“The Queen of the Arabian Sea” also informally called the Gateway to Kerala, Kochi being a natural harbor, is a breathtakingly scenic and prosperous city. Kochi is one of the largest and most important cities of Kerala. It has been a commercial center of great importance for centuries and continues to be so till date. Steeped in rich History and Culture, Kochi offers a spectrum of enchantment to every tourist and the most important ones are,

Santa Cruz Basilica dating back to 1558, is a monumental church portraying beautiful paintings on the ceiling.

St. Francis Church, built by Portuguese Friars, restored by protestant Dutch, converted to an Anglican Church by British, and now used by the church of South India, is one of the oldest European churches in India. This is also where Vasco Da Gama’s remains were buried before being moved to Lisbon, Portugal. His Tombstone still remains.

Mattancherry Palace, built by the Portuguese in 1557 and presented to Raja Veera Kerala Varma of Cochin was later renovated by the Dutch in 1663. On display here are beautiful murals depicting scenes from the epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata and some of the Puranic legends.

Bolghatty Palace, built by the Dutch is in a beautiful island called Bolgatty near Ernakulam. This palace, once the residence of the British resident of Cochin, is now a KTDC (Kerala Tourism Development Corporation) hotel.

Cherai Beach is a lovely beach bordering Vypeen Island, ideal for swimming. Dolphins are occasionally seen here.

Hill Palace Museum, Thripunithura, the official residence of the Cochin royal family built in 1865, consists of 49 buildings and is surrounded by 52 acres of terraced land with a Deer Park and facilities for horse riding. Displayed inside the thirteen galleries in the museum are oil paintings, murals, 19th century paintings, manuscripts, sculpture in stone and plaster of Paris, inscriptions and coins belonging to the Cochin royal family.

Pareekshith Thampuran Museum earlier called the Durbar Hall, is a traditional Kerala style building, housing 19th century oil paintings, old coin collections, sculptures and Mughal paintings.

Willingdon Island is a man-made island surrounded by beautiful backwaters named after Lord Willingdon, the British viceroy to India. This Island houses some of the city's best hotels, customs and trading centers, the port trust and also is the headquarters of the Southern Naval Command.

Jewish Synagogue built in 1568 is the oldest synagogue in the commonwealth countries. This synagogue is known for its mid 18th century hand printed willow pattern floor tiles from Canton in China, Hebrew inscriptions on stone slabs, a dock tower, ancient scripts on copper plates etc. and is a place worth seeing in Cochin.

Vypeen Island has the magnificent lighthouse and is worth a visit.

Events and Festivals: Ernakulam Temple Festival, Valanjambalam Devi Temple Festival and Ravipuram Temple Festival are the there major festivals in Kochi happening annually and is an eight-day event, full of enchanting rituals, music, art, elephants and fire-works.

Getting here
Kochi is well connected to all the major cities of Kerala and India by air, rail and road. With an international airport, Kochi is connected by excellent air network to all major cities in India and abroad. A well connected Rail network also connects Kochi with rest of Kerala and India. Kochi has three main railway stations, namely, Ernakulam Junction, Ernakulam Town and Harbor Terminus on Willingdon Island. Also a well connected and serviced network of National and state highways, connects Kochi to all major centers of the area.