Kochi Travel Guide

Introduction

1,080km (670 miles) S of Mumbai

Kochi is not the capital of Kerala, but it is a great deal more charming than Trivandrum, and, blessed with a good airport and infrastructure, is for many the ideal gateway to the state. In fact, this has been the case since 1341, the year nature carved out Kochi's harbor with a massive flood, and the city became the first port of call for Arabs, Chinese, and, finally, European sea merchants, who sailed for barter into what came to be known as the "Queen of the Arabian Sea."

Lured by the promise of pepper, the Portuguese under Vasco da Gama arrived in 1500, and the Franciscan friars who accompanied the explorer Pedro Alvarez Cabral established a church and set about converting the locals. By 1553, the Maharaja of Kochi had granted permission for the construction of the first European fort in India, and what had been an obscure fishing hamlet became India's first European settlement. In 1663, Kochi fell to the Dutch, and 132 years later, to...