Padmanabhapuram Palace
The old Travancore capital: the largest wooden palace complex in Asia, with carved rosewood ceilings, clerestory windows of coloured mica and a polished black floor whose recipe is still argued about.
Padmanabhapuram
Padmanabhapuram was the capital of Travancore until the seat moved to Trivandrum in the eighteenth century, and what survives is the largest wooden palace complex in Asia — a series of connected buildings in teak and rosewood, built and extended from the sixteenth century onward, set inside a granite fort. It is an extraordinary building and it is not much visited by foreign travellers, which is part of its appeal. The features people remember are the carved rosewood ceiling of the council chamber with its hundreds of different flower patterns, the clerestory windows glazed with coloured mica, the ranks of carved pillars, and above all the council chamber floor: a polished black surface, hard as stone and cool to the touch, made by a process involving egg white, lime, burnt coconut shell and other ingredients whose exact recipe is genuinely disputed. There is one further curiosity: the palace stands in Tamil Nadu and is administered by the Government of Kerala.
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What to see
A connected complex of wooden buildings, walked in sequence. Two hours.
The famous rooms
- The Mantrasala, the council chamber, with its carved rosewood ceiling and its polished black floor.
- The clerestory windows of coloured mica, which throw coloured light across the interiors.
- The Uppirikka Malika, the king’s four-storey residence, with the treasury below and the bedchamber above.
The complex
- The Thai Kottaram, the mother palace, which is the oldest part and dates from the sixteenth century.
- The Natakasala, the performance hall, with its granite pillars and wooden stage.
- The enormous single-block stone cot, the Chinese-influenced screens, and the palace kitchens.
Around it
- The granite fort wall enclosing the whole complex.
- The temple within the enclosure.
- The small museum of objects from the palace.
Getting there
About thirty-five kilometres from Kanyakumari, on the road toward Trivandrum.
From Kanyakumari
- Roughly 35 km, about an hour by road, and usually visited as a half-day out or on the way north.
- It is on the road toward Trivandrum, which makes it a natural stop when leaving Kanyakumari that way.
- A taxi is the only practical arrangement.
At the palace
- It is closed on Mondays, which is the single most important thing to check before setting out.
- Ticketed, with separate camera charges, and administered by the Kerala state department of archaeology.
- Footwear is removed and the whole visit is barefoot on wooden and stone floors.
Timing
- Allow two hours; the complex is larger than it appears from outside.
- Guides are available at the entrance and are worth taking.
- Morning is cooler and the light through the mica windows is better.
When to visit
Morning, on any day except Monday.
Time of day
- Morning, when it is cooler and the coloured light through the mica windows is at its best.
- Afternoon is warmer and the wooden interiors are dim.
- It closes in the late afternoon; do not leave it late.
Time of year
- October to March is the comfortable season on this coast.
- April to June is hot and the barefoot walking is less pleasant.
- The monsoon is atmospheric in a wooden building and the complex is quiet.
How long
- Two hours to see the complex properly with a guide.
- Ninety minutes at a brisk pace.
- An hour is not enough and will miss most of it.
Visitor intelligence
A wooden building of great age being walked through barefoot by a great many people.
Before you go
- Closed Mondays. This catches people out constantly and there is no way round it.
- Take a guide from the entrance. Without one a great deal of the complex reads as rooms.
- Camera charges are separate and photography is restricted in some rooms.
The building
- Everything is walked barefoot, on old wood and polished stone. Floors are uneven and thresholds are high.
- Ceilings are low in places and doorways lower; tall visitors should watch their heads throughout.
- Do not touch the walls, the ceilings or the black floor. The oils from hands are a real conservation problem here.
The administrative curiosity
- The palace stands in Tamil Nadu and is administered by the Government of Kerala, a legacy of the Travancore state.
- Signage and staff are largely Malayalam-speaking as a result, in the middle of a Tamil district.
- It is a genuine administrative fact rather than a mistake, and it is worth knowing before you notice it.
Access
- The complex is on several levels connected by steep wooden staircases with high thresholds.
- It is not suitable for wheelchairs and is difficult for anyone unsteady.
- The ground-floor rooms alone are a partial visit but miss the residence and much of the best carving.
Nearby
On the road between Kanyakumari and Trivandrum.
Frequently asked
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