Kanyakumari
Kanyakumari
Cape Comorin | |
|---|---|
Town | |
| Kanniyakumari | |
Vivekananda Rock Memorial, Kanyakumari | |
| Nicknames: Kumari, Thiruvenisangam | |
Kanyakumari Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu Kanyakumari Kanyakumari (India) | |
| Coordinates: 8°05′18″N 77°32′19″E / 8.088300°N 77.538500°E | |
| Country | India |
| State | Tamil Nadu |
| District | Kanyakumari |
| Named after | Devi Kanya Kumari |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipality |
| • Body | Kanyakumari Municipality |
| • District Collector | Alagumeena R, IAS |
| • District commissioner | Stalin R, IPS |
| • Member of Parliament | Vijay Vasanth |
| • Member of Legislative Assembly | Thalavai Sundaram |
| • Municipality leader | Kumari Stephen |
| Area | |
• Total | 25.89 km2 (10.00 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 60 m (200 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
• Total | 29,761 |
| • Density | 665/km2 (1,720/sq mi) |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Tamil |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 629 702 |
| Telephone code | 91-4652 & 91-4651 |
| Vehicle registration | TN 74 & TN 75 |
| Website | www |
Kanyakumari (lit. 'The virgin Girl', referring to Devi Kanya Kumari, officially known as Kanniyakumari, formerly known as Cape Comorin) is a town and municipality in Kanyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the southernmost tip of the contiguous Indian subcontinent and the southernmost city in mainland India, and thus it is informally referred to as "The Land's End". Kanyakumari town is about 90 kilometres (56 mi) from Thiruvananthapuram and 20 kilometres (12 mi) south of Nagercoil, the headquarters of Kanyakumari district.
Kanyakumari is a popular tourist destination and pilgrimage centre in India. Notable tourist spots include its unique sunrise and sunset points, the 41-metre (133 ft) Thiruvalluvar Statue, and Vivekananda Rock Memorial off the coast. Lying at the tip of peninsular India, the town is bordered on the west, south, and east by the Laccadive Sea. It has a coastline of 71.5 kilometres (44.4 mi) stretched along these three sides.
On the shores of the city is a temple dedicated to the goddess Kanya Kumari (the unmarried goddess), after which the town is named. Kanyakumari has been a town since the Sangam period and was referred to in old Tamil and Malayalam literature and in the accounts of Ptolemy and Marco Polo.