Tapering towards the top, it bears the statue of Garuda, the vehicle of Lord Vishnu. Inside the temple, the main shrine is well guarded with a number of massive doors, and darshan (audience) can be had through the three-door openings into the sanctum sanctorum.

Besides this magnificent temple, Thiruvanthapuram offers a great deal more. There is the Observatory to start with, established over a hundred years ago. Several kings have also built their palaces in and around the city, each more impressive than the other. Despite a few attempts at modernity, the city retains its discreet, old-world charm.

One can visit the Museum with its profusion of gables and turrets. A repository of fine works of art, the chief attraction here is the 250-year-old temple car made for Lord Vishnu, artistically designed and ornamented. Besides this, objects carved out of wood, models of temple, antique jewelry, etc., make the museum worth a visit.

Lying within the museum compound, Sri Chitra Art Gallery proves to be an ideal place for art lovers. The piece de resistance is the large section devoted to the paintings of Raja Ravi Varma, an Indian painter of distinction in the history of the country's modern art. Besides him, the Indian section also contains works of Rabindranath Tagore, Jamimi Roy, K. K. Hebar, miniatures from the Rajput and Mughal schools of painting and the famous Tanjore paintings encrusted with semi-precious stones. The gallery's collection also includes paintings from Indonesia, China, and Japan.

Then, of course, a trip to Thiruvanthapuram is incomplete without a boat-ride on its enchanting backwaters. These waterways teem with life. It is not surprising, since there are more miles of waterways in the state-approximately 1,900 km to the 1,000 km of rail. The landscape is dotted with picturesque palms and thatched huts. One can be seduced by the panorama of beautiful landscapes, beaches and waterways, coconut palms and, of course, beautiful, friendly people.

PLACES AROUND THIRUVANTHAPURAM

Two nearby places worth visiting while in Thiruvanthapuram are Veli and Shankhumuggam; the former has been converted into a superb tourist village while the latter boasts of lovely temples and a huge statue of a mermaid presently being worked upon by a famous sculptor.

An absolute must is Kovalam that lies barely 18 km away. The beach is considered one of the finest in the world and provides ingredients for an ideal holiday. Besides swimming, there are opportunities for surfing and water skiing-even an exhilarating catamaran ride into the sea.