Thuckalay
| Thuckalay | |
| — town — | |
| Coordinates | |
| Country | India |
| State | Tamil Nadu |
| District(s) | Kanyakumari |
| Nearest city | Nagercoil |
| Parliamentary constituency | Nagercoil |
| Assembly constituency | Padmanabhapuram |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+05:30) |
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Thuckalay -தக்கலை- is a town in Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, India. Thuckalay comes under the Padmanabhapuram Municipality. Thuckalay is the administrative headquarter of Kalkulam Taluk. The Revenue Divisonal Office is located in Mettukadai. Thuckalay is connected by road from both Thiruvananthapuram (51 km) and Nagercoil (17 km). The nearest railway station is located in Eraniel, which is approximately 5 km from Thuckalay. The nearest airport is the Trivandrum International Airport, which is approximately 51 km from Thuckalay.
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[edit] History
Thuckalay is a part of Padmanabhapuram, which was once the capital of erstwhile Travancore.
[edit] Education
The Thuckalay Government Higher Secondary School is the largest Government Educational institution in the region. There are also age old institituions such as Amala Convent, which is run by a local church and an international school.
[edit] Health services
Kanyakumari district's headquarter hospital is located near Mettukadai. There are also privately-run hospitals and clinics.
[edit] Tourism
The Padmanabhapuram Palace is located 1 km from Thuckalay Town. The palace is built in the Travancore architectural style, containing 17th and 18th century murals, and underground passages.
The Dutch commander Eustachius De Lannoy was buried in a nearby place called Udayagiri Fort. Udayagiri Fort is situated near the Padmanabhapuram palace.It is built of massive granite blocks around an isolated hillock ,260 feet (79 m) high enclosing an area of almost 90 acres (360,000 m2). The fort was said to have been destroyed by Raja Raja Chola. The fort was rebuilt in the reign of Marthanda Varma, the Venad king during 1741-44 under the supervision of De Lannoy,the Belgian General who served as the chief of Travancore Army loyally for 37 years and died on the 1st June 1777 at the age of 62.His body was buried within the fort and a tomb in the fort is marked out, by a stone cross planted at the top ,with inscription in both Latin and Tamil.
Kumaracoil, also called "Kumaran Koil" is at the foot of the Velimala Hills in Kalkulam Taluk about 15 km North West of Nagercoil and three km east of Thuckalay. This place is known for its famous temple dedicated to Lord Muruga otherwise known as Kumaran. The temple is built on the top of a small hill about 200 ft (61 m) height and faces east and can be reached by a flight of steps.Goddess Valli and Devayani, the spouses of Subramanian, is also enshrined in the temple by the side of the main deity. Here, Lord Muruga is in the form of a child . The statue is of a height of 8' 8" (highest Murugan statue in Tamil Nadu)
