Kanyakumari; lit. "The Virgin Princess" is a town in Kanyakumari District in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. It is the southern tip of Indian subcontinent. The southernmost town in mainland India, it is sometimes referred to as 'The Land's End'.
A popular tourist destination in India, it is famous for its unique ocean sunrise, sunset and moonrise, the 41-metre Thiruvalluvar Statue and Vivekananda Rock Memorial off the coast, and as a pilgrimage centre. Lying at the tip of peninsular India, Kanyakumari is bordered on the west, south and east by the Laccadive Sea. It has a coastal line of 71.5 km stretched on the three sides.
The town is situated 90 km south of Trivandrum, the headquarters of Kanyakumari District, and about 200 km south of Theni.
On the shores of the town is a temple dedicated to Goddess Kanyakumari, after which the town is named. Kanyakumari has been a city since the Sangam period and has been referred to in old Malayalam literature and in the accounts of Marco Polo and Ptolemy.