The state of Kerala has many sides. First we visited the backwaters of Kerala where life is simple on the brackish canals. Up the coast and in-land from the backwaters, the views are quite different. From the historical sites of the spice-trade city Kochi to breathtaking views in the highlands, there was still a lot to see in this charming state. Here are a few ideas when you Explore Kochi and Munnar in Kerala, the land of tea and spice.
Kochi
Kerala has been an important part in the world’s spice trade for centuries. Kochi (formerly Cochin) was one of the most important trading posts for the valuable spices grown in the region. Arabs, British, Chinese, Dutch and Portuguese all have left their indelible mark on the sites and food of Kochi.
A Brief History of Kochi
In 1498, the famous Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama landed on the Indian coast just north of Kochi. This made him the first European to arrive in India via the ocean and the first to round the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Agulhas on the southern edge of Africa. His voyage opened up a valuable route for Portuguese traders, allowing them unopposed access to India’s spices. In 1503 Fort Cochin became the first European colony in India.
Kochi Old Town
The Portuguese built the fort on a large island just off mainland, but today not much of the fort is left. There are however, many buildings from this time and the community of Fort Cochin is a great place to wander. There are many narrow, winding streets lined with renovated heritage buildings that are now shops, restaurants and boutique hotels. There are also many great coffee shops and western restaurants in this area. It was a nice break for us from local Indian food as we find we need something familiar every once in a while.
Chinese Fishing Nets
The streets in Old Town seem to wander aimlessly but somehow all lead to the busy waterfront. A great time to visit th waterfront is at sunset when the shore is buzzing with locals and tourists getting an ice-cream, buying trinkets in the market or just walking along the shore.
This is where you will find remnants of the Chinese traders. Chinese Fishing Nets are large fishing nets on wooden frames that are manually raised and lowered in to the sea. They are still actively used today and are very picturesque. You can buy a fish from the fishermen and have it cooked next door at a food stall.
Spice Market
On the other side of this small island you’ll find the fragrant spice market. It was a place that Maggie had been eagerly awaiting and it didn’t disappoint. There were many shops selling fresh cinnamon, cumin, chili and black pepper, cardamom, turmeric and mixed curries. The spices made these shops very colourful and aromatic.
Mattancherry Palace & Paradesi Synagogue
Nearby is the 16th century Mattancherry Palace. The Portuguese gave the palace to the Cochin Raja in order to secure exclusive trade privileges. It’s quite a plain palace considering other architecture we’ve seen in India.
Next door to the palace is the old Paradesi Synagogue. It also has a plain exterior, but the inside is more extravagant with at least a dozen large, crystal chandeliers. No cameras were allowed inside.
Churches
As we drove through Kochi, we saw many more churches than in most other Indian cities. 18% of Keralites are Christian which seems low, but not when you consider that Christianity makes up only 2% of religions in all of India. Two old churches in Fort Cochin, St Francis and Santa Cruz, are among the oldest. St Francis was the 1st European church in India. It was built by the Portuguese in 1504. The original church was a wooden structure, but was rebuilt in stone a decade later. The church has a simple white front with a gabled roof line. The explorer Vasco da Gama died in Kochi and was originally buried in St. Francis. His grave marker, along with other early Portuguese, are inside the old St. Francis church.
Santa Cruz Basilica is a large white, Gothic church with tall spires and arched doorways. The original church, built by the Portuguese, was destroyed by the British. The current church was re-built in 1800s by the British. It was proclaimed as a Basilica by Pope John Paul II in the 1980s.
Kathakali
Kerala is well known for its traditional plays, called Kathakali. The actors have elaborate makeup and use facial expressions, eye movements and hand gestures to tell their story rather than words. Before the play began, the actors gave a demonstration of these expressions. It helped not only to understand the play, but also to appreciate the skill of the actors. The play we saw was about love, hate, rape and revenge. It was accompanied by musicians and a singer. It was a great evening.
Munnar
The Western Ghats is a 1,600 km long mountain range running parallel to the Arabian Sea with its southern end in Kerala. The hill town of Munnar is in the middle of the region’s important tea country. We had such a great time in the amazing Sri Lankan Highlands that we weren’t sure we should even visit. But, as we found, the Western Ghats’ Highlands have their own beauty. The valleys are wide, the hills are large, and the land is covered in green tea plantations for as far as you can see. The tall, rocky mountains of the Western Ghats add a lovely backdrop.
It’s a great place to spend a day driving through the hills to see the spectacular landscape. You’ll see how the tea plantations on every hill make the area very green and beautiful. We were lucky to see two wild elephants between the tea trees on one plantation.
The region has many lovely vistas with mountain lakes and rivers below the high, rocky peaks. Some are artificial lakes made by dams, but others are natural, mountain lakes. There are many small forests in the areas where plantations can’t be built.
As we drove through one forest, we saw large trees close to the road with wild honeybee hives. There were more than 10 hives on one tree, but we couldn’t see any on the neighboring trees, we’re not sure why they liked this one so much.
Just outside town is a nice botanical garden. Since it was the end of dry season, there weren’t many flowers blooming, but we did see a few interesting looking plants.
Another nice thing to do in Munnar is hike up the hills above the town for more lovely views of tea plantations and rocky mountains. The town of Munnar doesn’t have much to offer, but it is set in gorgeous country.
To read more of our adventures in India, click here.
Coming up next: Mysore – The City of Palaces
For extra pics from this trip go to Gallery/WesterntIndia. For extra pictures from other blogs go to Gallery at monkeystale.ca
To read about more of our adventures go to Destinations.
If you like what you read, please comment or share it using the links below.
We'd love to hear from you, please leave a comment.