Today it is a venue for cultural and other public functions. Located near Mascot hotel, it is a valuable site for students and researchers. A gigantic 35 m sculpture of a mermaid, called Matsya Kanyaka, is a major attraction here. There is facility for recreational activities. The place is near the airport and the Veli tourist village.
Boating facility is available in the lake.
A popular retreat, it has a children's park and other attractions. Architecturally it can be described as a great marvel in wood, monumental in concept, design and execution. The construction of the Padmanabhapuram palace was started in the latter half of the 16th century by Trippappur Muppan whose descendants came to be associated with Trippappur Swarupam, the royal lineage, later came to be known as Travancore kings. Marthanda Verma, the warrior king who knitted together the state of Travancore later in the 18th century, expanded it. Dharma Raja, who succeeded Marthanda Verma, shifted the Capital of Travancore around 1795 from Padmanabhapuram to Trivandrum which he thought was more befitting a location for a Capital.