24 Hours in Trivandrum
Trivandrum or Thiruvananthapuram if you have the time, is the capital of Kerala, south India. This southern city is frequently overlooked in favour of the beaches of Varkala and Goa or the temples of Mysore but it is definitely worth your time to explore!
Located just after the south western tip of India, Trivandrum is the last major city on the south coast. If you set out from the coast you wouldn't hit land again (barring a lucky marooning in the Seychelles or the Maldives) until Madagascar or Tanzania! The city has a famous mix of British colonial and traditional Indian architecture and a vibrant history of artists and clashing cultures.
From great parks and temples to lively coffee houses and restaurants Trivandrum was an unexpected delight.
In this guide:
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24 hours in Trivandrum - What did we do?
We had arrived on an overnight bus after an amazing (if extended) stay in Pondicherry. We were in need of showers and pretty much clueless of what we should or could get up to in Trivandrum. We checked into our (slightly bougie), hotel the Arkhil Classic, rinsed off the grime of a 12 hour bus trip and headed out into the Keralan capital.
Napier Museum
After some Google based research we headed off to the iconic Napier Museum. It was a hot day so a spell in a shady park and museum sounded perfect to us. The museum can be found here on a map, we got there from our hotel via a cheap Uber rickshaw.
Sat amongst flower beds and topiary in the grounds of the Trivandrum Zoological Park the Napier Museum is a curious building, a mix of European style brickwork and far eastern flourishes. Wikipedia calls this style “Indo-saracenic”, but to us clueless visitors we just thought it looked amazing! The roof sprouts minarets, towers and gothic arches and the brick walls are inlaid with geometric shapes. Wooden supports are carved with creatures from Hindu mythology whilst below the formal gardens have a decidedly… British feel, it must have been the bandstand!
The museum building reminded us of the RAMM museum of Exeter mixed with the Brighton Pavilion. This shouldn't have been surprising as, whereas the RAMM and the Pavilion are English buildings with Indian influences, the Napier Museum is an Indian building, with English influences!
Inside the museum was a treasure trove of exhibits. Everything from Javanese puppets, trombones and devotional statues to chariots and pulpits crowded the museum's walls, floors and galleries. The huge wooden vaulted ceiling high above us was painted with golden stars and colourful squares. Trivandrum is famous for artistry and the museum is a wonderful showcase of its art and history.
The entrance fee to the Napier museum was 100 rupees each (around £1.00). The museum is open between 10am and 4:30pm daily.
The museum isn't huge and you can easily wander around it in under an hour. However if you have a guide and are interested in learning more about the exhibits you could easily spend a lot longer here.
The carvings on the wooden chariot were amazing!
If you are interested in a tour of Trivandrum get your guide offer a half day tour or a full day tour. Both of these tours include the Napier museum.
The Thiruvananthapuram Zoological Park
After wandering the galleries of the Napier Museum we came back out into the sunlight and manicured gardens of its surrounding parklands. The park around the Napier museum makes up a part of the larger Zoological Gardens of Trivandrum.
Right next to the Napier Museum is the park's impressive bandstand. Built alongside the museum the bandstand has a long history of use from colonial through to modern times. When we were wandering in the park there were sadly no performances going on, but if you check online you can find out when / if the bands are playing.
When we visited the flowers were in full bloom with colours bursting out of every carefully kept hedgerow. White egrets (yes we had to google what they were), pecked around in the shade of topiaried trees. India does its city parks very well, they are a much needed respite from the heat and chaos of an Indian city and seem to be very loved and respected.
There are lots of official stalls selling refreshments throughout the park. Next to the main entrance, near the Napier museum, there are a collection of stalls selling snacks and (for some reason) toys.
There is also a small art gallery near the entrance, the Raja Ravivarma Paintings Art Gallery. Unfortunately, the gallery was closed for lunch when we visited. Let us know in the comments what it is like if you go!
The zoological part of the Zoological Park (try saying that quickly) is one of India’s oldest Zoo’s. There is debate in fact to say that it is the oldest formal zoo in Asia! Founded out of the then ruler’s personal menagerie and formalised under the British, the Zoo opened in 1857. The zoo features monkeys, pelicans, giraffes, lions, tigers, elephants and many more animals from across the globe.
The zoo portion of the Zoological Park is open between 9am and 5:15pm every day
Tickets cost 200 rupees for adult foreigners (100 for children). For Indian nationals it is only 30 rupees for adults and 20 for children
Fun Fact - due to the group discounts available at the zoo; for the price of my and Ellie’s entrance you could, if you were Indian, bring in 35 students and 2 teachers to the zoo!
Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple
After our museum and park meanderings we hopped back in another black rickshaw Uber and headed to perhaps, Trivandrum’s most iconic landmark. We could tell when we were drawing near, as the road traffic swelled and the pavements were thronged with pilgrims, we were approaching the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple.
The Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple is built in honour of Vishnu, in fact it is seen as one of Vishnu’s sacred seats in southern India. The very name of the city, Thiruvananthapuram, translates from Tamil (and Malayalam) into “City of Ananta” Ananta is the name of one of the many forms Vishnu takes.
The temple itself is jaw-dropping. A massive stepped pyramid inscribed carved and decorated with hundreds, maybe thousands, of figures, all in ivory stone that seems to glow golden in the sunlight. It is an incredible sight.
Sree Padmanabhaswamy is such a holy place that only practising Hindu’s may enter the temple itself and even then they must be specially dressed. Photography is not allowed up close to the temple but the friendly security officers were very kind and polite and showed us where we could get some lovely photos from.
Even if you only had a spare hour or so between trains in Trivandrum and you could only go and visit one thing, we would completely recommend coming to the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, it is just incredible!
You can find the temple here.
Indian Coffee House Maveli
(Location)
Anyone that knows us knows we love, or maybe even require, coffee. During our time in the south we had developed quite a taste for Indian style coffee. From the Chennai Filter coffee to the street side rocket fuel of Pondicherry we have grown to love the Indian way of the bean.
Trivandrum was no exception and luckily for us there was a famous coffee joint right outside the bus terminal. The Indian Coffee House Maveli is housed in a bizarre building, a spiral of red and white bricks spins upwards from the streetside. Inside retro, almost diner-style booths line the walls. The coffee is just what we needed after a 12 hour bus ride, sweet, laced with subtle spiced and STRONG. The coffee house also serves food and snacks, which all looked lovely!
As the bus terminal is pretty much opposite the train station and the coffee shop is next to the bus terminal….It is pretty much inevitable that you will find yourself tempted inside its strange walls on your trip through Trivandrum.
Other things to do in Trivandrum
We did not have long in Trivandrum but we were there long enough to realise that we were not, in fact, there for long enough! Did that make sense?
There is loads more to do in Trivandrum than we managed to fit into our time. There are hundreds of famous cafes, restaurants and walla’s to munch through, dozens of beautiful temples to explore and a wealth of heritage and museums to peruse, not to mention art galleries and all the shopping the Keralan capital boasts!
Here are just a few ideas for other things to do:
Kanakakkunnu Palace
(Location)
Right nearby to the Napier museum and the Zoological Park, the Kanakakkunnu Palace was sadly closed when we visited.
The palace and gardens are, like the Napier museum, a strange and beautiful mix of colonial and Indian architecture. The palace and grounds hold various exhibits and displays throughout the year, including the All India Dance Festival!
Trivandrum’s Beaches
Kerala is synonymous with beaches, second only to Goa in sand based Indian fame. The Keralan capital has large stretches of beach lined coast running up the coast.
Just north of the airport you have the Shangumugham, Kannanthura and Vettukadu beaches. To the south you have Kovalam beach with its famous red and white lighthouse.
These beaches are great for watching the sun go down and come alive with vendors and people after dark.
Museums and galleries in Trivandrum
Trivandrum is and has always been a hub for artists. As such it is well supplied for art galleries. You have the Raja Ravivarma Paintings Art Gallery (location) we missed out on in the Zoological gardens as well as the Indian collections of the Sri Chitra Gallery (location) and the Bhavageetham Art Gallery (location).
For museums you could check out the Keralam Museum of History and Heritage (location) for a glimpse into 3000 years of Keralan history. If three thousand years still seems too recent, you could look into the Natural History Museum (location) LINK - Or, at the other end of the scale, you could visit the Kerala Science and Technology Museum (location).
If you want to cram as much into your time as possible we would recommend checking out the tours available in Trivandrum. Get Your Guide runs lots of experiences in the city, everything from food tours to temple hopping! Check them out here:
There is so much to explore in Trivandrum, this guide can only scratch the outside of the beginning of the surface!
Getting to and from Trivandrum
Trivandrum is a natural transport hub and a fantastic starting or stopping off point for southern Indian adventures. As the capital of the state of Kerala Trivandrum is well connected by train, bus and air with the rest of India and the world at large.
