Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 km2, making it the largest and most populous city in Kerala. The larger Thiruvananthapuram metropolitan area has over 1.7 million inhabitants within an area of 543 km2. Thiruvananthapuram is one of the few cities in India that functions as a capital city, a heritage city, a maritime city, an information technology city, a space research city, a defence city, an automotive tech city, a bioscience city, a tourism city, and a city known for its research and development institutions. It is also among the few cities in the world where both an international airport and an international seaport are located within the city in close proximity to the city center.

Located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland, Thiruvananthapuram is a port city located from a heavily trafficked east–west shipping channel. The city is home to India's first deep-water trans-shipment port, the Vizhinjam International Seaport Thiruvananthapuram. The city is characterised by its undulating terrain of low coastal hills. Thiruvananthapuram is also known for its cultural heritage, being associated with the musical contributions of Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma and the artistic legacy of painter Raja Ravi Varma. Thiruvananthapuram has contributed to the development of Malayalam literature through individuals like Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer, Kumaran Asan, C. V. Raman Pillai and Narayana Guru. The city is also known for Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, known as the richest temple in the world.