Iris

Kochi Tourism

AttractionsChinese Fishing Nets
Best SeasonSeptember - March
Ideal Duration3Days
LanguagesMalayalam, English

Cochin has many unique and interesting tourism destinations that attract visitors and tourists for holidays and tour packages. The attractions in Cochin include Mattancherry Dutch Palace, Jewish Synagogue, Bolghatty Palace, Chinese Fishing Nets, Santa Cruz Basilica, St. Francis Church, Cherai Beach, Hill Palace Museum, Kodanad Elephant Training Centre and Malayattoor Church. The best place to stay is Fort Cochin which still keeps alive its ancient Jewish traditions, the Santa Cruz basilica, Mattancherry Palace, St: Francis Church and much more. The Jews Street and Chinese fishing nets are a must see

Cochin is the starting point of most of our tours and the best time to visit Cochin is from September to March.

Best Time To Kochi

Plan your trip during best season to experience the best of this stunning destination

Best time to visit Cochin is just after monsoons, from October to March when everything in the city is Green. However Kochi is an all season destination and you can see tourists from all over the world in Fort Kochi, which is the most popular tourist place in Kochi.

ALSO SEE - Is Kochi and Cochin the same?

The temperature varies from 19 °C to 31 °C (63 °F to 91 °F) making the temperature suitable for a holiday in Kochi. When you visit Kochi, expect occasional rains and carry comfortable casual clothes.

How to reach Kochi

Kochi is well connected to major cities in India like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai , Bengaluru and Kolkata through road, train and flights . Kochi also has an international airport and is well connected to middle east, USA, UK and all major countries in the world . Koch is the gateway to major tourist places in Kerala like Munnar, Alleppey, Kumarakom and Thekkady.

	Distance	By Air	By Road	By Train
Alleppey to Kochi	80 KM	45 Minutes	45 Minutes	75 Minutes
Bangalore to Kochi	525 KM	11 Hours	11 Hours	13 Hours
Trivandrum to Kochi	206 KM	6 Hours	6 Hours	7 Hours
Munnar to Kochi	145 KM	NA	NA	4 Hours

By Flight

Cochin International Airport (IATA: COK, ICAO: VOCI) is the largest airport in Kerala and one of major gateways to India from other countries. It is also India's 4th busiest International Airport where domestic and international flights ply. Cochin has regular flights to almost all the cities in Middle East and few destinations in Southeast Asia

By Train

Kochi is well connected by train from all parts of India. Most Kerala-bound trains have a major stop here. There are two major rail terminals inside the city limits. Two Major stations are Ernakulam Town Station (North Station), (IR Code : ERN) and Ernakulam Junction Station (South Station), (IR Code : ERS)

By Bus

Kochi is accessible from all southern parts of the country as well as other parts of the state, through the extensive state run Kerala Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus services and services of neighboring state transport corporations.

Chinese Fishing Nets

Chinese Fishing Nets were brought by some traders from the court of Kublai Khan in China and is an icon of Cochin Tourism.

Entry TimingsAll Day
Weekly HolidayOpen all Days
Suitable For Families
Tip from Iris HolidaysYou can join Fishing with Chinese Fishing Net workers by paying a nominal fee

Cherai Beach

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

Entry TimingsAll Day
Weekly HolidayOpen all Days
Suitable For All Age Groups
Tip from Iris HolidaysClean beach and try out multiple places to eat along the shore

Hill Palace Museum, Thripunithra

Hill Palace is the largest archaeological museum in Kerala in Tripunithura near Cochin. Built in 1865, the Palace complex consists of 49 buildings in the traditional architectural style, spreading across in 54 acres.

Entry Timings9:00 AM - 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Weekly HolidayMonday
Suitable For Everyone

Malayattoor Church

The only international shrine in Asia believed to have been visited by St. Thomas.has been designated by the Vatican as an International Shrine. It is believed that St. Thomas held prayer at this church when he landed in Kerala. The hilltop church is located 25 km away from the town of Kalady.

Entry TimingsMass is at 9.30 AM on Week Days and 7.30 AM on Sundays
Weekly HolidayAll Days Open
Suitable For Heritage and History Lovers, Christian Pilgrims
Tip from Iris HolidaysThe climb is exhausting and hard through a rocky path but there are rest stops at the 14 stations of the cross where you can stop and light a candle.

