Kanayakumari

Country- India
State- Tamil Nadu
District- Kanniyakumari
Established- 1 November 1956
Headquarters- Nagercoil
Talukas Agastheeswaram, Kallkkulam, Thovalai, Vilavancode
Government-
• Collector & District Magistrate- S. Nagarajan
Area
• Total- 1,684 km2 (650 sq mi)
Population (2011)[1]
• Total- 1,863,174
• Density 1,005.7/km2 (2,605/sq mi)
Languages
• Official Tamil,
Time zone- IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN 629000
Telephone code- 04652 & 04651
Vehicle registration- TN-74 & TN-75
Coastline-72 kilometres (45 mi)
Sex ratio -M-1000/F-1014 ♂/♀
Literacy- 97.6%
Legislature type Elected
Legislature Strength 6
Lok Sabha constituency- Kanyakumari
Vidhan Sabha constituency 6
Precipitation-1,865 millimetres (73.4 in)
Avg. summer temperature 23 °C (73 °F)
Avg. winter temperature 11 °C (52 °F)
Website www.kanyakumari.tn.nic.in
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Kanyakumari District (also spelled Kanniyakumari or Kanniakumari District) is a district of Tamil Nadu state, India, and is the southernmost land area of mainland India.
The district is the second most urbanised district in Tamil Nadu — next only to Chennai and ahead of Coimbatore[2] — and is the second smallest of the 32 districts of Tamil Nadu. Kanyakumari shares it names with the town of Kanyakumari, which is at the tip of the Indian Peninsula and faces the Laccadive Sea, but the administrative capital is Nagercoil. The district is also known as "The District of Ponds" or "The Lands End."
The district has a varied topography with sea on three sides and the mountains of the Western Ghats bordering the northern side. The District was rated as one of India's Six Hidden Gems by National Geographic.
Contents [hide]

History
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Despite being an area of a Tamil majority populace, It was part of the princely state of Travancore during the colonial times prior to the nation's independence;Four of the eight taluks of Thiruvananthapuram district were separated to form the new district of Kanyakumari during the formation of the new state of predominantly Malayali Kerala, and they were made a part of the Madras Presidency under recommendations from the States' Reorganization Commission in 1956. The Presidency was later renamed as Tamil Nadu and Kanyakumari is one of the 32 districts in the state of Tamil Nadu.

Location
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Kanyakumari district is at the southern tip of peninsular India. It is bordered on the west by Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala state and by Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu to the north and east. It is sometimes referred to as "Land's End".[5] The district is bordered by the Laccadive Sea on the southeastern, the southern and the southwestern sides. The district lies at geographical co-ordinates between 77° 15' and 77° 36' east and 8° 03' and 8° 35' north. I


Religion
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As of 2010, the distribution of population based on religion was 51.27 percent Christian, 44.47 percent Hindu, 4.20 percent Muslim and 0.57 percent professing other beliefs.[7]

Tourist attractions
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Thiruparappu falls (top view)

Suchindram temple

St. Xavier's Church, Kottar, Nagercoil
File:Bawakassim masjid.JPG
Bawa Kassim Valiyullah Masjid, Elankadai, Nagercoil

Map showing near-by areas and Pancha pathi

Thirparappu Temple, near Thirparappu Waterfalls

Vellimalai Hill

Mathur Aqueduct (Mathur Hanging Trough Bridge) – one of the largest Aqueducts in Asia
Kanyakumari district has various eco-systems, including beaches, mountain valleys and evergreen forests, as well as rubber and clove plantations
The Padmanabhapuram Palace complex is located in the granite Padmanabhapuram Fort, close to Thuckalay and at the foot of the Veli Hills, which form a part of the Western Ghats. The river Valli flows nearby.

Chothavilai Beach, near Nagercoil

Vattakottai Fort (literally, "circular fort") is an 18th-century fort
overlooking the sea, located six kilometres from Kanyakumari.

St. Xavier's Church, Kottar, Cathedral of the Roman Catholic diocese of Kottar, where St. Francis Xavier celebrated Mass in the 16th century.

Bawa Kassim Valiyullah Masjid, Elankadai, This is one of the famous Mosques of Kanyakumari District. Located in Elankadai (Edalakudy), Nagercoil.

Suchindram has the Sthanumalayan temple with a repository of art treasures belonging to several kingdoms. The temple is famous for its ninth-century inscriptions, musical columns, and 6-meter-tall statue of Hanuman. The main deity in the form of a shivlinga represents Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma, the trinity of the Hindu pantheon.

The Panchappathi, five primary sacred places of Ayyavazhi are all situated within a fifteen-kilometre radius of Kanyakumari. It also includes the Swamithope Pathi (headquarters of Ayyavazhi), a famous temple in Tamil Nadu, situated ten kilometres to the northwest. It is not structurally massive temple, but is known for its non-idolatry system of worship.

Udayagiri Fort, built by King Marthanda Varma, has a foundry for casting guns. It is also the tomb-site of the king's trusted European general Captain De Lennoy. Udayagiri Fort is now a bio-diversity park, administered by the Department of Forests, Kanyakumari Division.

Mathur Hanging Trough, near Thiruvattar in the District, is an aqueduct that carries irrigation water through a canal between two hills. The canal itself goes above a small river. Built on very high pillars, is one of the biggest aqueducts, both in height and length, in Asia. The view from the middle of the aqueduct of the surrounding hills and vegetation, and the small river flowing down below, is breathtaking.
The Chitharal Jain Monuments, situated about 35 km (22 mi) from Marthandam, are rock shelters and idols dating from the 9th- to 11th-centuries.

