Valiathura

Valiathura is a suburb of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala, India. This was once the only port along the South Kerala coast. When Kochi became the prominent port in Kerala, Valiyathura lost its significance as a major port. Now Valiathura is considered as a fishing port.GeographyIt is located at, near Shankhumugham. It is a typical coastal region. The vegetation consists mainly of coconut trees. The land is higher in Valiathura, so calamities due to the monsoon tides are less compared to the other nearby coastal regions.HistoryValiyathura was known as Raithura or Rajathura from the time of Travancore Kingdom. but the history goes beyond; from the time of King Solomon Valiyathura port was active and used to export spices and articles. the Saint Antony's Cathedral has the history of more than 500 years and the New Year day celebration started more than 120 years. At the battle between Marthanda Varma and Ettuveetil Pillai, one of the pillai and his soldiers were protected by the fisher people of Valiyathura and some of those people married a few Valiyathura girls and settled in Valiyathura.Valiathura PierValiathura is famous for its pier. The 60-years-old, 703ft pier and the godowns (warehouses) behind it are a far cry from the past, when up to 50 cargo ships used to call here at a time. Opened in 1956 by the advisor to the Rajapramukh Dr. P.S. Rau, it was the only port along the South Kerala coast.Supported by 127 concrete piles, the pier had four 3-tonne cranes and one 10-tonner to unload cargo from the ships. Since the pier was located in shallow waters, heavy ships had to anchor in the deep sea and transport their ware in smaller boats. With the development of the Kochi port with facilities for berthing of huge cargo ships, Valiathura lost its significance. It was declared a 'dead port' in the early 1980s.