Kanyakumari
India's southern tip, where three seas meet at dawn and dusk
Best time to visit Kanyakumari
- Jan, peak season
- Feb, peak season
- Mar, shoulder season
- Apr, best avoided
- May, best avoided
- Jun, best avoided
- Jul, best avoided
- Aug, shoulder season
- Sep, shoulder season
- Oct, best avoided
- Nov, best avoided
- Dec, peak season
peak shoulder off-season avoid
- Go: December to February
- Shoulder: March and August to September, quieter, and the weather is less of a sure thing
- Skip: April to July and October to November
Kanyakumari season by season
Winter December to February Prime time
Clearest skies of the year - the sunrise-over-Bay-of-Bengal, sunset-over-Arabian-Sea views actually deliver
Summer March to May Shoulder
Hot and increasingly humid through Apr-May, haze often dulls the sunrise and sunset views
Monsoon June to September Shoulder
SW monsoon spillover from the nearby Ghats brings rain and choppy seas, ferry to Vivekananda Rock often halts
Autumn October to November Do not go
Oct-Nov is the NE monsoon's peak here too - heaviest rain and roughest seas, the worst window to visit
What Kanyakumari is actually like
A bucket-list stop with many day-trippers; budget lodges near the rock ease meeting others
Getting to Kanyakumari
Fly to Trivandrum (90km, 1.5hr) or train from Madurai (4hr)
Practical ways in: flighttrainroad
Trip facts
- How long to stay
- 2 days
- Budget
- Shoestring
- How busy
- Busy at its peak
- Solo travel
- Fine solo
- Altitude
- 0 m
- State
- Tamil Nadu
- Coordinates
- 8.0883, 77.5385
Common questions
When is the best time to visit Kanyakumari?
December to February is peak season in Kanyakumari. March and August to September is shoulder season: thinner crowds, a bit more risk in the weather. Avoid April to July and October to November. Clearest skies of the year - the sunrise-over-Bay-of-Bengal, sunset-over-Arabian-Sea views actually deliver.
How many days do you need in Kanyakumari?
2 days is the usual stay. A bucket-list stop with many day-trippers; budget lodges near the rock ease meeting others.
How do you get to Kanyakumari?
Fly to Trivandrum (90km, 1.5hr) or train from Madurai (4hr). Practical ways in: flight, train and road.
Is Kanyakumari expensive, and does it get crowded?
Shoestring by Indian travel standards, and it runs busy at the busiest time of year. Fine solo.
Nearby, and where to go next
-
Manapad
Tamil Nadu
Black rock cape, a church of 1581 and a lagoon built for kiting
90 km from Kanyakumari, roughly about 2 h by road
-
Kalakkad-Mundanthurai (Mundanthurai)
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu's first tiger reserve, all walking trails and rest houses
90 km from Kanyakumari, roughly about 2 h by road
-
Kovalam
Kerala
Crescent lighthouse beach, Kerala's original resort town
90 km from Kanyakumari, roughly about 2 h by road
-
Ponmudi
Kerala
Trivandrum's easy-reach hairpin-bend hill station
130 km from Kanyakumari, roughly about 3 h by road
-
Courtallam (Kutralam)
Tamil Nadu
Nine falls that run when the rest of Tamil Nadu is bone dry
130 km from Kanyakumari, roughly about 3 h by road
-
Thenmala
Kerala
India's first planned ecotourism site, built round a dam reservoir
150 km from Kanyakumari, roughly about 3 h by road
-
Varkala
Kerala
Cliffside beach town with yoga shalas and sunset cafes
150 km from Kanyakumari, roughly about 3 h by road
-
Kazhugumalai (Vettuvan Koil)
Tamil Nadu
Unfinished 8th century Pandya temple carved top-down into bare rock
160 km from Kanyakumari, roughly about 3 h by road
More places to visit in Tamil Nadu
- Chettinad (Karaikudi) Tamil Nadu
- Chidambaram & Pichavaram Tamil Nadu
- Coonoor Tamil Nadu
- Courtallam (Kutralam) Tamil Nadu
- Gangaikonda Cholapuram Tamil Nadu
- Gingee Fort (Senji) Tamil Nadu
- Hogenakkal Falls Tamil Nadu
- Javadi Hills (Jamunamarathur) Tamil Nadu
- Kalakkad-Mundanthurai (Mundanthurai) Tamil Nadu
- Kanchipuram Tamil Nadu
- Kazhugumalai (Vettuvan Koil) Tamil Nadu
- Kodaikanal Tamil Nadu
- Kolli Hills Tamil Nadu
- Kolukkumalai Tamil Nadu
- Kumbakonam (with Darasuram) Tamil Nadu
- Madurai Tamil Nadu
- Mahabalipuram (Mamallapuram) Tamil Nadu
- Manapad Tamil Nadu
- Masinagudi (Mudumalai) Tamil Nadu
- Meghamalai (High Wavy Mountains) Tamil Nadu
- Ooty (Udhagamandalam) Tamil Nadu
- Point Calimere (Kodiakkarai) Tamil Nadu
- Pulicat (Pazhaverkadu) Tamil Nadu
- Rameswaram Tamil Nadu
- Sittanavasal Tamil Nadu
- Thanjavur Tamil Nadu
- Tharangambadi (Tranquebar) Tamil Nadu
- Tiruchirappalli (Trichy) Tamil Nadu
- Tiruvannamalai Tamil Nadu
- Valparai Tamil Nadu
- Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary Tamil Nadu
- Vellore Tamil Nadu
- Yelagiri Tamil Nadu
- Yercaud Tamil Nadu