Around 10 km east of Trivandrum, close to Nedumangad town, is the Koyikkal Palace. This building, built in traditional Kerala style, is more than 300 years old and used to be the home of Umayamma Rani of the Venad Royal family who ruled over the place.
This is a two storied building of wood and stone with a traditional Nallukettu in the centre. You can see a picture of the Nallukettu on this blog.
The Koyikkal palace is now a museum managed by the ASI. The friendly staff there surprise you with their alacrity to show you around the place, and in their knowledge of Travancore history.
The museum has many an interesting showpiece, from old weigh scales and weights, to horse carriages used by royalty.
The pictures also show the balcony from where the queen used to talk to her subjects.
Aruvikkara is from where Trivandrum city gets its drinking water. The dam itself is not as imposing as other dams in Kerala, however the rocky river bed downstream and the scenery around is beautiful. The kids loved playing there.
