As we completed our trip to UNESCO World Heritage site Hampi, we planned our next trip to Kanyakumari in march. Yes, in the scorching summer . When we discussed with friends, the only reaction got from most of them was ‘are you mad, trip to Kanyakumari in hot summer’. We were not worried about hot summer; we just want to experience the most beautiful Sun rise and Sun set in the world. As I already know, Kanyakumari is the best place to experience sun rise and sun set.
As everyone accepted, one of my friends was very much interested to visit the ever historic Madurai meenakshi amman temple so we included the place into our list then other said why cant we experience the coastal ride towards Rameshwaram from kanyakumari?At last, The plan was to visit kanyakumari, rameshwaram and Madurai in 4 days.
Journey begins..
On 24th march 2017, started our journey at 5:15pm through Nagercoil Express from Bangalore City Jn. Nagercoil Express doesn't have attached pantry it is advised to pack your dinner or you can book your meal in the train. We packed our meals from home, if that is not enough we planned to buy something in train. If you missed to pack your meal and not booked your dinner in the train when the catering person comes to take order, you have no option other than veg/egg biriyani sold by some vendors in the train.
We reached Nagercoil Junction at 7:55 am on 25th march 2017. When we came out of the station we just saw lots of autos waiting to take us where ever we want. During our plan we decided to go to Nagercoil bus stop from Nagercoil junction and board bus to kanyakumari. There was a bus in the junction, we asked a conductor whether that bus goes to Nagercoil bus stand, he replied this bus goes to Kanyakumari and we got inside the bus. Ticket price was Rs. 12(very reasonable than our city buses) from Nagercoil junction to kanyakumari. We reached kanyakumari at 8:30am.
As soon we got down , we were able to see sea from the drop point in kanyakumari. We wanted to go near sea and spent some time over there as it's instantly addictive but we didn’t as we wanted to keep our luggage and we were hungry too. We went in search of hotel, there were so many hotels in the same lane. Price range was also less, as there are so many hotels and its off season. We took duplex room with cost of 800 and 1000 for Non ac and ac respectively. We booked it for one day i.e., 24 hours.
Kanyakumari-The fantabulous southern tip
Kanyakumari is India's southern tip.A coastal town down south of Tamil Nadu and also known as Cape comorin.The best place to experience the sunrise and sunset over the ocean. The town lies at the point where the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean merge with each other. Kanyakumari town is named after the goddess Kanyakumari amman.
Vivekananda Rock
After refreshing, we headed towards Vivekananda rock and thiruvalluvar statue. We reached the ticket counter for the ferry that takes to Vivekananda Rock Memorial. Ticket rate for to and fro boat journey is Rs.34 per head. Felt relaxed inside well maintained boating dock in hot summer. There was not much of a rush and we got into the boat in no time. Entry fee to the rock is Rs 20/- per head. The specialty of the rock is that Swami Vivekananda meditated in this rock alone for three days before proceeding to World Religious Conference at Chicago. There is a meditation hall , visitors are allowed to meditate few minutes. We spent few minutes in the hall and came out. The rock has a Mandabam which has a statue of Swami Vivekananda. It also has many book stalls.During our visit to Vivekananda rock we were not allowed to visit Thiruvaluvar statue so we just enjoyed far view of Thiruvaluvar statue and returned from the Vivekananda rock.After coming back ,we had lunch and went to Gandhi mandapam.
Gandhi Mandapam
Gandhi Mandapam is situated very near to kanyakumari amman temple. It the place where the ashes of mahathma Gandhi was kept before a portion of which was immersed in three seas (Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean) . There is a way inside the mandapam to reach top of the mandapam. we can visit Vivekananda memorial rock, Thiruvalluvar statue, triveni sangam, kanyakumari temple. We spent some time on the top.
Thiruvalluvar Statue
We were speaking about awesome view of thiruvalluvar statue from Gandhi Mandapam and observed there were people near the statue.But when we went to Vivekanda Rock we were not taken to the place. We asked a photographer about the timings to visit Thiruvalluvar Statue. He mentioned that may be due to bad weather they may not have allowed , you can visit the statue using same ticket. Then we went to boating dock and said the same to them. They allowed us directly to visit again.
