Vivekananda Memorial, Kanyakumari

Introduction and history: The Vivekananda memorial is a rock located in Kanyakumari district about 500 meters from the main land. This is one of the important monuments which speak for India’s spiritual wealth and one of its masters Swami Vivekananda. When Swami visited this place in 1892, he went on deep meditation thereby making it one of the ideal places to attain solace. Kanyakumari has been named after the Goddess Kanyakumari amman who is the popular deity of the area. Legend has it that the Goddess parvati in one of her incarnations as Devi kanni did penance on one of the rocks of this land’s end to obtain the hand of Lord Shiva.

What to see and when to go: The memorial consist of two main portions namely Vivekananda mantapam and Shripada mantapam. The former is ideal place for performing meditation and the later forms the outer platform, which serves as an excellent vista point. This is ideal to visit any time during the year.

Things to do: Apart from visiting Vivekananda memorial, one can check out yoga camps nearby in the Vivekanandapuram area.

Accommodation: There is lot of hotels available depending on the budget. Hotels in Vivekanandapuram are very economical with price ranging about 300-500 rupees per day.

Hotel Pioneer Paradise
Tower Junction,
Nagercoil
Kanyakumari
Tamil Nadu
Tele:04652-238451,238542,238544

Hotel Manickam
East car street,
Near seashore,
Kanyakumari.
Tamil Nadu
Tele:04652-246387,246687

Hotel Sangam
Main Road,
Kanyakumari
Tamil Nadu
Tele:04652-246351,246352,246629

Mode of transport: The nearest Airport to Kanyakumari is Trivandrum (80 kilometers), the capital city of Kerala. For train journey, one needs to get down at Kanyakumari junction itself, where many long distance trains are available. Taxis are the main mode of transport for local travel.

Related links:
• Official website: http://kanyakumari.nic.in/
• Vivekananda memorial: http://www.rockmemorial.org/

See also (nearby places): Suchindrum, Udayagiri Fort, Mathoor Hanging Bridge, Padmanabhapuram Palace, Uppirika Malika, The Navarathri Mandapa, Pechiparai Dam, Peer Mohammed Durga, Tirparappu Water Falls, Maruthuva Malai, Chitharal, Muttom Beach, Sanguthurai Beach, Vattakottai (Circular Fort), Chothavilai Beach, Ulakkai aruvi, Mukkadal, , Sri Padaparai, Kanyakumari amman temple, Gandhi mantapam, Vivekananda pictorial exhibition, Thiruvalluvar statue, St.Francis Xavier church and wandering monk exhibition.