Padmanabhaswamy Temple
The temple the city is named for, where Vishnu reclines in yogic sleep and eight vaults hold what is thought to be the largest treasure ever found in one place.
The city is named after the deity
Thiruvananthapuram means the town of Ananta, the serpent on whom Vishnu reclines here — so the temple is not a sight the city contains but the thing the city is called after. The deity, Anantha Padmanabhaswamy, is Vishnu in yogic sleep on the serpent Shesha, and he is the tutelary deity of the Travancore royal family, who ruled from beside the walls and whose titular head remains the temple’s trustee.
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What there is to see
For most visitors the temple is seen from outside, and that is a real visit rather than a consolation.
🛕 The gopuram
- The tower over the eastern entrance is the landmark of the old city, and the classic view is across the temple tank in front of it
- The reflection in the tank is what most photographs of Trivandrum actually show
🌊 The Padma Theertham tank
- The bathing tank immediately east of the gopuram, stepped on all four sides
- Open to everyone, and the place the temple is best appreciated from if you cannot go in
🕉️ Inside, for those who may enter
- The deity is seen through three separate doors — the face, the midriff and the feet — rather than all at once
- One of the 108 Divya Desams, the sites the Tamil Vaishnava hymns of the seventh and eighth centuries name
💰 The vaults
- Six vaults were long known, labelled A to F; a 2014 court report added two more
- Five of the smaller ones were opened from July 2011 under Supreme Court supervision, and what came out is considered the largest collection of gold and precious stones ever found in one place
- Vault B has not been opened. None of this is on display, and none of it is visitable
Getting there
It sits in the old fort quarter at the southern end of the city, with the palace and the museum quarter a short way apart.
🚗 From Kovalam
- Around twenty minutes by road, which is why most Kerala itineraries put it in the last morning before a flight
✈️ From the airport
- Trivandrum airport is the closest in the state to a beach resort, and the temple sits between the two
🚶 On foot
- Kuthiramalika palace is immediately south-east of the temple and the two are seen together
When to go
Early, before the heat and before the last-morning coaches.
🕰️ Time of day
- Morning light falls on the east-facing gopuram, which is the side you photograph from the tank
- The temple closes between its ritual sessions through the day; worshippers plan around them
📅 Season
- October to March is the settled coastal season and the comfortable time to be walking the fort quarter
⏱️ How long
- An hour from outside, longer if you are entering, and it pairs naturally with Kuthiramalika next door
Before you go
The entry rules here are real and they are enforced at the gate, not negotiated.
🚫 Who may enter
- Under the Temple Entry Proclamation only those who profess the Hindu faith are admitted to the temple
- This is not a formality and it is checked. Everyone else sees the gopuram and the tank, which is worth the walk
👕 Dress code
- Men wear a plain white vesti with an angavastram; women wear a saree
- Garments can be hired near the entrance if you arrive without them
📵 Electronics
- Phones and cameras are not carried inside. There is a deposit counter
🧭 If you cannot go in
- The Napier Museum and Kuthiramalika are open to everyone and hold the Travancore collections the temple does not show
Nearby
The rest of the fort quarter and the museum end of the city.
Frequently asked
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