Nagercoil
at the southern tip of peninsular India. Because of its close proximity to the Western Ghats, the town and its surroundings are generally hilly. The Western Ghats is the lifeline of the town, with water sources for drinking, its temperate climate, irrigation around the city and
eco-system being influenced by this mountain range.
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Chothavilai Beach, near Nagercoil |
Sandwiched between the
Arabian Sea and the
Western Ghats, the town has some breathtaking sceneries of the surrounding hills (the Western Ghats), lush green paddy fields on the eastern side of the town, and sandy, palm-fringed beaches on the western side. Further east of Nagercoil, on the
Western Ghats are plantations of
rubber,
cloves and
cardamom. Many of these plantations were developed by British planters - planters names like Simpson and Balamore are still household names in the town - Rubber plant was introduced by the English missionaries in the pre-Indian independence days. Some of these plantation estates are still owned by the descendants of these British planters ; however, a majority of the
estates are now owned by the rich and influential Mapillai (also called
moplah or
Syrian Christians) community of Kerala.
Being close to the cape, the southernmost tip of peninsular India, the town is the intersection of the eastern and western lines of the Indian Railways with one line leading through Kerala called the
Konkan route and the other through the eastern part of India (through
Tirunelveli of Tamilnadu). Nagercoil is 65 km from Trivandrum (the capital of
Kerala state), connected by National Highway 47, and 80 km from Tirunelveli, connected by National Highway 7.
Nagercoil has a pleasant climate for most part of the year. The maximum temperature during
summer hovers around 30
degrees Celsius. Nagercoil is benefited by both the north-east
monsoon and the south-west monsoon. It rains more often in this district than any other place in Tamil Nadu, with the exception of the
Niligiris. The southern tip of Kanyakumari is generally 2 °C to 3 °C warmer than Nagercoil during daytime, though Kanyakumari is only 20 km away.
Though the official population count (for the
municipal area) is close to 2.25 lakhs, a significant population lives around the town, making the small district of
Kanyakumari, with a population of about 1.7 million (17 lakhs), one of the most densely populated districts in Tamilnadu and in South India.
The concentration of the population of the town and the District is along the coastal belt along the western side, while the largely forested areas on the eastern side of the district (along the Western Ghats) is sparsely populated.
Tamil, Malayalam (due to its proximity to Kerala) and English are widely spoken by the people. These three languages are used as a medium of teaching in all major schools.
The culture is a mixture of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Christianity, Hinduism and Islam are the main religions practiced, with Christians accounting to nearly half of the populace.
Some of the prominent festivals that are celebrated here are
Christmas,
Onam, Bhagavathy Amman Temple festival,
St. Francis Xavier's feast, the Peer Mohammed Durgah at Thuckalay and
Ayya Vaikunda Avataram festival at
Swamithope among others.
The arrival of
English,
German and other Western Christian
missionaries in the 19th century and the development of social infrastructure by the
Travancore regents raised the social status, literacy and educational levels of the people. Today, one finds a number of streets, schools and colleges in the town named after these European missionaries. Many of these missionaries were also noted scholars.
The European missionaries preached the importance and value of education even as early as the 19th century, because of which the socio-economic factors developed. They also converted a section of the people to
Protestant christianity.
Roman Catholicism was introduced earlier by
St. Francis Xavier in the 16th century and later by other
Jesuits.
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St. Francis Xavier's Church in Kottar, Nagercoil, where the great missionary-saint resided briefly |
St. Francis Xavier, the great
Roman Catholic missionary, and believed by many to be the greatest missionary in the world ever, made
Kottar locality in the town his principal residence for a period of two years in the 16th century, while doing missionary work around the town and in neighbouring
Tirunelveli district.
Of the Protestant missionaries, the services of two European missionaries are particularly laudable. One is Rev C. Mead, who after arriving in
1817 in Nagercoil, as a missionary of the
London Missionary Society (LMS), made immense contributions to the cause of education in the town and in Travancore. In
1818, he founded the Nagercoil
Seminary, which became one of the first regular institutes to impart English education in
Travancore state and also in Southern India. In
1855, in recognition for his contributions to education, the Travancore Government appointed him Superintendent of Schools, and while in this office, he furthered the cause of education and also encouraged female education in Nagercoil and in the state of Travancore. He also started the Nagercoil Mission Press, the first printing press in the state of Travancore. Rev. Mead also fought to abolish slavery, which was rampant at the time.
The other great missionary was Rev. William Tobias Ringeltaube, a native of the then
Prussia (present Germany), who from
1806 to
1816 established a number of schools and worked among the poor and downtrodden. He started one of the first regular schools in Travancore at Mylaudy, near Nagercoil and the school is still active at Mylaudy.
