city of the Indian state of  Kerala . Trivandrum Zoo was started by the Maharaja of Travancore in 1857 AD as an annexure to Trivandrum Museum to attract more visitors. Both Trivandrum Museum and the Trivandrum Zoo are among the oldest museums and zoos in India, respectively. Trivandrum Museum is also called Napier Museum. The zoo has an area of around 55 acres. It houses about 75 species of animals and birds from around the world, including some of the rare Australian species. Some prominent species found in the zoo include Asian Lion, Bengal tiger, Nilgiri Langur, Zebra, Cape Buffalo, and Giraffe. Happy travelling. Visit my site,  krishnakumartk.com , to know more about the travel guides and other books that I have written. 

Thiruvananthapuram , or Trivandrum, is the capital city of  Kerala , popularly known as God's own country. Besides the famous Padmanabhaswamy temple in Trivandrum, there is another lesser-known but equally good tourist place in the city. It is Kuthira Malika palace, located next to the Padmanabhaswamy temple.  Puthen Malika Palace, popularly called Kuthira Malika, was built by the famous King Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma in the 1840s AD. The word 'Kuthira Malika' means ' Mansion of Horses' in Malayalam. (Malayalam is the regional language spoken in Kerala.)  The Puthen Malika Palace was left unoccupied for about 100 years after the demise of Swathi Thirunal. The palace was reopened to the public only in the middle of the 1990s.  The palace can be considered an excellent example of Kerala architecture. It has a lot of enclosed courtyards, pillared verandas, wooden ceilings with intricate works, and sloping roofs.  Some of the palace's rooms are still not accessible...

Thiruvananthapuram , or Trivandrum, is the capital city of the Indian state of  Kerala . There are a lot of tourist places in Trivandrum. The prominent tourist place is Padmanabhapuram temple. There is also another famous temple located in Trivandrum - Attukal Bhagavati temple. Those who visit Padmanabhapuram consider their travel complete only if they visit the Atttukal Bhagavati temple. Attukal Bhagavati temple is an ancient temple, which is dedicated to Bhagavati - the mother Goddess. It is believed that Vishnu Maya took the incarnation of Bhagavati. It is also said that the heroine of the Chilappathikaram epic Kannaki traveled from Tamil Nadu to Kerala and stayed here for a short time. Hence, there is a belief that Attukal Bhagavati is actually a divine form of Kannaki. It is a big temple. Even though it is supposed to be an ancient temple, you wouldn't get the heritage feel. The temple is built in a mixture of Tamil Nadu and Kerala styles of architecture. We could find two God...

Thiruvananthapuram, or Trivandrum, is the capital city of  Kerala  - God's own country - an Indian state. The tradition of Trivandrum can be dated back to 1000 BC. Trivandrum has a lot of important tourist places such as Padmanabhaswamy temple, Palace, Attukal Bhagavati temple, and Government Museum. The most important site in Trivandrum is undoubtedly Padmanabhaswamy Temple. The city Thiruvananthapuram got its name from the temple of Padmanabhaswamy. Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple is also called Sri Padmanabhaswamy Kshetram or Ananta Puri. It is one of the 108 Divya Desam temples (108 most important abodes of Lord Vishnu).  The temple has massive 100 feet and a seven-tiered temple tower. Sri Padmanabhaswamy is the presiding deity of the temple. He is in the reclining position over the serpent Ananta or Adi Sesha. Padmanabha is found along with his two consorts Sri Devi aka Lakshmi and Bhoo Devi (earth). Lord Brahma, is also seen in the sanctum. The image is made of 10,008 Sa...

Varkala is a coastal town near Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of the Indian state of  Kerala . Varkala has an ancient Janardhana Swamy temple, which is believed to be 2000 years old. Janardhan is the name of Lord Krishna, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Varkala Janardhana Swamy temple is one of the important pilgrim centers of Kerala, and it is also called 'Dakshina Kasi' (Southern Kasi). The temple is located near Papanasam beach, which is believed to have medicinal value. The presiding deity of the temple is Sri Janardhana Swamy. The icon is found in the standing posture and has four arms. One of his right arms is raised towards his mouth as if he is performing 'Aachamanam'. (Aachamanam is a kind of purification ritual followed in Hinduism, in which the water is sipped thrice into the mouth.) As per the belief, the deity's right arm has water and moves one inch towards his mouth every twelve years. When it reaches his mouth, that will end 'Kali Yuga'...

Ambalappuzha is a small town located near  Alappuzha  in  Kerala . The town is famous for its ancient and beautiful Krishna temple.  The temple built by the local ruler, 'Chembakasserry Pooradam Thirunal-Devanarayanan Thampuran' in 790 CE is associated with the famous temple of  Guruvayurappan . During the raids of Tipu Sultan in the year 1789 CE, the deity from Guruvayurappan temple was brought here for safekeeping. The 'paayasam' (a kind of sweet pudding made of rice and milk) served in this temple is very famous among the devotees, and it has an interesting legend behind this. Once, Lord Krishna appeared as a sage and challenged the local king on chess. It was decided that whoever lost the game had to pay rice to the winner. The number of grains (rice) would be determined using the chess board in the following manner. Once a grain of rice would be placed in the first square, two grains in the second square, four in the third square, and so on. Every square wo...