I was awestruck to see the statue, such a tall statue (like a skyscraper). We climbed on the steps that took to the top floor of the statue. After reaching the top floor just felt we were lucky so that we got chance to visit the place. One should experience this in life time. After few minutes we were back to the shore.
Sun set
Now it’s time for Sun set, we didn’t want to miss sun set so we started to sun set point around 5pm. We took auto to sun set point, He demanded rs.100, we paid rs.60 since we were going early. After reaching sun set point we came to know that there is sharing cart which takes rs.10 from Gandhi mandapam to sun set point and vice versa(that's a small loss).
Sun set point is Rock beach, we went and sat there for few minutes. There were many people praying to god in the beach in front of church. There was a beads seller, he came near us and insisted to buy beads but we declined. We were discussing about tsunami, the beads seller was listening to us and he started to share his experience about tsunami. He mentioned that on December 26,2004 he experienced ocean limits going backwards and he was able to see big rocks underneath which he has never seen in his life time and started to run away from the place. He said that "Its god’s grace that we are alive after such a disaster" finally he left the place asking us to watch sun set and return back safely.We wanted to settle down somewhere to watch sun set then we climbed a rock , from where we can experience the view directly. Yes, it’s time for sun set. I really can’t explain the beauty , below are few clicks.
Kanyakumari Amman Temple
We took sharing cart to Kanyakumari Temple , we visited temple felt blessed . From the temple experienced night view of vivekananda rock memorial and Thiruvalluvar statue .
Shopping at Kanyakumari
Now it’s time for shopping, we can shop many things for cheap cost. There are various kinds of decorative items made of sea sells. Different kinds of beads, jewelries made of sea shell. Jute items, sarees, dresses, dolls etc all of cheap price compared to those we get in Bengaluru. Then we had dinner and went to room kept alarm to wake up early moring to experience sun rise.
Sun rise
Its 5:30am on 26th march 2017, we got up and went to sun rise spot. Before we reach there were already many people at the spot. we felt like OMG we are late. After searching few minutes for place where we can get clear view, we got a place. At 6:21am , sun started to rise up . We planned our trip in summer to experience this moment and successfully accomplished.
Bye Bye Kanyakumari
Its time to leave kanyakumari and start our journey towards Uvari. We didn’t had any idea about the place until I spoken with friend of mine about kanyakumari trip. We got information that there is a place called uvari which is beautiful place with many chrush near sea shore. Then we google about the place and added to the must visit place list. We took bus to vadachery from kanyakumari , from there we took coastal lane thuthukudi bus and got down at uvari.
Uvari
Uvari is a coastal village in the Tirunelveli district in the state of Tamil Nadu in India which is 50 km from Kanyakumari. When we got down we saw a church near to bus stand but that’s not the one we are looking for. Since we didn’t know anything about the place, we asked a conductor about the beach and the church which looks like boat and flight. He directed us a way and even there we didn’t find the place we are looking for. Then we showed photo of the church to person in the grocery shop. He questioned us asking are you people sure that you people came to right place, do you people think this church is here only. We were like what, but Google won’t lie, we answered yes sir, we are sure it’s the same place. Then he directed us to that place. We visited the church and started walking towards sea.We couldn’t help our self from enjoying the strong winds of the sea and the sight of water all around us. The scene of waves was a sight to see. We just forgot its hot summer when we walked towards sea.
Rameshwaram
From Uvari we took bus to thoothukudi and reached the place at 6:30pm. There is no direct bus to Rameshwaram we have to go to Ramanathapuram and then take bus to Rameshwaram. We reached Rameshwaram on 27th march 2017 12:30am. We took room at sunrise view hotel opposite to temple for 2 days with cost of 1200rs (non ac)and 1800rs (ac) per day.
