Cochin or Kochi is the port city of Kerala. When we landed there, somehow the palm trees, the people, the roads all gave away a feel of Goa to me. There are lots of things that Kochi has to offer, right from ports, shipyards, beautiful beaches, awesome seafood to cosmopolitan culture, big malls and great shopping.
How To Go: We traveled from Bangalore to Cochin Airport which is just a 1.5 hour flight. Connectivity is quite good by train and buses as well. The Cochin Airport is however very far ~40 kms from Fort Kochi where most of the sightseeing is located.
When To Go: Anytime, any season.
What to Do : Here is a list of places we visited - all of them are within 3 -4 kms radius and located in Fort Kochi area.
Dutch Museum or Matancherry Palace - This is a palace turned into a Museum, Old time paintings, Palki of the Maharaja, royal dress, photographs and history of the earlier rulers. The entry fees is Rs5/- and it is a small museum, will take around half hour to visit.
Princess Street - Lots of small shops selling dresses, decorative items etc built around in a european architecture. Lots of bargaining happens here, so do not just take the price that the shopkeeper is telling
Jew Street - Frankly speaking when I was walking on this street, I felt I was in an old town in europe. it didnt feel like India at all. I noticed there were no vehicles, probably this is a walk only street I guess. It was enjoyable walking in a mix of Indo-european kind of place with no horns and no disturbance
Paradeshi Synagogue - This is a Jew place of worship, a nice quiet and cool kind of atmosphere. I believe they do not preach Idol worship, thats why there was just a curtain with some symbols and no idols in the entire place.
Chinese Fishing Nets - This is somehow seen in all the Kochi pictures, but I think this is overhyped.
St.Francis Church - This church was the burial place of Vasco De Gama, whose remains were later transferred to Lisbon. There is a tombstone in his name, a nice church.
Santacruz Bascilica - This is the first cathedral built in Asia. Houses lots of artifacts and paintings, must go.
Kathakali Dance - This was the highlight of our trip, since we had never seen a live kathakali performance. There is a Kerala Kathakali Centre in Fort Kochi. This is a must visit. Make sure to buy tickets beforehand or take their number from google and book a seat for yourself. This is a 1 hour performance from 6-7 pm and you can reach a bit early to watch the artist do makeup for the show. The kind of expressions, eye moments and mudras they do is amazing. At the end of the show, you can also click pictures with the performers. It is awesome.
What Next - Well, All in all Kerala was delightful visit for us. Post this we headed back home to Bangalore. Here are other links to the Kerala adventure.
P.S - All pictures are taken from my iPhone.
Read more on Kerala -
http://travelhues.blogspot.in/2015/03/kerala-gods-own-country.html
http://travelhues.blogspot.in/2015/03/munnartea-gardens-and-more.html
http://travelhues.blogspot.in/2015/03/alleppeyalappuzha-venice-of-east.html
http://travelhues.blogspot.in/2015/03/must-try-foods-in-kerala.html
How To Go: We traveled from Bangalore to Cochin Airport which is just a 1.5 hour flight. Connectivity is quite good by train and buses as well. The Cochin Airport is however very far ~40 kms from Fort Kochi where most of the sightseeing is located.
When To Go: Anytime, any season.
What to Do : Here is a list of places we visited - all of them are within 3 -4 kms radius and located in Fort Kochi area.
Dutch Museum or Matancherry Palace - This is a palace turned into a Museum, Old time paintings, Palki of the Maharaja, royal dress, photographs and history of the earlier rulers. The entry fees is Rs5/- and it is a small museum, will take around half hour to visit.
Princess Street - Lots of small shops selling dresses, decorative items etc built around in a european architecture. Lots of bargaining happens here, so do not just take the price that the shopkeeper is telling
Jew Street - Frankly speaking when I was walking on this street, I felt I was in an old town in europe. it didnt feel like India at all. I noticed there were no vehicles, probably this is a walk only street I guess. It was enjoyable walking in a mix of Indo-european kind of place with no horns and no disturbance
Paradeshi Synagogue - This is a Jew place of worship, a nice quiet and cool kind of atmosphere. I believe they do not preach Idol worship, thats why there was just a curtain with some symbols and no idols in the entire place.
Chinese Fishing Nets - This is somehow seen in all the Kochi pictures, but I think this is overhyped.
St.Francis Church - This church was the burial place of Vasco De Gama, whose remains were later transferred to Lisbon. There is a tombstone in his name, a nice church.
Santacruz Bascilica - This is the first cathedral built in Asia. Houses lots of artifacts and paintings, must go.
Kathakali Dance - This was the highlight of our trip, since we had never seen a live kathakali performance. There is a Kerala Kathakali Centre in Fort Kochi. This is a must visit. Make sure to buy tickets beforehand or take their number from google and book a seat for yourself. This is a 1 hour performance from 6-7 pm and you can reach a bit early to watch the artist do makeup for the show. The kind of expressions, eye moments and mudras they do is amazing. At the end of the show, you can also click pictures with the performers. It is awesome.
What Next - Well, All in all Kerala was delightful visit for us. Post this we headed back home to Bangalore. Here are other links to the Kerala adventure.
P.S - All pictures are taken from my iPhone.
Read more on Kerala -
http://travelhues.blogspot.in/2015/03/kerala-gods-own-country.html
http://travelhues.blogspot.in/2015/03/munnartea-gardens-and-more.html
http://travelhues.blogspot.in/2015/03/alleppeyalappuzha-venice-of-east.html
http://travelhues.blogspot.in/2015/03/must-try-foods-in-kerala.html
1 comments
kerala is beautiful place for visiting it is famous for nature,beaches,voting,etc that is very good place . I would like to go again again in kerala for visit if you want to know about keral click on Kerala Tour Packages
ReplyDelete