Like the London Mission Society (LMS), another organisation that rendered valuable services to the cause of education and upliftment of the socially downtrodden has been the Christian Mission Society (CMS). Both these societies still have a presence in Nagercoil (nearly two centuries after inception).
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Aramboly, near Nagercoil, with the wind-power mills |
Nagercoil is the headquarters of the state owned
Arasu Rubber Corporation and the regional office of the Central Rubber Board.
The
Indian Space Research Organisation (
ISRO) has a major testing facility for
Cryogenic and Liquid Propulsion
rocket engines on the Mahendragiri hills (on the Western Ghats) off Nagercoil. Rocket scientists and engineers from all over India work at this facility, called the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC).
The town also serves as a centre for the Koodangulam
Nuclear Power Plant reactors, being built with Russian assistance, which is situated in Tirunelveli district of Tamilnadu, but is the closest major town to the facility.
The public sector Indian Rare Earths Ltd (IRE), also has a major facility at Manavaalakurichy, near the town.
Aralvaimozhy, near the town, is a major centre for wind-mill
renewable-energy production, and one of the biggest centres in South Asia, both in terms of electricity generated and size of wind-mills, with thousands of
wind-mill electricity generators on tall towers dotting the entire area. The total power generated from these wind mills are 540
MW with each wind mill generating a power output of nearly 1.65 MW. The wind mills are erected and technically-supported by multinational majors in the field of renewable energy like Suzlon, Micon, etc. The steady flow of wind for these wind-mills is made possible because Aralvaimozhy is situated on a mountain gap (pass) in the
Western Ghats, through which the wind gushes, throughout the year.
Small Scale industries (cottage industries) include coir-making, floral trade, handloom-weaving, rubber products, fish-net manufacturing (exported on a large scale), food-processing units, lace-making (export-oriented), etc.
Being the major Tamilnadu town closest to the
Kerala capital, Thiruvananthapuram (
Trivandrum) (65 km away and the closest International airport to Nagercoil), trading and sending supplies to
Kerala and
Trivandrum is a major activity for the bustling markets at Vadasery and Kottar (availability and many items being cheaper in Tamilnadu than in Kerala adds to the thriving business).
Supply of marine and agricultural produce to the export-markets are also important economic activities, though primarily done through exporters or agents in
Kerala.
Remittances to Nagercoil from overseas, from NRIs (Non-Resident Indians) hailing from the town, also forms a significant portion of the local economy.
Some schools and colleges in Nagercoil are more than 150 years old , like Scott Christian College, built by the foreign missionaries. As explained above, European missionaries, in the 19th century and early 20th century played a major role in imparting education to the people of the town and district.
Educational institutions include a number of private Engineering colleges, the Government-run Kanyakumari Medical College (at Nagercoil), Polytechnic colleges and Arts and Science Colleges. As in neighbouring Kerala, women's education and career-development are given importance, almost on par with men by all communities, especially among the christians.
Several Colleges are run by Christian denominations and includes the St. Xavier's Catholic College of Engineering, CSI Institute of Technology, Scott Christian College (Arts and Sciences College, with some specialised departments), Holy Cross College for Women, Women's Christian College, etc.
The South Travancore Hindu College and Sivanthi Aditanar College in the town are major Hindu Arts and Sciences colleges. The Noorul Islam College of Engineering at Kumaracoil, near the town, is a noted institution for its facilities and management education programs.
The town is served by an
All India Radio (AIR) FM station and a
Doordarshan relay station. The entire district is networked for Cable TV operations, with one major operator. Mobile phone coverage of most mobile operators cover the whole district, except the forested areas on the east.
Maalai Malar is a locally published evening newspaper.
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Kanyakumari, the Land's end, and the confluence of the three water bodies, is 20 km to the south of Nagercoil, with tourist attractions of its own which include the [Vivekanda Rock Memorial]], 133 ft high statue of Tamil poet-saint
Tiruvalluvar - both on the mid-sea on rocky islands; the place is also famous for its distinctly beautiful (reddish) sunrise.
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Vattakkotai, or Circular Fort, is a fort near Kanyakumari, right on the sea-shore, built under the orders of
De Lannoy during the reign of
Marthanda varma (1729-58 AD). The view from the top of the fort, of the sea and the palm-fringed beach below is fantastic.
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Suchindrum (Thanumalayan) Temple, about 6 km from the heart of town and Nagaraja Temple (in the town), are some tourist attractions within the town.
*St. Xavier's Church, (
Kottar in the town), built in the year 1600 AD, has historic importance due to the visit of
St.Francis Xavier. The church was built in the land allotted to St. Xavier by the Venad king.
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Swamithoppe Ayya Vaikundar Pathi, about 11 km from
Kanyakumari, which is the religious headquarters of
Ayyavazhi, is well known for its non-idolatory system of worship.
