Kanyakumari

The town takes its name from the Bhagavathi Amman Temple, which is dedicated to Devi Kanya Kumari (the Virgin Goddess), an avatar of Goddess Parvati. ​According to Hindu mythology, the goddess performed intense penance on a rock here to marry Lord Shiva. When the wedding failed to take place due to a divine intervention, she vowed to remain a virgin. Local folklore humorously notes that the multi-colored sand on Kanyakumari's beaches is actually the leftover rice and grains from that unsolemnized wedding feast, which turned to stone over the millennia.

Yes! Because Kanyakumari is a sharp peninsula surrounded by water on three sides, it is one of the very few places on earth where you can watch the sun rise out of the ocean in the morning and sink into the ocean at night from the exact same shoreline. ​Even more spectacular is Chitra Pournami (the full moon night in April/May), where you can literally stand on the beach and witness the sun setting in the west while the full moon simultaneously rises in the east.

When you look out into the water, you will see two prominent rocky islands accessible by a short ferry ride: ​Vivekananda Rock Memorial: Built in 1970, this marks the spot where the great philosopher Swami Vivekananda swam out and meditated for three days in December 1892, attaining enlightenment regarding India's future before traveling to the Parliament of Religions in Chicago. ​Thiruvalluvar Statue: Standing right next to the memorial is a colossal 133-foot stone statue dedicated to the ancient Tamil poet and philosopher Thiruvalluvar. The height is symbolic, representing the 133 chapters of his timeless masterpiece on ethics and life, the Thirukkural.

Kanyakumari Beach is the holy geographic confluence of three distinct water bodies: the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the Indian Ocean. This meeting point is called the Triveni Sangam. On clear days, travelers can actually visually distinguish the shifting, slightly different shades of blue and green where the currents collide.