Trivandrum by bus
Public bus
Trivandrum has a massive busy state bus terminal serving the Kerala State Road Transit Company - KSRTC and other state bus companies. This bus terminal will be where you arrive if you have taken a public bus from pretty much anywhere. It will also be where you leave from if you are going pretty much anywhere in the state by public bus. You can book a space on the public buses on the bus themselves (for shorter journeys) or at the bus station in advance.
The bus terminal can be found here.
Private bus
You can book on the more fancy private bus routes via travel agents, bus booking app such as Redbus and Abhibus (with an Indian sim or eSIM ) or via 12Go. These buses will take you pretty much anywhere in the whole of India (provided you don't mind a long journey).
The private buses tend to be a little more comfortable than the public ones and will generally have air conditioning. On the longer routes you can usually book sleeper buses with lie down beds! Just be careful when booking, the seats shown next to each other are actually one double bed!
We arrived in Trivandrum after a long overnight bus from Pondicherry, we were very glad of the little double bed cubicle we had to relax in for our 12+ hour journey!
The private buses tend to cost considerably more than the public ones and may have strange pick up / drop off points so make sure you have downloaded all the maps you need in advance!
Trivandrum by train
As the capital of Kerala, Trivandrum is the hub for several long distance and intercity lines. The Trivandrum Central Railways Station is Kerala's busiest train station and can get you anywhere from Mangalore and Bangalore in the south to all the way to New Delhi in the north or even all the way to Gulwahati and Silichar (this is the 28th longest train route in the world apparently!). In short, if you want to get about by train in the south, Trivandrum is a great hub or connection point.
Trivandrum Central Railway station can be found here.
You can book train tickets online with IXIGO (if you have an Indian SIM) via 12Go, or by going in person to the station. Just be aware that the tickets for 1st, 2nd and seating classes all sell out very quickly. If you are going on a longer journey book well in advance!
Trivandrum by taxi
There are many taxi and car services to get you to from or around Trivandrum. We used ride hailing apps (Uber mainly) to get around within the city (and further afield see later!), as they are safe, negotiation and scam free as well as avoiding any mistranslations with destinations.
Uber is cheap in trivandrum and easily the quickest way around the city. For those without an Indian SIM or an eSIM there are plenty of street taxis and rickshaws you can flag down, just agree on a price beforehand!
We actually used Uber to get to our next destination after Trivandrum - Varkala. Our hostel in Varkala was a long way from the train station and for a few pounds extra we could get an Uber door to door! It was not a particularly thrifty decision (around £16.00 v.s £10-11 for a train to Varkala and a rickshaw to our hostel) but sometimes you need to prioritise your own time!
Trivandrum by air
Trivandrum International Airport has services running from worldwide destinations including Singapore, Sri Lanka, Bahrain and Dubai as well as many more. This means that it is easy to link a flight from any of these major hubs to get to or from Trivandrum.
There is also a domestic terminal serving locations all across India.
To have a look at flights you can check out Expedia or 12Go.
Where to stay in Trivandrum?
When we visited Trivandrum we had limited time and one of us (guess which) was recovering from a nasty bout of man flu. We wanted somewhere comfortable after a twelve hour bus ride and somewhere we could easily get to and away from.
The Akhil Classic is not somewhere we would normally have stayed on our backpacking adventures but it was completely perfect for our short sojourn in Trivandrum. Located right near to both the Train station and KSRTC bus terminal it had large, comfy air conditioned rooms. It was a little bit of much needed luxury. It also had a seriously good restaurant attached that served a brilliant Biryani. Breakfast was also included and was served from the terrace high up above. We literally shared our brekkie with a hawk one morning!
Our breakfast companion!
Check out the Akhil Classic and other Trivandrum options on our handy map below.
Trivandrum - should you go?
umm….YES! If you are on a backpacking trip, touring the south or just have an urge to do things differently, Trivandrum is a great place to explore for a day or two. You can use it as a junction or a base for exploration throughout the south as it has such good transport links.
We found ourselves in Trivandrum at the ‘hinge’ of our southern Indian adventure, we had worked our way down the south eastern coast and Trivandrum provided the perfect break point from which to head north along the west coast. You can use Trivandrum to go inland to the temples of Madurai or explore the hill stations at Wayanad, Ooty, Coorg and Munnar. You can (like us) go up and visit the beaches of Varkala and the backwaters of Alleppey,
Wherever your adventure takes you, it can begin in Trivandrum.
Thanks for reading,
John & Ellie x
#adventuresofjellie
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