A Fun Filled Day...

Field Trip

     As a part of Community Living Camp 'ARAMAM', 2018 one day field trip was organized. At morning 6.45 AM we departed from Pothencode in two bus with 56 members in total( 32 Juniors + 2 teaching staff + 3 non teaching staff+ 21snrs).

First spot
At 8:40 AM, we reached Thiruparappu Waterfalls located at a distance of about 55 kilometres from Kanyakumari.

 The cascading waters of the Thirparappu falls make up for an enchanting sight. This waterfall is a manmade one and falls from a height of 50 feet. The water collects in a quaint pool below which is an ideal place to frolick around, especially for children. The falls are surrounded by thick green foliage and indigenous fauna, which make it a nature lover's paradise.

These falls are a unique combination of streams that flow together to form a magnificent waterfall. The containment below is no less than a top-tier waterpark and is perfectly safe too. The entrance of this destination has a small temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and is highly revered by the locals. There is boating facility in the tranquil waters of Thirparappu falls and children park. This destination is the perfect spot to enjoy a fun-filled day. We had breakfast from there and at 10.15 AM we left from there to our next spot.

Second spot
 Padmanabhapuram Palace we reached there at 11 AM. Padmanabhapuram Palace is a Travancore era palace located in Padmanabhapuram, Kalkulam taluk of Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu. It is owned and maintained by the Government of Kerala.This Palace is maintained by the Govt.of Kerala Archaeology Department.

Padmanabhapuram is the former capital city of the erstwhile Hindu Kingdom of Travancore. It is around 20km from Nagercoil, and 60km from Thiruvananthapuram city. The palace is complex inside with an old granite fortress around four kilometers long. The palace is located at the foot of the Veli Hills, which forms a part of the Western Ghats. The river Valli flows nearby.
    The palace was constructed around 1601 AD by Iravi Varma Kulasekhara Perumal who ruled Venad between 1592 and 1609. It is believed that the Thai Kottaram was built in 1550. The founder of modern Travancore, King Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma who ruled Travancore from 1729 to 1758, rebuilt the palace in around 1750. King Marthaanda Varma dedicated the kingdom to his family deity Sree Padmanabha, a form of Lord Vishnu and ruled the kingdom as Padmanabha dasa or servant of Lord Padmanabha. The palace complex continues to be one of the best examples of traditional Kerala architecture, and some portions of the sprawling complex are also the hallmark of traditional Kerala style architecture.
The Padmanabhapuram Palace complex consists of several structures:
Mantrasala, Thai Kottaram, the Queen Mother's Palace, Nataksala, Thekee Kottaram, an entire room filled with old Chinese jars, all gifts by Chinese merchants, a variety of weapons including swords and daggers, brass lamps, wood and stone sculpture, a variety of furniture and large mirrors made of polished metal, a gallery of paintings depicting incidents from the history of Travancore, a wooden cot made of up to 64 wooden pieces of a variety of medicinal tree trunks, polished stone cot, meant for cool effect,toilet and well, artifact museum. Thus the palace gave us a grand visual treat. We left from there at 12:55 PM to our next spot.

Third spot
  We reached at our third spot Suchindram temple, Tamilnadu at 1:15 PM .Suchindram is a temple town situated in the southern most district of Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu State, India.

It is 11 km from Kanyakumari city and 7 km from Nagarcoil town approximately 81 km from Trivandrum city. The town of Suchindrum is renowned for the Thanumalayan Temple and was an important citadel of Travancore Suchindram temple is unique in the whole of India in that it is dedicated to three different deities represented by one image in the sanctum and is called Sthanumalayan (Sthanu-Shiva; Maal-Vishnu and Ayan-Brahma) kovil. The temple is rich in sculpture and architecture and a visitor to this temple is amply rewarded with the sight of such exquisite art of hundreds of years old. There is an Hanuman statue which stands at 22 feet carved of a single granite block just outside the temple. We Prayed from outside and left from there at 1:30 PM.

