A land of exotic beaches,Thiruvananthapuram is the head quarter of the Thiruvananthapuram district. Thiruvananthapuram literally means "City of Lord Anantha" in Malayalam. The name derives from the deity of the Hindu temple at the center of the city. Anantha is the serpent Shesha on whom Lord Padmanavan or Vishnu reclines. Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple is the famous landmark of the city. The city was officially referred as Trivandrum in English until 1991. Then it changed to its older version as Thiruvananthapuram.

History of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram is an ancient city with trading traditions from 1000BC. It is believed that the ships of king Solomon landed in a port called Ophir, which is now known as Poovar in Thiruvananthapuram. The city was the trading post of the spies, sandalwood and ivory. A large fort contains several places and a Vaishnava temple, which is a noted pilgrimage centre.

Geography of Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram is located at 8.5°N 76.9°E on the west coast. The city covers an area of about 250 square kilometers. The average elevation is 16 ft from the sea level. Thiruvananthapuram is built between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea. The total area is divided into three geographical regions the high lands, the mid lands and low lands. The mid land region comprises low hills and valley adjoining to the Ghats. The lowland region comprises shorelines, rivers and deltas. The major rivers running through the city are Karamana and Killi river and Vellayani lake is the biggest fresh water lake of Thiruvananthapuram.

The city has mostly Tropical Climate, where maximum temperature is 34°C and the minimum is 21°C. The humidity level is very high, which can rise up to 90% during monsoon. The average rainfall in the city is 1700 mm per year.The crops of this area differ according to the types of land. As for example in Highland area the crops are mainly Rubber, tea, cardamom, and other spices. In Midland area the crops are Paddy, tapioca, and cashew while in Lowland the main crop is Coconut palms.

Economy of Thiruvananthapuram
60% of the population in Thiruvananthapuram is Government employee and few are relying on cultivation. In high lands the rubber, tea, cardamom, spices, in mid lands paddy, tapioca, cashew and in the low lands coconut palms are the main cultivated corps every year.

There are around 20 government owned and 60 privately owned medium and large-scale industrial units established and 30,000 small-scale units are also available, which employs around 115,000 people. Handloom and Coir industries are main in Thiruvanthapuram.

At present the economy is growing with the contributions from more professionals in the fields of IT, Medical and Biotechnology. The city contributes 80% of the software exports from the state. Since the establishment of Technopark in 1995, Thiruvananthapuram has steadily grown into a competitive IT world.

Tourism was also contributed heavily to the economy of Thiruvananthapuram. It is more famous for its medical tourism. Most of the foreigners are coming to this place for Ayurvedic treatment.

Government and Politics of Thiruvananthapuram
The city is administered by the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation headed by the Mayor. And the law and order of the city is maintained by a police Commissioner, an officer of IPS rank.

Transport in Thiruvananthapuram
By Air:Trivandrum International Airport has directed International flights to major worldwide destination with the links to major Indian cities.

By Rail: Thiruvananthapuram Central Railway Station is well connected to all major cities and towns in Kerala as well as to the other states.

By Road: Thampanoor Central Bus station is situated just opposite of the Thiruvananthapuram Central Railway Station, which is well linked with the various cities in and out side the Kerala.

Division of Thiruvananthapuram
Most parts of the city are coming under Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha Constituency. The city contributes six legislative assembly sits namely Kazhakoottam, Thiruvananthapuram North, Thiruvananthapuram West, Thiruvananthapuram East, Nemom and Kovalam.

Demographics of Thiruvananthapuram
As per 2001 Census, Thiruvanthapuram had a 744,739 population. But as per 2006 November it reaches to nearly 1.1 million. The sex ratio is being 1,037 females to every 1000 males.

Culture of Thiruvananthapuram
The main spoken language in Thiruvananthapuram is Malayalam and the second language is Tamil. Among several artists of Thiruvananthapuram, Maharaja Swathi Thirunal and Raja Ravi Verma are very famous.

Maharaja Swathi Thirunal was a great composer and played a vital role in the development of Karnataka`s music. A music college in his name was built in the city. Raja Ravi Verma was a illustrious painter. Most of his famous paintings are preserved in the Sree Chitra Art Gallery in the city. For the entertainment of localities there is a zoo and Government builds the Napier Museum. Other prominent heritages of the city are The VJT Hall, Palayam Mosque and a Church.

