Padmanabhapuram a city and a municipality

Municipality

A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

 near Thuckalay

Thuckalay

Thuckalay -தக்கலை- is a town in Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, India. Thuckalay comes under the Padmanabhapuram Municipality. Thuckalay is the administrative headquarter of Kalkulam Taluk. The Revenue Divisonal Office is located in Mettukadai. Thuckalay is connected by road from both...

 in Kanniyakumari district in the India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n state

States and territories of India

India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...

 of Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

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History

Padmanabhapuram was the old capital of the princely state of Travancore

Travancore

Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...

 in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. The Travancore King, Rama Varma

Rama Varma

The name Rama Varma refers to a number of persons from many royal families of Kerala, including many members of the Cochin Royal Family:* Rama Varma Sakthan Thampuran* Sir Sri Rama Varma a.k.a Rajarshi and Abdicated Highness of Cochin...

, who was popularly known as Dharma Raja

Dharma Raja

Dharma Raja Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma was the Maharajah of Travancore from 1758 until his death in 1798. He succeeded his uncle Marthanda Varma, who is credited with the title of "maker of modern Travancore"...

, shifted the capital in 1795 from Padmanabhapuram to Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram , formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland...

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Geography

Padmanabhapuram is located at 8.23°N 77.33°E. It has an average elevation of 15 metres (49 feet).

Demographics

India census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

, Padmanabhapuram had a population of 20,051. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Padmanabhapuram has an average literacy rate of 82%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 85%, and female literacy is 79%. In Padmanabhapuram, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Tourism

The popular Padmanabhapuram Palace

Padmanabhapuram Palace

Padmanabhapuram Palace complex is located in at Padmanabhapuram Fort, close to the town of Thuckalay in Kanyakumari District, Tamilnadu, in India. It is about 20 km from Nagercoil, and about 50 kilometers from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The palace complex is inside an old granite...

, the old palace of the Travancore kings, is also located here. It is spread over an area of 6 acres (24,281.2 m²). The palace is known for it antiques, including the armoury of the royal family. The woodwork in this palace is intricate. 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. This Palace is maintained by the Govt.of Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

 Archaeology Department.

Other tourist locations include Thirparappu Waterfalls,Hanging Bridge in Mathoor, Ancient Jain Temple in Chitharal (a small village situated at a distance of 8 km from Marthandam.) Thiruvalluvar Statue in Kanniyakumari. One can take a bus from Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram , formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland...

 or Nagercoil

Nagercoil

Nagercoil is the 12th largest city in the southernmost Indian state of Tamil Nadu and a municipality and administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District...

 and get down at Thuckalay

Thuckalay

Thuckalay -தக்கலை- is a town in Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, India. Thuckalay comes under the Padmanabhapuram Municipality. Thuckalay is the administrative headquarter of Kalkulam Taluk. The Revenue Divisonal Office is located in Mettukadai. Thuckalay is connected by road from both...

, which is two kilometres away from Padmanabhapuram.
The nearest places around this old capital city of South travancore is Marunthukottai (It is a very old fort having weapons storage facility), Saralvilai, Kumarakoil (Lord.Murugan Temple), Moolachel

Moolachel

Moolachel, or Moolachy is a village in Kanniyakumari District in the southern tip of India.The primary occupation in this small village is agriculture. However the spread of education has taken people to different places from here. There is a CSI church, Haker Memorial CSI Church at the village...

, Charode, Manali, Udaygiri fort ...

Education

The Thuckalay Government Higher Secondary School is the largest Government Educational institution in the region. There are also age old institituions such as Amala Convent, which are run by a local church and Hindu Vidyalaya near kollen villai. Noorul Islam College of Engineering

Noorul Islam College of Engineering

Noorul Islam University is a private co-educational university located in Kumarakovil, Thuckalay, Kanyakumari District Tamil Nadu, India. The university was founded in 1989 by Dr.A.P.Majeed khan, who is now its chancellor with a motto to provide quality education to the students...

 is the nearest engineering college, and is located at Kumarakoil, approximately 4 km from Thuckalay.

Politics

Padmanabhapuram assembly constituency is part of Nagercoil (Lok Sabha constituency)

Nagercoil (Lok Sabha constituency)

Nagercoil was a Lok Sabha constituency in Tamil Nadu, India. K. Kamaraj Nadar, the first elected Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu was elected twice to the Lok Sabha from here.- Kamarajar by-election victory :...

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