On 27th march 2017 11am we started towards Dhanushkodi. There is a bus from Rameshwaram temple to Dhanushkoti for everyone hour. We took auto to Dhanushkodi as we wanted to visit few other places on the way . First we visited school where Abdul kalam did his 1st to 5th standard then we went to abdul kalam house and museum. From there we went to vibhishana pattabisheka place , kodandarama temple and reached Dhanushkodi checkpost.We have to go by mini bus to dhanushkoti from the checkpost. Up and down cost for mini bus per person is 150rs. The way to dhanushkodi is thick sand and sea water there is no proper road.
The Abandoned Town - Dhanuskodi
Dhanuskodi also called as a Ghost Town. There was a rail link earlier which was fully destroyed in a devastating cyclone occurred. Thousands of people died in that tragedy. Before that incident, Dhanuskodi was only land border between India and Sri Lanka.We can visit destroyed Railway Station, Post Office, Church and other places even now.
According to Indian Epic Ramayana, this is the place where Rama built setu to Sri lanka to conquer Ravana and bring Sita devi back.
From Dhanuskodi to Rameshwaram temple bus charge per person is 12rs. After returning, we visited Rameshwaram temple and started shopping at Rameshwaram.We found all the items which are sold in Kanyakumari are sold here and felt little costly when compared to Kanyakumari.
Madurai
On 28th march 2017, we started to Madurai through 11:15am passenger train to experience pamban bridge.Pamban bridge is a raiway bridge which is 2km strait. It was India’s first sea bridge. We reached Madurai at 3pm , kept our bags in the cloak room. As we didn’t had much time to explore all the places in Madurai we visited only Thirumalai nayakar mahal and Meenakshi Amman Temple. We spent around 4 hours inside temple , there was huge queue inside to visit god and goddess. After visiting all four entrance of the temple we sat near kalyani for some time discussing about the temple and other discussions. We left temple around 9pm and started towards railway station by walking , shopping , eating street foods. we reached raiway station around 10:30pm. Boarded our train at 11:55pm and reached Bengaluru on 29th march 2017 morning.
Total Travel Expense
As everyone accepted, one of my friends was very much interested to visit the ever historic Madurai meenakshi amman temple so we included the place into our list then other said why cant we experience the coastal ride towards Rameshwaram from kanyakumari?At last, The plan was to visit kanyakumari, rameshwaram and Madurai in 4 days.
Journey begins..
On 24th march 2017, started our journey at 5:15pm through Nagercoil Express from Bangalore City Jn. Nagercoil Express doesn't have attached pantry it is advised to pack your dinner or you can book your meal in the train. We packed our meals from home, if that is not enough we planned to buy something in train. If you missed to pack your meal and not booked your dinner in the train when the catering person comes to take order, you have no option other than veg/egg biriyani sold by some vendors in the train.
We reached Nagercoil Junction at 7:55 am on 25th march 2017. When we came out of the station we just saw lots of autos waiting to take us where ever we want. During our plan we decided to go to Nagercoil bus stop from Nagercoil junction and board bus to kanyakumari. There was a bus in the junction, we asked a conductor whether that bus goes to Nagercoil bus stand, he replied this bus goes to Kanyakumari and we got inside the bus. Ticket price was Rs. 12(very reasonable than our city buses) from Nagercoil junction to kanyakumari. We reached kanyakumari at 8:30am.
As soon we got down , we were able to see sea from the drop point in kanyakumari. We wanted to go near sea and spent some time over there as it's instantly addictive but we didn’t as we wanted to keep our luggage and we were hungry too. We went in search of hotel, there were so many hotels in the same lane. Price range was also less, as there are so many hotels and its off season. We took duplex room with cost of 800 and 1000 for Non ac and ac respectively. We booked it for one day i.e., 24 hours.
Kanyakumari-The fantabulous southern tip
Kanyakumari is India's southern tip.A coastal town down south of Tamil Nadu and also known as Cape comorin.The best place to experience the sunrise and sunset over the ocean. The town lies at the point where the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean merge with each other. Kanyakumari town is named after the goddess Kanyakumari amman.
