Kochi

South India · Kerala

Kochi, Kerala

Colonial lanes and Chinese fishing nets · Kerala's main gateway city, well connected by air and rail to the rest of India

Plan this trip

Getting there

By road

Kerala's main gateway city, well connected by air and rail to the rest of India

By rail

Ernakulam Junction (ERS), in the city

By air

Cochin International Airport (COK), ~28-40 km

Best time to visit

October to March — humid but breezy evenings

Don't miss

Chinese fishing nets

Mattancherry Palace

Paradesi Synagogue

St. Francis Church

Things to do

Fort Kochi heritage walks

Ferry-hopping

Kerala Biennale in season

Where to eat

Kayees Biryani

Dhe Puttu

Fort House waterfront café

Sources: open-meteo, wikimedia, Photo: Vyacheslav Argenberg · CC BY 4.0

What to pack

Light cottons, umbrella, comfortable walking sandals

A quieter corner

Kathakali make-up session an hour before the show starts

About Kochi

Coastal

Where it is

Kochi, formerly Cochin, is a port city on Kerala's Arabian Sea coast, spread across the mainland of Ernakulam and a chain of islands and peninsulas, including Fort Kochi and Mattancherry, around a natural harbour at the mouth of the backwaters.

History

Kochi rose as a trading port after a great flood of the Periyar in 1341 ruined the older port of Muziris. The Portuguese held Fort Kochi from 1503 until the Dutch took it in 1663, and the British followed, while the rajas of Cochin ruled the surrounding kingdom until after Indian independence.

People

Kochi's people speak Malayalam, and the city has long been a meeting place of communities, including Syrian and Latin Christians, Hindus and Muslims, Konkani and Gujarati traders, Anglo-Indians and the small Cochin Jewish community. Its kitchens are known for appam, stew and seafood.

Known for

The Chinese fishing nets of Fort Kochi
Mattancherry Palace and the Paradesi Synagogue
St Francis Church and Santa Cruz Basilica
Kathakali performances
The Kochi-Muziris Biennale

Did you know?

Vasco da Gama died in Kochi in 1524 and was first buried in St Francis Church, one of the oldest European churches in India, before his remains were taken back to Portugal.