Koyikkal palace is one of the old palace in Kerala. It now hosts two main museums under the department of Archeology- the Folkare museum and the Numismatic museum.
Koyikkal Palace
Koyikkal Palace is one of the frequently visited historical place in Kerala. This palace is located in the state capital of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram. The tourists can explore the history of Kerala from the Koyikkal museum through the Folkare museum, the Numismatic museum and the palace itself. Koyikkal museum is the enroute to
Ponmudi hill station and the Courtalam waterfalls, other two attractions in Thiruvananthapuram district.
Visiting hours : 9:00 am to 5:00 pm on all days, except Mondays.
How To Reach Koyikkal Palace
Koyikkal palace is located around 18 km from Thiruvananthapuram city, in Nedumangadu. You can reach the monument very easily from all parts of the world. For the tourists who want to reach here by air, the nearest airport is the Thiruvananthapuram international airport. This is about 24km away from Koyikkal palace. The nearest railway station is about 18km. The railway station is the Thiruvananthapuram Central railway station.
The city also offers you an excellent network of roadways which will take you to the palace.
What To See In Koyikkal Palace
Koyikkal Palace is an excellent place for those who like history. The place gives you glimpses to the past lives of Kerala, especially the Travancore kingdom.
The Koyikkal Palace was built for the queen of the Venad Royal family who ruled this land between 1677 and 1684. They were the Perakom Thavazhi of Venad royal family. This two storeyed traditional Kerala palace is built in the style of nalukettu comprising of slanting roofs and a courtyard inside the palace. The erstwhile Travancore palace now hosts two main museums of archeological importance.
Another attraction in Koyikkal palace is the Folkore museum. The museum is situated in the first floor of Koyikkal palace. The Folkore museum was set up in 1992. Now the museum hosts old musical instruments, household utensils, occupational implements and models of folk arts and is now under the Department of Archeology. The main attraction in the museum in Nanthuni. Nanthuni is a small sweet sound musical instrument which is used for folkare singing during Onam days. There are many household utensils and kitchen vessels show cased in the museum.Thaliyola and Chilambu are the other two attractions in the Folkare museum. The museum will also takes you to the old art forms of Kerala like Muthappan theyyam, Ottanthullal and Patayani.
The Numismatics Museum is situated at the ground floor of the Koyikkal museum. This is the only one of it's kind in Kerala hosting a rich variety of coins. The collection not only includes the coins from Kerala only, it has the coins from all parts of the world under different periods. An ancient coin belonging to the Venetian era is also exhibited here and it is believed that this coin was presented to Jesus Christ. These rich collection points to the past trading culture of Kerala with other parts. Another attraction is the'Karsha' coin. The world's smallest coin, Rasi. is also on display here at the museum. The museum also hosts coins belonging to the Gwalior Royal Family, the Nizam of Hyderabad, Hyder Ali, Tipu Sultan etc. Some of the oldest coins of Kerala like Ottaputhen, Erattaputhen and Kaliyugarayan Panam are also displayed here.
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