India being the 7th largest country in the world is very very famously known for its different types of terrains all around from north to south and east to west.
The Diversity of India
From the high altitude mountain passes in Ladakh to freezing sub zero temperatures in Kashmir to fiery deserts around Jaisalmer to green river basins in Varanasi to vast plains in various regions in Maharashtra to Mangrove forests in Bengal, to no man’s frozen lakes in Sikkim to lovely waterfalls in the thick deserts of Meghalaya, to dense green thick forests in Sahyadris to long long coastal line of Coromandel and Konkan on either sides to the beautiful sunrise at Kanniyakumari of the country to many many more such variety of terrains, India is such a diverse land in each and every state we travel.
Geography of South India
India is peninsular in nature at the southern part and hence it is surrounded by seas on all the 3 sides all of them which are different. We, who never explored the southern part of India, planned to explore most parts of Tamilnadu and Kerala. So we got to explore all 3 of the beautiful seas, mesmerizing landscapes, fabulous sunrises and sunsets, lovely weather, delicious local cuisines and many more amazing things of typical South India.
As we have a star attraction on every trip, this time it was of 2 things, the mighty Pamban Bridge and another is the last city on the mainland of India, a tiny but a very elegant and spectacular city, which didn’t take much time to catch my heart. My connection with this place is so intense that for the very first time, I’m planning to visit this place once again which has never happened anytime before.
The Pretty Town : Kanniyakumari
Welcome to the last land of India, the majestic city of Kanniyakumari. Actually this city is very very special for so many reasons, but my favorite anytime would be the best sunrise I have ever seen till date. No words to describe this majestic sunrise on the shore of Kanniyakumari. So after reaching the previous evening from Rameshwaram, we visited the beautiful Meenakshi temple, the most spectacular architecture I’ve ever seen and what surprised me the most is its symmetry all around the temple. It’s actually so huge and has a very great history. Actually Tamilnadu is very famous for temples in general.
Temples of Tamilnadu
Thanjavur, Trichy, Rameshwaram, Kanchipuram, Kumbakonam, Mahabalipuram are a few important ones. Every city has a temple by its name Credits to the local kingdoms and rulers for such amazing piece or work. It took some time for us to go around the temple and witness the idol of Meenaxi. So we were done with the day. Actually our plan was to reach Kanniyakumari from Rameshwaram, but due to odd timings and non-availability of direct trains we had to break our journey in Madurai and had a lovely visit to this famous temple. It was 10 and we had our train to Kanniyakumari at around 11-45. We rested for a while and our train arrived on time.
Preparing for the Beautiful Sunrise
I was damn excited for the next morning as I was very sure that tomorrow would be the best morning ever if everything goes as planned. So we boarded the train and the expected time of arrival was at 4-30. But our hilarious train reached at 3-30 and we were fast asleep. We had no clue and were resting peacefully after a tiring day. Suddenly I heard a loud voice scolding us and he was in incharge of the train, who comes to switch off all the lights before the train goes to shed. So I got up immediately and heard that we were the only 2 left in the train, thank god he came and woke us up.
The worst thing was as soon as we got down from the train, the train left for some other place to park though the last stop was Kanniyakumari. What if he didn’t come and wake us up, forget about our dream sunrise, we would have gone to some remote place and some other things and all would have happened. Still sleepy, at 4am we got down and came out of the railway station in the peaceful city.
The Lovely Sunrise at Kanniyakumari
Actually the city is very small and mainly popular for tourism itself. We could see a lot of fishermen and their families all around. So I could see every house owned a boat like how every house in Bangalore has a boat parked in front of their gate. With the help of Google Maps we headed to this lesser known spectacular sunrise point also known as Kanniyakumari Pier. So officially it is the last land on the mainland of India, but Indira Point in the vicinity of Andaman is the last point of India geographically.
As India is peninsular in shape, actually Kanniyakumari is surrounded by 3 different sides in 3 directions. You can actually literally see the merging of 2 seas at 2 different spots, as the waters of different seas don’t mix with each other, the difference in color of them is clearly seen. I don’t think any other place in the world has this special occurrence. So due to this, geographically both sunrise and sunset can be seen from the oceans which is one of the rarest sites in the world. That makes this place very very special and one of its kind. We came actually too early at around 4-30 near the planned spot.
The Last Lands of India
So there’s a long rocky way going to the middle of the sea where one can have a very good sight of the sunrise. And the city isn’t the point where India actually ends, there are 2 small islands on the offshore of Kanniyakumari, one popularly called as Vivekananda Memorial and other is Thiruvalluvar statue. Vivekananda Rock Memorial is the official point where India ends. 
So from this viewpoint one can have a magnificent view of both these lighted islands in the dark mornings with gushing waves and blowing winds. We had tea from the local tea seller and then started walking on the pier approximately half km long on the rocky surface, literally walking on the waves once again after Pamban Bridge. It was 5 by then and slowly people started gathering around eagerly waiting for the sun to rise. We could see small fishing boats hanging around and steady waves of all 3 oceans all at different speeds. 
Beauty of the Sunrise
The color of the horizon slowly started turning lighter and lighter which was dark till then. Everyone out there was super excited to see these changing colors. The time was around 6 already and the sun slowly started rising from the horizon. Blowing winds, high tides, absolute silence all around, small fishing boats all around was such an amazing scene to look out for. As time passed the sun started rising up slowly and trust me the rise from the ocean was the best thing I had ever seen till then. The vibe was so amazing that I wish that moment should have lasted much longer.
I just kept my phone on hyperlapse and was graciously enjoying the sunrise with the waves. The sun was completely up and the best thing actually now was the difference in the color of oceans were to be seen so clearly. This was the most awaited part and a surprise which people hardly get to observe in the world. Another surprising thing is it can be seen twice actually as 3 seas meet each other. So there are 2 meeting points and a sharp long line with different textures on either side.
The Meeting of 3 Different Oceans
One can also feel the difference in the waves of those different seas and the difference in the pattern of wind blowing from different sides. So this could be observed only after the sunrise. Another beautiful view is of those 2 tiny lovely islands with a tall statue. The view after the sunrise was much more amazing and I just clicked a photo with my favorite backpack and my favorite shoe then.
So that has been my favorite picture of mine till now. 2 hours passed and we didn’t know how even the time flew, but those are few moments which we would never ever forget in our life. This has been so special that I’m writing this 3 days before my next trip which also includes visiting Kanniyakumari once again. So I’ve never repeated any place which I have visited till now, but I can’t stop myself from visiting this stunner once again, not just only once now it might further continue in coming years too xD.
Exploring the City
So we had to walk back almost more than a km from the pier and finally reached the city with all the tourists hanging around the city and local people all set for their activities. So as mentioned before, most local people out here depend on fishing and as the city is mostly based on tourism they’re engaged in this kind of business too. Kanniyakumari has its own brand all over the world, so there are very few places in the world ( I actually haven’t heard of any other than Kanniyakumari, so I’m assuming there might be any other too) where both sunrise and sunset both can be witnessed from the ocean. 
Conclusion
Once again only one among very few places in the world which is actually the intersection of 3 different seas and also the last piece of land on the mainland of India. So visiting South India is entirely incomplete without visiting this beauty. Due to this, tourism has been a very major source of income for this area. Actually everything you see here can be called as the last of India, like the last railway station of India, last hotel of India, everything is officially last here xD. We were very hungry so went ahead to freshen up and have a great breakfast to start another amazing day.
Later we headed towards the island I mentioned before which is another entirely different experience which I would bring up in a new blog.