Vivekananda Rock
After refreshing, we headed towards Vivekananda rock and thiruvalluvar statue. We reached the ticket counter for the ferry that takes to Vivekananda Rock Memorial. Ticket rate for to and fro boat journey is Rs.34 per head. Felt relaxed inside well maintained boating dock in hot summer. There was not much of a rush and we got into the boat in no time. Entry fee to the rock is Rs 20/- per head. The specialty of the rock is that Swami Vivekananda meditated in this rock alone for three days before proceeding to World Religious Conference at Chicago. There is a meditation hall , visitors are allowed to meditate few minutes. We spent few minutes in the hall and came out. The rock has a Mandabam which has a statue of Swami Vivekananda. It also has many book stalls.During our visit to Vivekananda rock we were not allowed to visit Thiruvaluvar statue so we just enjoyed far view of Thiruvaluvar statue and returned from the Vivekananda rock.After coming back ,we had lunch and went to Gandhi mandapam.
Gandhi Mandapam
Gandhi Mandapam is situated very near to kanyakumari amman temple. It the place where the ashes of mahathma Gandhi was kept before a portion of which was immersed in three seas (Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean) . There is a way inside the mandapam to reach top of the mandapam. we can visit Vivekananda memorial rock, Thiruvalluvar statue, triveni sangam, kanyakumari temple. We spent some time on the top.
Thiruvalluvar Statue
We were speaking about awesome view of thiruvalluvar statue from Gandhi Mandapam and observed there were people near the statue.But when we went to Vivekanda Rock we were not taken to the place. We asked a photographer about the timings to visit Thiruvalluvar Statue. He mentioned that may be due to bad weather they may not have allowed , you can visit the statue using same ticket. Then we went to boating dock and said the same to them. They allowed us directly to visit again.
I was awestruck to see the statue, such a tall statue (like a skyscraper). We climbed on the steps that took to the top floor of the statue. After reaching the top floor just felt we were lucky so that we got chance to visit the place. One should experience this in life time. After few minutes we were back to the shore.
Sun set
Now it’s time for Sun set, we didn’t want to miss sun set so we started to sun set point around 5pm. We took auto to sun set point, He demanded rs.100, we paid rs.60 since we were going early. After reaching sun set point we came to know that there is sharing cart which takes rs.10 from Gandhi mandapam to sun set point and vice versa(that's a small loss).
Sun set point is Rock beach, we went and sat there for few minutes. There were many people praying to god in the beach in front of church. There was a beads seller, he came near us and insisted to buy beads but we declined. We were discussing about tsunami, the beads seller was listening to us and he started to share his experience about tsunami. He mentioned that on December 26,2004 he experienced ocean limits going backwards and he was able to see big rocks underneath which he has never seen in his life time and started to run away from the place. He said that "Its god’s grace that we are alive after such a disaster" finally he left the place asking us to watch sun set and return back safely.We wanted to settle down somewhere to watch sun set then we climbed a rock , from where we can experience the view directly. Yes, it’s time for sun set. I really can’t explain the beauty , below are few clicks.
We took sharing cart to Kanyakumari Temple , we visited temple felt blessed . From the temple experienced night view of vivekananda rock memorial and Thiruvalluvar statue .
Shopping at Kanyakumari
Now it’s time for shopping, we can shop many things for cheap cost. There are various kinds of decorative items made of sea sells. Different kinds of beads, jewelries made of sea shell. Jute items, sarees, dresses, dolls etc all of cheap price compared to those we get in Bengaluru. Then we had dinner and went to room kept alarm to wake up early moring to experience sun rise.
Sun rise
Its 5:30am on 26th march 2017, we got up and went to sun rise spot. Before we reach there were already many people at the spot. we felt like OMG we are late. After searching few minutes for place where we can get clear view, we got a place. At 6:21am , sun started to rise up . We planned our trip in summer to experience this moment and successfully accomplished.
Bye Bye Kanyakumari
Its time to leave kanyakumari and start our journey towards Uvari. We didn’t had any idea about the place until I spoken with friend of mine about kanyakumari trip. We got information that there is a place called uvari which is beautiful place with many chrush near sea shore. Then we google about the place and added to the must visit place list. We took bus to vadachery from kanyakumari , from there we took coastal lane thuthukudi bus and got down at uvari.
