Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum)
Right beside Trivandrum's main bus stand, this branch of the famous Indian Coffee House serves its strong coffee and wallet-friendly snacks (biryanis, omelettes, masala dosa; savoury crepe stuffed with spiced potatoes) in a red-brick tower that looks like a cross between a lighthouse and a pigeon coop, and has a spiralling interior lined with concrete benches and tables.
You have to admire the hard-working waiters.
1.41 MILES
Occupying a handsome 120-year-old heritage building within the Kerala Tourism complex, this intelligently presented museum traces Kerala's history and…
1.48 MILES
Housed in an 1880 wooden building designed by Robert Chisholm (a British architect whose Fair Isle–style version of the Keralite vernacular shows his…
13.96 MILES
Rising to 1868m at Agasthya Peak and surrounding an idyllic lake created by the 1964 Neyyar Dam, 30km east of Trivandrum, this 128-sq-km sanctuary has a…
17.54 MILES
Fringed by colourful fishers' houses, 12km southeast of Varkala, this laterite-and-concrete fort was built by the British East India Company in 1695…
23.53 MILES
Varkala is a temple town and the Janardhana Temple, dedicated to Vishnu, is the main event – with its roots dating back to the 13th century, this…
0.52 MILES
Overlooking the Shri Padmanabhaswamy Temple tank, the opulent 18th-century palace of the Travancore maharajas is a classically Keralan world of…
26.98 MILES
About 8km north of Varkala, this long, beautiful and (so far) undeveloped stretch of golden sand is also the beginning of a mini network of backwaters. A…
Ponnumthuruthu (Golden) Island
20.17 MILES
Around 10km south of Varkala, this acacia-filled island in the middle of a backwater lake conceals a Shiva-Parvati Hindu temple also known as the Golden…
1. Pazhavangadi Ganapathy Temple
0.33 MILES
A Hindu temple dedicated to Mahaganapati, a form of Ganesh, in Trivandrum's East Fort area.
0.52 MILES
Overlooking the Shri Padmanabhaswamy Temple tank, the opulent 18th-century palace of the Travancore maharajas is a classically Keralan world of…
3. Shri Padmanabhaswamy Temple
0.59 MILES
Trivandrum’s spiritual heart is this 18th-century temple (closed to non-Hindus) in the Fort area, which fuses Keralan and Dravidian architecture and whose…
0.66 MILES
The brilliantly white neoclassical Secretariat building was founded in 1939.
1.12 MILES
One of Trivandrum's major churches, the Roman Catholic St Joseph's is a whitewashed neo-Gothic creation from 1873, topped by a soaring bell tower added in…
1.25 MILES
Towards the north end of MG Rd stands this fine neo-Gothic Anglican church, notable for its stained glass and 19th-century tombs.
1.25 MILES
A red-brick neo-Gothic construction, built in 1900 to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria.
8. Museum of History & Heritage
1.41 MILES
Occupying a handsome 120-year-old heritage building within the Kerala Tourism complex, this intelligently presented museum traces Kerala's history and…