Kanyakumari (Cape Comorin), also known as Cap Com, is at the very southern tip of mainland India, where the Gulf of Bengal, Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea all come together (the southernmost of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are slightly further south, latitude-wise).
There are 4 main sights to see (not counting sunrise and sunset, which unfortunately were unspectacular due to clouds in the way):
The Vivekananda Memorial (Rs10/$0.25) and Thiruvalluvar Statue (free), reached by a small passenger ferry (Rs20/$0.50) that does a circular route to these 2 small rocky islands a few hundred metres off-shore. The memorial was built in 1970 for in memory of a swami who meditated here in 1892. Visiting this memorial had a Disneyland-ride feel to it (follow the arrows and lines around the island). Update: I forgot to mention that at the memorial there is a darkened meditation room with a glowing Om symbol and a recorded Om sound that plays every 30 seconds or soo. Very relaxing.
The statue, also referred to as the “Statue of Liberty” of India, is of the Tamil namesake poet and stands 133 feet tall (inc. the base) due to his master 133 chapter work Thirukural.
The Kumari Amman Temple (free) which I didn’t find that interesting, though it has the unusual feature of requiring all men to take off their shirts when entering the temple. It has a stunning location near the tip, but you can’t see the shore or oceans from within the temple’s high outer walls.
The Gandhi Memorial (free) – yes, another one! he’s very popular, you see – which is a multi-architectural-style building near the shore, with a good 360° view from the little tower.
The bathing ghats just south of the temple. There’s a little sandy beach too, but beware – the water is full of rocks and shallower than one would expect (I scraped my ankle). Always an interesting slice of Indian life at a ghat or beach.
Here is an emaciated old man meditating near the ghats:
Also, there is an interesting looking tsunami memorial to the lives lost in the tsunami of Xmas 2004 near the ghats.
There were far more Indian tourists/pilgrims here than foreigners, not to mention school groups…
Overall it’s a relaxing little town on a stunning location, definitely worth a visit!
My hotel was right next to the temple entrance, and I had a view of the water and rocky islands (the memorial and statue).