Uvari
Uvari is a coastal village in the Tirunelveli district in the state of Tamil Nadu in India which is 50 km from Kanyakumari. When we got down we saw a church near to bus stand but that’s not the one we are looking for. Since we didn’t know anything about the place, we asked a conductor about the beach and the church which looks like boat and flight. He directed us a way and even there we didn’t find the place we are looking for. Then we showed photo of the church to person in the grocery shop. He questioned us asking are you people sure that you people came to right place, do you people think this church is here only. We were like what, but Google won’t lie, we answered yes sir, we are sure it’s the same place. Then he directed us to that place. We visited the church and started walking towards sea.We couldn’t help our self from enjoying the strong winds of the sea and the sight of water all around us. The scene of waves was a sight to see. We just forgot its hot summer when we walked towards sea.
Rameshwaram
From Uvari we took bus to thoothukudi and reached the place at 6:30pm. There is no direct bus to Rameshwaram we have to go to Ramanathapuram and then take bus to Rameshwaram. We reached Rameshwaram on 27th march 2017 12:30am. We took room at sunrise view hotel opposite to temple for 2 days with cost of 1200rs (non ac)and 1800rs (ac) per day.
On 27th march 2017 11am we started towards Dhanushkodi. There is a bus from Rameshwaram temple to Dhanushkoti for everyone hour. We took auto to Dhanushkodi as we wanted to visit few other places on the way . First we visited school where Abdul kalam did his 1st to 5th standard then we went to abdul kalam house and museum. From there we went to vibhishana pattabisheka place , kodandarama temple and reached Dhanushkodi checkpost.We have to go by mini bus to dhanushkoti from the checkpost. Up and down cost for mini bus per person is 150rs. The way to dhanushkodi is thick sand and sea water there is no proper road.
The Abandoned Town - Dhanuskodi
Dhanuskodi also called as a Ghost Town. There was a rail link earlier which was fully destroyed in a devastating cyclone occurred. Thousands of people died in that tragedy. Before that incident, Dhanuskodi was only land border between India and Sri Lanka.We can visit destroyed Railway Station, Post Office, Church and other places even now.
According to Indian Epic Ramayana, this is the place where Rama built setu to Sri lanka to conquer Ravana and bring Sita devi back.
Madurai
On 28th march 2017, we started to Madurai through 11:15am passenger train to experience pamban bridge.Pamban bridge is a raiway bridge which is 2km strait. It was India’s first sea bridge. We reached Madurai at 3pm , kept our bags in the cloak room. As we didn’t had much time to explore all the places in Madurai we visited only Thirumalai nayakar mahal and Meenakshi Amman Temple. We spent around 4 hours inside temple , there was huge queue inside to visit god and goddess. After visiting all four entrance of the temple we sat near kalyani for some time discussing about the temple and other discussions. We left temple around 9pm and started towards railway station by walking , shopping , eating street foods. we reached raiway station around 10:30pm. Boarded our train at 11:55pm and reached Bengaluru on 29th march 2017 morning.
Total Travel Expense
| Bangalore to Nagercoil Train ticket | 360 |
| Nagercoil to Kanyakumari bus Ticket | 12 |
| Vivekannada rock Ferry fee | 34 |
| Vivekannada rock entry fee | 20 |
| Room rs 800, shared by three | 267 |
| kanyakumari to vadasery bus ticket | 11 |
| Vadasery to Uvari bus ticket | 35 |
| Uvari to Tuticorin bus ticket | 75 |
| Tuticorin to Ramanathpuram bus ticket | 45 |
| Ramanathapuram to Rameshwaram bus ticket | 36 |
| Dhanushkoti mini van | 150 |
| Dhanushkoti to Rameshwaram | 12 |
| Rameshwaram room for 2 days 2400 shared by three | 800 |
| Rameshwaram to madurai train ticket | 35 |
| palace entry | 10 |
| Total Auto charge | 207 |
| Madurai to Bangalore Train ticket | 260 |
| Total cost per person | 2369 |
| * Food expense and personal expenses are not included | |
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