Fourth spot
  Vattakottai Kanyakumari, we reached there at 2 PM. Vattakottai Fort (or 'Circular Fort') is a seaside fort near Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu the southern tip of India. It was built in the 18th century as a coastal defence-fortification and barracks in the erstwhile Travancore kingdom.

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It was constructed under the supervision of Captain Eustachius De Lannoy, an ex-Dutch naval officer of the Dutch East India Company, who became commander of the Travancore Army. The fort is made of granite blocks and, today, a part of the fort extends into the sea. It is a protected site under the Indian archaeological department. A major renovation of the fort was undertaken recently by the department, and the site is now a popular tourist spot.

Vattakottai Fort commands a picturesque view of both the sea on the one side, and the hills (Western Ghats) on the other. Another interesting feature near the site is a beach of black sands. It is about 7 km (4.3 mi) from Kanyakumari town. We had lunch from there, played games, took rest and left from there at 3:30 PM.

Fifth spot
Kanyakumari, we reach there at 3:45 PM. We were divided into groups each group having 5 to 6 members. We all dispersed for shopping and it was decided that by 6 PM everyone should reach at sunset point.
Kanyakumari is a town in Kanyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. The name comes from the Devi Kanya Kumari Temple in the region, in Tamil it is pronounced as 'Kan-niya-kumari'. It is the southernmost tip of peninsular India, and is surrounded on three sides by the Laccadive Sea. Kanyakumari has been a great centre for art and religion for centuries. It was also an area of great trade and commerce. It was ruled by the Cholas, the Cheras, the Pandyas and the Nayaks. The architectural beauty of the temples in the area are the works of these rulers. There are many places to visit in Kanyakumari.

• The Thiruvalluvar Statue has a height of 95 feet (29 m) and stands upon a 38 foot (11.5 m) rock that represents the 38 chapters of "virtue" in the Thirukkural. The statue standing on the rock represents "wealth" and "pleasures", signifying that wealth and love be earned and enjoyed on the foundation of solid virtue.
• The Vivekananda Rock Memorial is a popular tourist monument inKanyakumari, India. The memorial stands on one of two rocks located about 500 metres east of the mainland of Vavathurai, India's southernmost tip. It was built in 1970 in honour of Swami Vivekananda who is said to have attained enlightenment on the rock. 
• The Gandhi Memorial Mandapam has been built on the spot where the urn containing the Mahatma's ashes was kept for public viewing before immersion. Resembling central Indian Hindu temples in form, the memorial was designed in such a way that on Mahatma Gandhi's birthday, 2 October, the first rays of the sun fall on the exact place where his ashes were kept.[4]
• Near Kanyakumari's southern shore stands a monument to the memory of those who died in the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, an underwater megathrust earthquake that claimed around 280 000 lives in many countries, including India, Sri Lanka, Somalia, Thailand, Maldives and Indonesia. People from places near and far visit this monument to pay homage to all those who lost their lives. 
• Bhagavathy Amman Temple is a 3000-year-old temple dedicated to Goddess Kumari Amman located at Kanyakumari it e is the first Durga temple created by Lord Parasurama and one of the 108 Shakthi Peethas. This temple is situated at the shore of the Laccadive Sea. Kumari temple has been mentioned in Ramayana, Mahabarata and Purananooru. 
• Kamarajar Mani Mantapa Monument was raised and dedicated to a freedom fighter and Former Chief minister of Tamil Nadu, President of Indian National Congress, Mr Kamarajar. He's also popularly known as Black Gandhi among the masses. Like the Gandhi Mantapa, this place is where Kamarajar's ashes were kept for the public to pay homage before immersion into the sea.        

Sun rise and sun set point are the beautiful site to see in Kanyakumari .

We thought of seeing sunset but due to clouds we were not able to and after that by 6:50 PM we left from Kanyakumari. And by 10:30 p.m we reached back home.

Thus we had a memorable day to remember forever. The trip gave us a lots of beautiful memories and precious moments to cherish, thus had a great day😊.