Mrita Sanjivani, from the Himalayas to Lanka (Sri Lanka) during the Ramayana War. This chunk of earth is called Marunthuvazh Malai, literally "hills where medicine lives". This is said to be the reason for the abundance of unique native medicinal plants in the area.Marunthuvazh Malai is located near Kottaram about from Kanniyakumari town on the Kanniyakumari-Nagercoil highway. The sage Agasthya, who was an expert in medicinal herbs, is believed to have lived around this site in ancient days. It is also believed to be the reason so many medicinal herbs are found on the hills near Kanniyakumari. There is an ashram on the middle of the hill, which tourists visit (after a short trek from the base of the hill), both to visit the Ashram and also to take a glimpse of the sea near Kanniyakumari a few kilometres away. Demographics As per the Census of 2011, Kanniyakumari town had 61.16% Christians, 32.97% Hindus and 5.47% Muslims. As of the census of India 2001, Kanniyakumari had a population of 19,739, comprising 9,884 males and 9,855 females, making the sex ratio (number of females per thousand males) of the town 997. A total of 2,403 people were under six years of age and the child sex ratio (number of females per thousand males under six years of age) stood at 1,024. The town had an average literacy of 88.62%, higher than the national average of 59.5%. There were a total of 4,236 households in the town. As of 2001, Kanniyakumari had a total of 5,929 main workers: 11 cultivators, 78 agricultural labourers, 66 in household industries, and 5,774 other workers. There were a total of 119 marginal workers: 4 marginal cultivators, 3 marginal agricultural labourers, 11 marginal workers in household industries, and 101 other marginal workers. Geography Kanniyakumari is located at . and has an average elevation of 30 metres. The peninsular tip of Kanniyakumari is bordered on three sides by the Laccadive Sea. It is located at the confluence of the Western Coastal Plains and Eastern Coastal Plains. Kanniyakumari is at the southern tip and is the southernmost point of the contiguous Indian Subcontinent. It thus finds itself being a part of the common Hindustani phrase used to describe the length of India "Kashmir se Kanniyakumari"; before the partition, the phrase in undivided India was "Khyber se Kanniyakumari". However, the southernmost point of Republic of India is at Indira Point