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Photo: Shishirdasika, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
A surprising scenic local, the Neyyar Dam is an excellent picnic spot. There is also a yoga center and several temples near this dam, if you are interested in making a day-trip of it.
Neyyar dam is a gravity dam on the Neyyar River in Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala, South India, located on the foot of the Western Ghats about 30 km from Thiruvananthapuram. It was established in 1958 and is a popular picnic spot. The Neyyardam was built in the land given by a famous agriculturist and landlord Mr. Karuvachi Krishnan Panicker, Maruthummootil, Kallikkad and many of his family members from Kallikkad.
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This palace was built in the 16th century and showcases the traditional palace architectural style of Kerala. It features a folklore museum and a numismatics (Coins and currency) museum.
In Kowdiar, this is the current, official residence of the Travancore Maharajas and royal family. It is off-the-limits for public. However, a friendly guard may let you inside to have a glimpse of this large architectural wonder built in mixture of Saxon-Travancore styles. The public however can enter into Panchavadi, the resting place of Late HH Maharaja Chitra Thirunal, the last and popular king of Travancore.
Golden Hill Palace in Malayalam
The cultural hotspot of ancient Thiruvananthapuram. The large palace and its sprawling gardens was once the banquet palace for visiting State guests of Travancore. Today, it has engaging galleries and the grand lawns serve as open-air auditoriums for regular concerts and evening dance programs.
An art gallery in the Museum compound and displays a rare collection of mainly Indian paintings. The main attractions are paintings by Kerala painter Raja Ravi Varma and other famous painters Raja raja Varma and Nicholas Roerich. Also featured are miniature paintings from around the world, Kerala mural paintings, and Tanjore miniature paintings.
This is the first zoo India opened in 1843, as a concept of Palace for wildlife. Situated in the Museum compound, this area has a rich botanical garden. There are a wide variety of animals, plants and birds. It has a separate reptile park and butterfly garden.
Art Gallery
Named after former Madras governor, Lord Napier (Francis Napier, 10th Lord Napier and 1st Baron Ettrick), this museum is a beautiful building in the museum (read: park) compound. This masterpiece was designed by Madras Government architect Robert Chisholm in Indo-Saracenic style. The museum displays rare archaeological and historical artifacts including bronze idols, ceramics, an impressive carved wooden cart, Buddhist statues from various parts of the country and neighbouring places, ivory carvings, chests, Balinese shadow puppets, various old coins, Hindu puja items, and more. Quite a few objects are foreign, and of those quite a few are Chinese. Unfortunately most are lacking labels, have labels only in Malayalam, or are very vague. Look up at the impressive roof when you enter! No photography is allowed. There is no sign saying "Napier Museum", just "Art Gallery" and it's the big building in the park to the north of Museum Road.