Paradesi Synagogue (Cochin Jewish Synagogue )

Paradesi Synagogue is also known as Cochin Jewish Synagogue or the Mattancherry Synagogue.It was built in 1568 by the Malabar Yehudan people or Cochin Jewish community in the Kingdom of Cochin. Paradesi is a word used in several Indian languages, and the literal meaning of the term is "foreigners", applied to the synagogue because it was historically used by "White Jews", a mixture of Jews from Cranganore, the Middle East, and European exiles.

Entry Timings10 AM to 12 Noon; 3 PM to 5 PM
Weekly HolidayFridays, Saturdays and Jewish Holidays
Suitable For All Age Groups
Tip from Iris HolidaysVisitors are expected to enter the Synagogue barefoot.

St Francis Church Fort Kochi

St. Francis Church, is the oldest European church in India and has great historical significance as a mute witness to the European colonial struggle in the subcontinent.

Entry Timings7:00 am – 6:30 pm
Weekly HolidayAll Days Open
Suitable For All Age Groups
Tip from Iris HolidaysThe church is the most venerable relic of Portuguese power to be seen outside Europe

Bolghatty Palace

Bolghatty Palace is One of the oldest existing Dutch palaces outside Holland, this quaint mansion, built in 1744, by Dutch traders, was later extended and lush green gardens were landscaped around it.

Entry TimingsPreferably during the day if you are not planning to stay there.
Weekly HolidayAll Days Open
Suitable For All Age Groups
Tip from Iris HolidaysPose against the ancient and aristocratic walls to flaunt your royal photographs on social media.

Dutch Palace

Built by the Portuguese in 1557, the Palace was presented to Raja Veera Kerala Varma of Kochi (Cochin). The palace was renovated in 1663 by the Dutch. On display here are beautiful Murals depicting scenes from the epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata and some of the puranic Hindu legends. The palace also houses Dutch maps of old Kochi, royal palanquins, coronation robes of former Maharajas of Kochi as well as the furniture belonging to that period.

Entry Timings10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Weekly HolidayFriday
Suitable For All Age Groups
Tip from Iris HolidaysEnjoy the old photos and other artifacts of the Royal Family inside the palace.

Kodanad Elephant Training Center

Kodanad elephant training centre specializes in training the stranded baby elephants from the wild. In Kerala, elephants are the most ornamental and auspicious animals and no festival or celebration is complete without an elephant procession. Kodanad is in the list of Ecotourism destination projects supported by the Government of India. Kaprikkad, a village lying 3KM adjacent to Kodanad on the river bank has been set up in 2006 for entertaining visitors in an environmental friendly way.

Entry Timings8 A M–5 P M
Weekly HolidayMonday
Suitable For All Age Groups especially Children
Tip from Iris HolidaysKodanad is a every day destination for tourists who wish to touch & feel elephants at close quarters.

Kochi Travel Tips and Information for your holiday when you visit the tourist attractions in Kochi

11 Tourist Places to visit in Kochi

Kerala is known as, Gods Own Country, for its breath-taking beauty and the city of Kochi lies on the South West Coast overlooking the Arabian Sea. For centuries Kochi has been a gathering place for merchants and tourists from various nations and people who have been here from Arabs to the Portuguese and British have all left their legacy and cultural imprints behind. Kochi Tourism - Images of Kochi and Kochi Photos Today Kochi has emerged as one of the must destinations places to... Read More

Kochi Sightseeing Tour with Photos

If you have a few hours in Kochi and want to get a glimpse of the culture of Kerala, checkout this Kochi Sightseeing tour we launched this year based on requests from guests who wanted to have an immersive experience with the culture of Kochi and Kerala. Shades of Kochi is a tour which can help you to understand and immerse in the multi-faceted culture of Fort Kochi with rich contributions from Jewish, Hindu, Christian, Arab, Dutch and British communities as well as Gujarati and Kongini... Read More

Best Beaches Near Kochi

Some of the best beaches in Kerala are in and around Kochi. If you are visiting Kerala and is wondering whether to visit Kovalam or Varkala from Kochi, you may not because good beautiful sea view resorts are available near Kochi itself and you can actually save almost one day it takes to travel from Kochi to Varkala. Few of the best beaches near Kochi are Cherai Beach , Marari Beach, Fort Kochi and Andhakaranazhi. ALSO SEE- Top 15 Best Beaches in Kerala Cherai... Read More