Padmanabhapuram Palace

Padmanabhapuram Palace ( പത്മനാഭപുരം കൊട്ടാരം) complex is located in at Padmanabhapuram Fort, close to the town of Thuckalay in Kanyakumari District, Tamilnadu, in India. It is about 15km from Nagercoil, and about 53 kilometers from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The palace complex is inside an old granite fortress around four kilometers long. The palace is located at the foot of the Veli Hills, which form a part of the Western Ghats. The river Valli flows nearby. The palace is administered by the Government of Kerala archeology department.
The palace was constructed around 1601 CE by Iravi Varma Kulasekhara Perumal who ruled Travancore between 1592 CE and 1609 CE.It is believed that the Thai Kottaram was built in CE 1550. The maker of modern Travancore Anizham Thirunal Marthandavarma ( CE 1706 -1758 ) who ruled Travancore from CE1729 to 1758 rebuilt the palace in 1n around 1750. King Marthaanda Varma dedicated the kingdom to his family deity Sree Padmanabha , an incarnation of Lord Vishnu and ruled the kingdom as Padmanabha dasa or servant of Lord Padmanabha. Hence the name Padmanabhapuram or City of Lord Padmanabha. In the late 18th century,precisely in 1795 CE the capital of Travancore was shifted from here to Thiruvananthapuram, and the place lost its former glory. However, the palace complex continues to be one of the best examples of traditional Kerala architecture, and some portions of the sprawling complex are also the hallmark of traditional Kerala style architecture.

Route Distance
Thiruvananthapuram-

Padmanabhapuram Palace Thuckalay, Tamil Nadu is 53KM

  

Interesting features

·         Mantrasala (Council chamber)

·         Thai Kottaram (Mother's palace)

·         Nataksala (Hall of performance)

·         Nataksala (Hall of performance)

·         Thekee kottaram (Southern palace)

·         The Padamnabhapuram Palace complex has several other interesting features:

·         The Palace though surrounded entirely by the State of Tamil Nadu is still part of Kerala and the land and Palace belongs to the Government of Kerala.

·         The clock tower in the palace complex has a 300 year old clock, which still keeps time.

·         A big hall now bare, which can accommodate around 1000 guests, and where ceremonial feasts were held, on auspicious occasions.

·         A secret passage, now blocked, through which the king, his immediate family members, and their entourage could escape to another palace, located several kilometers away in the event of any emergency. Name of this palace is Charottu kottaram.

·         A flight of steps leads to a bathing pond, which has lost its freshness due to neglect and years of disuse.

·         The Palace complex also has a section of curios and several interesting objects:

·         An entire room filled with old Chinese jars, all gifts by Chinese merchants.

·         A variety of weapons (which were actually used in warfare), including swords and daggers.

·         Brass lamps, wood and stone sculpture, a variety of furniture and large mirrors made of polished metal.

·         A gallery of paintings depicting incidents from the history of Travancore.

·         A wooden cot made of up to 64 wooden pieces of a variety of medicinal tree trunks

·         Polished stone cot, meant for cool effect

·         Toilet and well