Kochi

Overview

Kochi is a port city built across water. Its streets run over a mainland shore, a peninsula and a scatter of islands, joined by bridges, ferries and a water-transport network of its own. Most visitors start in Fort Kochi, the old harbour quarter on the western edge, and a Fort Kochi tour is easy to do on foot because so much sits within a short walk.

The lanes here carry layers of rule, with Portuguese, Dutch and later British influence all visible in the buildings, among them St Francis Church, which dates from 1503. On the waterfront, the Chinese fishing nets rise and dip beside the shore, a method believed to have arrived with traders from China around the fourteenth century. They are a favourite stop at sunset.

Just beyond lies Mattancherry, where the mood changes. Jew Town's narrow streets hold antique shops and the Paradesi Synagogue, finished in 1568 and known for its hand-painted Chinese floor tiles. A little further on, the Mattancherry Palace, also called the Dutch Palace, now serves as a museum with royal portraits and wall murals.

Art and performance fill the gaps between sights. Every two years the Kochi-Muziris Biennale turns old halls and colonial houses, Aspinwall House among them, into exhibition spaces, and Kathakali shows are a steady draw for evening plans. Seafood features strongly on local menus, so leave room for a plate of fish molly.

Across the water, Ernakulam is the working city, with the main railway junction, the commercial centre, the Marine Drive promenade and the High Court boat terminal. Ferries and the Water Metro link it to Fort Kochi, and a crossing is as much part of a visit as any monument.

Weather matters. Heavy rain falls from June to September, lighter showers follow through December, and the air stays warm and damp year round. Many travelers plan around the cooler months, and Fort Kochi usually holds its carnival in the last two weeks of December, so book well ahead if that is your window.

Known for

Colonial lanes and St Francis Church