Faint outlines show what is still to be built
Padmanabhapuram Palace presents a geographical and administrative puzzle that delights historians: it is located in Thuckalay, in Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari district, but is owned and administered by the Government of Kerala. This anomaly exists because Kanyakumari district was part of the Travancore kingdom (and later Travancore state) until 1956, when the States Reorganisation Act transferred the Tamil-speaking areas of Travancore to Tamil Nadu. Kerala retained ownership of the palace by special arrangement.
Built in stages from 1550 to about 1790, the palace was the seat of the Travancore kings before they moved their capital to Thiruvananthapuram. It is considered the finest example of traditional Kerala architecture in existence — a complex of wooden buildings with steeply pitched roofs, carved pillars, and murals.
The palace's construction is almost entirely in teak and granite, with jackwood details. The Thai Kottaram (main palace) features a carved and painted ceiling that took 38 craftsmen six years to complete. The Mantrasala (Council Chamber) has a polished granite floor that achieves a mirror-like sheen using a paste of egg whites, charcoal, and coconut shell — a technique used nowhere else. The bedchamber of the king contains a rosewood four-poster bed inlaid with 64 decorative motifs in ivory.
The palace complex includes the Travancore-era durbar hall, a bathing ghat, temple, granary, and women's quarters. Despite its distance from the Kerala government that maintains it, the palace is well-preserved and provides an incomparable window into the domestic architecture and daily life of a South Indian royal household.
Place this monument in your room using AR.
Scan the QR code below to open this page on your mobile device.