Koyikkal Palace Thiruvananthapuram,Kerala
Read this article to know more about Koyikkal Palace located at Nedumangad in Thiruvananthapuram ,Kerala. This palace was built for Umayamma Rani of the Venad Royal Family. There are two museums in this Koyikkal Palace namely the Folklore Museum & the Numismatics Museum which were set by the Archeology Department.
Koyikkal Palace
If you want to know the exact location of Koyikkal Palace, remember that this popular palace is located at Nedumangad, which is about 19kms from Trivandrum or Thiruvananthapuram (capital city of Kerala). Actually this palace was built for Umayamma Rani of the Venad Royal Family. It should be noted that Umayamma Rani ruled this land between 1677 & 1684. A Folklore Museum & a Numismatics Museum set by the Archeology Department can be seen in this Koyikkal Palace. If anyone gets a chance to visit this palace, then definitely you must visit it. You will be able to see the Koyikkal palace in traditional Kerala style. In general we can say that nalukettu, slanting roofs & courtyards are the attractive parts of this palace. Do you want to know the important features of this Koyikkal palace? Now the new generations of Kerala may have an opportunity to study the culture & traditions of ancient Kerala. So check the points given below to understand more about Koyikkal Palace.Important features of Koyikkal Palace
I have already mentioned about the two museums which are seen in the Koyikkal Palace. The Numismatics museum contains coins that are obtained from different eras as well as different parts of the world. The Numismatics museum is present in the ground floor of the Koyikkal Palace. Ottaputhen, Erattaputhen, Kaliyugarayan Panam (oldest coins of Kerala state), Amaida (Venetian coin presented to Jesus Christ) etc are the important properties of this Numismatics museum. Other valuable items present in the Numismatics museum are Karsha, Rasi, Sreekrishna Rasi, Anantharayan Panam, Kochi Puthen, Lakshmi Varaham, Coin Mints & Rasi Palaka. I know now you are in curiosity to know the importance of the above mentioned items. Karsha is a 2500 year old coin & it is considered to be the most valuable Indian coin that is present in the Numismatics museum of the Koyikkal Palace located in Nedumangad. When considering Rasi that is present in this museum, note that it is the world's smallest coin. But Sreekrishna Rasi is one of the regional coins that was issued by the local kings who ruled Kerala in the 10th century. In simple terms we can say that Rasi Palaka is a coin board. That means it is a board made of wood that is used for counting small coins. The first modern gold coin which was in circulation in Travancore during the 15th & 17th centuries is the Anantharayan Panam. But when considering Kochi Puthen & Lakshmi Varaham, the former is the coin of Kochi Kingdom while latter is the silver coins minted in Travancore. 
When you visit the Folklore museum, you may be able to see the household utensils, models of folkarts, musical instruments, occupational implements etc.It should be noted that the Folklore museum is located on the first floor of the Koyikkal palace. If you visit this Folklore museum, you may be able to see the different items like brass/copperware, wooden kitchenware, old manuscripts (thaliyola), the dress & headgear used by the artists of Ottamthullal, lamp representing the goddess of prosperity (Gajalakshmi) etc. Apart from this, you may be able to see some other items like maravuri, chilambu used by Umayama Rani, oorakkudukku, kettuvillakku, a model of Muthappan theyyam, patayani kolam model, chandravalayam, nanthuni etc in the Folklore museum of Koyikkal Palace. Location & Visiting hours of Koyikkal Palace
I have already mentioned that Koyikkal Palace is located in Nedumangad, Trivandrum in Kerala. The nearest bus station, railway station & airport are that of Thiruvananthapuram central bus station, Thiruvananthapuram railway station & Thiruvananthapuram International airport respectively. Another fact is that the Koyikkal Palace is located very close to the Nedumangad KSRTC bus station. So the easiest way to reach the palace is by travelling from Thiruvananthapuram to Nedumangad. The visiting hours of this palace is from 9:00 AM- 5:00 PM on all days (except Mondays).Admission fee
Adults: Rs 5
Children: Rs 2
Video: Rs 700
Camera: Rs 20
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