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Padmanabhapuram Palace, (22 km from Nagercoil), once the seat of the Travancore kings, is India's only palace made completely of wood (16th century).
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Chitharal Jain Monuments (about 35 km near
Marthandam), impressive rock shelters and idols dated 9-11th Century.
*Thirunandikkara temple (about 20 km), rock-cut cave temple of Pallava art can be traced back to seventh and eighth century AD.
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Thengapattinam Beach. This beach is located on the west coast near Painkulam village in Vilancode Taluk. It is a fine beach adorned with coconut groves. It is also a magnificent estuary where the river meets the sea. Riding in a catamaran (small boat) in the river can be a pleasant experience which can be arranged through a local fisherman. It is 35 km from Nagercoil, 12 km from Kuzhithurai and 54 km from
Kanyakumari.
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Udayagiri Fort, built by the
Travancore kings, is a fort previously used for training the Travancore forces and also served as Barracks. Capt. De Lenoy's (see History section) tomb is within the fort. The fort (about 90 acres and almost full of vegetation now, with several plants, reptiles, etc.) is presently declared as a bio-diversity park and maintained by the Kanyakumari forest department.
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Mathur Hanging Trough, near Thiruvattar in the District carries irrigation water through a canal between two hills with a one kilometre gap in between (the hills). The canal itself goes above a small river. Built on very high pillars, it is said to be one of the biggest Aqueducts in South Asia. The view from the middle of the aqueduct of the surrounding hills and vegetation and the small river flowing down below is superb.
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Olakaruvi waterfalls, about 20 km from Nagercoil is on the middle of a hill and requires an hour's trek by foot from the base of the hill (better to go in a group, as it is a forested area)
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Keeriparai - for nature-lovers and adventurers - pristine and beautiful, places like
Keeriparai haven't been publicized much by the Forest Department for various reasons - Keeriparai hills (30 km from Nagercoil) and the nearby Kalikesam are forest areas, but good
picnic spots - one can enjoy water rushing through small mountain streams, ferns and pebbles in the rainforests. There are also a few small waterfalls in this area - the popular one being Vattaparai. Mountain
squirrels, Jungle fowls, various
snakes and other reptiles are among the
fauna at Keeriparai. Wild
elephants could be seen further up the hills.
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Kodhayar (called Kodhayar Lower Camp) â€" is about 60 km and takes travelers by some exciting hill roads (motorable roads) with some thrilling 'hair-pin bends' and U-turns - bisons and bears are famous at Kodhayar, though there are other wild animals too. Access to some areas need prior permission from the Forest Department.
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Pechiparai Reservoir, about 30 km from the town, in the hills, and also Perunchaani and Chittar dams are a must-see for the nature-lover (with clouds touching the top of the hills around the dams on a misty day !).
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Thiruparrapu Falls, is another good waterfalls, but the 'natural ambiance' is now lost, with many artificial make-overs and over-crowding of tourists.
*Muttom, a coastal village, is another popular place with tourists. The terrain in this village and its surroundings is hilly and from a height one can see an idyllic view of the place, with a
Portuguese style church standing in the middle of the village. The beach-area is somewhat rocky. There is also a 100-year old
lighthouse. The lighthouse, though near the sea, is situated on a land mass some 105 feet above sea level. The lighthouse originally came up here in olden days, because of the presence of a huge rock, near Muttom called 'Crocodile Rock'. The floors of the lighthouse have lot of holes as for architecture aesthetic and it will be scary for some to reach the top. Another attractive feature of this area, is a ravine-like area with reddish earth (soil) and casurina trees near the sea-side. This place with very popular with Tamil and Keralite film-makers, esp.
Bharathiraja.
*Sanguthurai Beach, about 8 km from
Nagercoil is a palm-fringed and sandy beach. Sothavilai Beach is another good beach, about 7 km from the heart of town. Both beaches were hit by the
Indian Ocean Tsunami, but authorities have taken steps to improve facilities again. There is a very good
lagoon (estuary - place where the river meets the sea) at Manakudy - 10 km from the town.
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Panchappathis, the five holyplaces of
Ayyavazhi, all situated within 10 km circle from Kanyakumari
Fresh water supply to the town is from the
Mukkadal Reservoir, about 8 km from the town, in the interior - itself a very scenic place, with a small bushy island in the middle of the dam. The dam is surrounded by hills of the Western Ghats.
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Official Website of Kanyakumari district*
Kanyakumari district portal*
Census Information*
LPSC*
Current weather report in Nagercoil*
Vattakottai*
Chitharal*
Thengapattinam beach*
Udayagiri Fort*
Wind energy*
Tsunami*
Climate and vegetation*
Local news 
