Tap the Pulse
History thrives in the lanes of Kochi, and presents itself through interesting architectural influences, while a modern metropolis rises high across the breathtaking backwaters.
JEWISH CONNECTION The 1568-built 1 Paradesi Synagogue still stands tall in 2 Jew Town, featuring ornate brass bema, colouredglass lamps, hand-painted Cantonese floor tiles, and magnificent Belgian chandeliers. The narrow colourful lanes of Jew Town today are lined with antique and handicraft shops.
COLONIAL KOCHI In 1497, the famous Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama arrived at the Malabar coast, set up a trading post, and built a fort and a settlement around it, which today stands as the charming neighbourhood of 3 Fort Kochi. Here, you’ll find the 4 St. Francis Church—the first European church in India. After 160 years, Fort Kochi was captured by the Dutch, who rebuilt the famous 5 Dutch Palace (Mattancherry Palace), and then 112 years later, the British took over, and restored a 16th-century
Portuguese church into the imposing neoclassical Santa Cruz Basilica. ART TRAIL
India’s largest contemporary art event and an exhibition of international repute, Kochi Muziris Biennale
(kochimuzirisbiennale.org) is held in spaces across Fort Kochi, Mattancherry, and Durbar Hall in Ernakulum. 6 Kerala Folklore Museum
(keralafolkloremuseum. org) is housed in a typical Kerala-style building and displays artifacts, such as masks, costumes, musical instruments, traditional jewellery and more. The 7 Kerala Kathakali Centre (kathakalicentre.com) in Fort Kochi is the most popular venue to watch traditional classical dance forms, such as Kathakali and Mohiniattam, as well as the incredibly skilled martial art form, Kalaripayattu.
SOUL TREATMENT Home to the traditional Ayurveda treatments, Kochi is dotted with massage centres offering a range of services that benefit the body and mind, such as Abhyanga, Shirodhara, Nasyam, Pizhichil, and Kizhi. 8 Ayurville (ayurville.com), 9 Agastya Ayurveda (agastyaayurveda.in), and 10 Ayurveda Sanctum (ayurvedasanctum.co.in)
are a few of the highly-rated traditional massage centres.