Geography
Thiruvananthapuram is located at 8.5° N 76.9° E on the west coast, near the southern tip of mainland India. The city covers an area of about 250 square kilometers, sandwiched between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea. The average elevation is at sea level.

The city can be divided into two geographical regions, the midlands and the lowlands. The midland region comprises of low hills and valleys adjoining the Ghats. This area has high agricultural activity and crops like paddy, tapioca, spices and cashews are cultivated here. The lowland is a narrow stretch comprising of shorelines, rivers and deltas, dotted with coconut palms. The major rivers that flow through the city are the Karamana river, the Neyyar and the Vamanapuram river.

A third region the highlands form the eastern suburbs of the city. Several cash crops like rubber, tea, cardamom etc. are grown here. The highest point is the Agasthyarkoodam which rises 1890 m above sea level. Ponmudi and Mukkunimala are hill-resorts near the city.

Climate

The city has a tropical climate and therefore does not experience distinct seasons. The mean maximum temperature 34 °C and the mean minimum temperature is 21 °C. The humidity is high and rises to about 90% during the monsoon season.

Thiruvananthapuram is the first city along the path of the south-west monsoons and gets its first showers in early June. The city gets heavy rainfall of around 1700 mm per year. The city also gets rain from the receding north-east monsoons which hit the city by October. The dry season sets in by December. December, January and February are the coldest months while March, April and May are the hottest. The winter temperature comes down to about 15 °C and summer temperatures can sometimes go as high as 37 °C.

Economy

The economy of Thiruvananthapuram is based on the tertiary sector with about 70% of the workforce being employed as government servants. Large scale industrial establishments are low compared to other south Indian state capitals like Chennai and Bangalore.

Since the establishment of Technopark in 1995, Thiruvananthapuram has steadily grown into a competitive IT centre. Technopark houses global majors like Infosys, TCS, McKinsey and Co., Ernst and Young, Alliance Cornhill, US Technologies etc. The park has around 80 companies employing over 10,000 professionals. With the expansion plans to be completed in 2007-08, this figure is to rise to about 30,000.

Tourism has also contributed heavly to the economy of trivandrum.More and more visitors are flocking in trivandrum for health holidays as Trivandrum has more than fifty recognised Ayurvedic centres in and around the city.This is primarly due to Ayurvedas immense popularity in the West.