Olakaruvi waterfalls, about 20 km (12 mi) 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)
Pechiparai Reservoir, about 30 km (19 mi) from the town, and also Perunchani and Chittar dams.
Thiruparrapu Falls, is a waterfall near Thiruparrapu. There is an ancient temple near the falls, which is popular among the locals and Keralites.

Sanguthurai Beach, about 8 km (5.0 mi) from Nagercoil is a palm-fringed and sandy beach. Sothavilai Beach is another good beach, about 7 km (4.3 mi)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 lagoon at Manakudy – 10 km (6 mi) from the town.

Mukkudal reservoir : Fresh water supply to Nagercoil is from the Mukkadal Reservoir, about 8 km (5.0 mi) from the town, in the interior – itself a scenic place, with a small bushy island in the middle of the dam. The dam is surrounded by hills of the Western Ghats.
Kalikesam,- is a scenic picnic spot. The Kali temple situated here attracts many pilgrims.

Food
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Munthiri Kothu, a traditional delicacy of Kanyakumari District
Rice is the staple food of the people, although for some people in the hilly areas, tapioca is the main food. Though there are some vegetarians among the populace, a majority of the people use agro, meat and fish products. Fish caught in the seas around the district during the night or early morning hours reach the markets in the interior towns and villages in the early morning. Also they prepare a tea made by karuppatti during the winter season.
The food (for example, Chakkoli) is spicy, and the people in the district tend to use more grated coconut in their curries and food-preparations, like neighbouring Kerala.

Education
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Colleges of higher education are found throughout the district, mainly art, science and engineering colleges. The Scott Christian College, founded by William Tobias Ringeltaube in Nagercoil, is more than 100 years old.[14]
The state runs the Kanyakumari Government Medical College at Asaripallam, a Government Engineering College and a Government Polytechnic at Konam, near Nagercoil. Many private Engineering Colleges including a private university were started-functioning in the recent past. No fewer than 30 engineering colleges are functioning in the district which are currently affiliated to the Anna University; arts and science colleges are affiliated to Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli. The Manonmaniam Sundaranar University runs a research unit — Centre for Marine Sciences and Technology — at Rajakamangalam, Kanyakumari District. Noorul Islam University is the only private university functioning at Thuckalay.[citation needed]Education changed the cultural,economic,social,scenario of the district and dramatically differentiate it from other districts.kanyakumari district people occupy top level state & central Government postings and earned good reputations among colleagues.

Rivers
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River View from the Mathur Hanging Trough bridge with the Pahrali river flowing below.
The major river in the district is Thamirabarani locally known as Kuzhithuraiar. This river has two major tributaries, Kodayar and Paralayar, with the Pechiparai Dam and Perunchani Dam, respectively, built across them. There are many tributaries for the Kodayar River of which Chittar I and Chittar II, with their dams, are the major ones. The origin of Tambaraparani River is in the Western Ghats and the river confluences with Laccadive Sea near Thengapattanam, about 56 kilometres (35 mi) west of Kanyakumari town.
Valliar, another small river, along with its tributary Thoovalar, originates from the Velimalai Hills, collects drainage from P.P. Channel[clarification needed] and its branches, ayacuts (irrigated area under a tank) and confluences with the Laccadive Sea in Kadiapattinam.
The Pazhayar River, another small river, starts at Shorlacode, about 18 kilometres (11 mi) north-west of Nagercoil. This is polluted as it collects drainage of Thovalai, Ananthanar and Nanjil nadu puthanar channel passing through Thazhakudi,Vellamadam villages. The Pahrali River also flows through the district. The Mathur Hanging Trough, the highest and longest aqueduct in Asia, was built over it near Mathur.

Forests
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Keeriparai, the district comprises a sizeable area of lush forests
The forests in Kanyakumari District are about 75 million years old. Of the total district area of 1671.3 km², government forests occupy an area of 504.86 km² which comes to about 30.2 percent of the geographical area of the district.[15] The forests of the district are administered through the Kanyakumari Forest Division, with headquarters at Nagercoil, the capital of Kanyakumari District.
There are 14 types of forests from luxuriant tropical wet evergreen to tropical thorn forests. This variety occurs in the district because of diverse locality factors.[16] Rainfall varies from 103 cm to 310 cm elevation from sea level to 1829 m. The forest area is 30.2% of the total district geographical area which is next to Nilgiris district with 59% and Dharmapuri District with 38% in Tamil Nadu State. 52% of the district's forests are classified as dense forests, which is second only to Dharmapuri District with 58%.


Hill top Grasslands in Muthukuzhivayal at 1300 m above sea level
The forests contain species such as Mesua ferrea, Bischofia Javanica, Vitex altissima to smaller trees of Dillini a species festooning climber, shrubs, valuable herbs, variety of orchids, two types of canes, many indigenous palms and cycas. The important timbers are teak, rosewood, vengai and aini. Various types of forest products like bamboos, reeds, canes, soft wood, tamarind, lemon grass, rubber, coconut, arecanut, terminalia chebula, cinnamon bark nelli, cardamom, mango and many medicinal plants are harvested in this district. The Maruthuvalmalai, a hill located among green paddy fields and coconut palms, is famous for valuable medicinal plants. This is the only district in Tamil Nadu where rubber and clove plantations have been raised in reserve forests in an area of 47.857 km² and 1.1 km² respectively. The district is rich in wildlife with at least 25 types of mammals, about 60 species of birds including 14 species of migratory birds and many species of fishes, reptiles and amphibians listed.
The following are the reserve forests in Kanyakumari Forest Division:
Therkumalai East and West - 17.4 km²
Thadagaimalai - 7.9 km²
Poigaimalai - 12.4 km²
Mahendragiri - 43.6 km²
Veerapuli - 281.9 km²
Velimalai - 11.2 km²
Old Kulasekaram - 6.9 km²
Kilamalai - 81.06 km²
Asambu - 43.10 km²