Thiruvanthapuram has numerous libraries. Among them State Central Library, The University Library, Thiruvananthapuram Children`s Library, Manuscripts Library, Center for Development Studies Library and the British Council and Library.
Thiruvananthapuram`s famous fair and festivals are Arratu-, Feast of Christ, , Chandanakudam Mahotsavam, Onam- ,Vishu, Thiruvitra, etc.

Flora and Fauna of Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram is fill with its flora and faunas. This land is very rich for its rare orchids, medicinal plants and spices. There are several wild life sanctuaries and reserved forests are built. Among them Nayyar dam and Wild Life Sanctuaryand Peppara Wild Life Sanctuary are famous.

Neyyar Dam and Wild Life Sanctuary- Neyyar Dam is situated about 22 kilometers away from Thiruvananthapuram. Its wild life sanctuary is built t in the year 1958. It is located on the foot of Western Ghats with covering the total area of 128 sq km. The habitant animals are Elephant, wild buffalos, wild boars, porcupines, tigers and Varity of snakes. There is also a crocodile farm cum breeding center and a loin safari is located near the Dam. On the upper reaches of the Neyyar reservoir there are two water falls are situated.

Peppara Wild Life Sanctuary- Peppara Wild Life Sanctuary has the tropical and sub tropical ever green forests populated with variety of wild lives. This land is the home of elephants, sambhars, lion-tailed macaques, leopards, and gaur, barking deer, wild boar, tiger and Nilgiri langur and assorted birds.

Education of Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram is a major academic hub. Except the Schools, Colleges and University of Kerala, there are several other institutions including 15 Engineering colleges, three Medical colleges, three Ayurvedic colleges, two Homeopathic colleges, six other Medical related colleges are available. The prominent Institutions like The All India Institute of Management Studies (AIIMS), The College of Engineering Trivendrum, Asian School of Business and IIITM-K are also situated here.

Thiruvananthapuram is also a land of Research and Development Units. The research and Development has spread in the areas like Space Science, Information Technology, Biotechnology and Medicine. It is a home of Research Centers, which include Vikram Sarabhai Space Center (VSSC), Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS), Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Bio Technology, Tropical Botanical Garden and Research Institute, Regional Research Laboratory, regional Cancer Centre, Sree Chitra Thirunal Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology, Centre for Earth Science Studies etc.

Media in Thiruvananthapuram
Daily Newspapers are available in Thiruvananthapuram are Malayalam and in English. Matrubhumi, Malaya Manorama, Kerala Kaumudi, Deshabhimani and Madhyamam are the main Malayalam Newspapers. The Indian Express and The Hindu are the prominent English Newspaper.

Most Malayalam channels are based in Thiruvananthapuram. The government owned Door Darshan began broadcasting in 1981 from Thiruvananthapuram. Asian net was the first private channel started on 1991 in Thiruvananthapuram. The other channels are Surya TV, Amrita TV, Kairali TV, and Kiran TV. The local cable services are provided by Asianet Satellite Communication Limited, Trivendrum Cable Network Pvt Ltd and Siti cable. DTH, TataSky and Dish TV connections are also available in the city. Except All India Radio, the first private FM channel is `Radio DC`.

The basic telephone services are provided by BSNL, Reliance and Tata Indicom. The cellular networks operating in the city are BSNL Cell One, Airtel, Idea Cellular, Hutch, Reliance and Tata Indicom.The major broadband services are provided by BSNL Data One, Asianet Data line and Citi Cable.

Sports of Thiruvananthapuram
In Thiruvananthapuram the popular sports are Football and Cricket. Basketball, Volleyball and Badminton are also popular but mostly in educational institutions. The Kerala cricket association Head quarter is situated in Thiruvananthapuram. The Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium is a prominent football stadium and has hosted both national and international level matches. Including the University of Kerala`s stadium, the city also holds the Central stadium which has facilities for athletics, football, basketball, volleyball and cricket. The Jimmy George Sports Complex, G.V Raja Sports School, Lakshmi Bhai National College for Physical Education are the major sports establishments in the city. The city also has a Golf club and Tennis club.

More on Thiruvananthapuram
Tourism in Thiruvananthapuram

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