Top 10 Things to Do in Fort Kochi
We went to Kochi for a long weekend last year. While we would have loved to spend at least a week travelling around the state of Kerala, three days is all we had to explore Kochi, a city that represents this state on many accounts. We made Fort Kochi our home and explored most of it on foot.
Three days well spent! Here are our top 10 picks in Fort Kochi…
Walking through the streets of Fort Kochi…
1. Stay with a local in a guest house. Guest house accommodation can be as low as USD 30 per night, inclusive of breakfast. Most locals know English and are happy to help and make friends
2. Get on a food trail. Vegetarians, do not despair. …there is plenty to keep you happy! You can try the local curries of feast on some fresh pasta. Whatever your choice maybe, Fort Kochi will offer plenty of options to keep you happy.
Fort Kochi: Mushroom pasta at Pepper House Cafe
3. If you loved the spicy, coconut based curries and want to recreate the magic at home, spend an afternoon learning to create the magic potion at a local cookery school.
4. Attend a Kathakali and Mohiniyattam performance. We would highly recommend arriving early to marvel at the Kathakali make up session.
Kerala: Kathakali dancer in action!
5. Try your hand at fishing! Not with the fishing rods, but with the Chinese fishing nets that dot the coastline.
Chinese fishing nets are Fort Kochi
The local fishermen will happy to take you through the entire process for a mere USD 3.
Fishermen in action!
6. Try varieties of tender coconut, ideal to beat the heat and humidity. They taste different! The yellow one is my favourite… perfect low calorie refresher.
Coconuts galore!
7. A visit to the Jewish street is a must. The synagogue tells tales of how the Jews landed on the Indian shores.
This is one of the best places to shop for antiques …or other souvenirs that look like antiques; remember to use your bargaining skills though.
Shopping on the Jew Street
8. Relax your body and mind with some authentic Ayurvedic massage at one of the many Ayurveda centres. I love the the ‘shirodara’ experience and would highly recommend trying it at least once.
9. Make some time to visit the churches, especially St.Francis Catherdral and Santa Cruz Basilica. The architecture takes you back to an era when Kochi was ruled by the Portuguese and then the Dutch.
10. Spend at least half a day on a house boat in Alleppey. The clam backwaters will sure put your mind at ease. The day trip to Alleppey was the highlight of our vacation!
Have you been to Fort Kochi? Do you have anything to add to this list? We would love to hear it!
This is a nice summation of place of interest. I never knew there are varieties of coconut (except one with cream and one without)
Thanks Ankur…Fort Kochi is a great place. It still has the remnants for the colonial past and yet reflects traditional Keralite aspects!
I agree. Fort Cochin has so much. Let me share more that I have experienced in past. There are Kumbhalangi backwaters at 15 kms from Fort Cochin where one can get excellent countryside and backwater experience (Dont really have to go till Alleppey). Another thing is a speed boat ride for Island hopping or take a local Ro-ro ferry from Jetty (next to Brunton Boatyard) mingle with locals enroute to Vypeen, Bolgatty and mainland Ernakulam. Cycling and guided heritage walks are also good fund. The beach there, though a public beach is a nice long walk option on a quiet weekday. Views of Harbour from one of the harbour front restaurant (Fort house or Brunton Boatyard) is again an experience.
Hey Niraj! Thanks a bunch for sharing! We had no clue about the Ro-ro ferry. All this is now on our list when we visit Kochi next.
Lovely things to do at Fort Kochi… the houseboat experience must be something… so is the Kathakali performance and learning how to make spicy coconut cutney(:
Totally! My favourite part was watch the Kathakali performers put on the make up. Respect!
Was there some museum you visited here?
There is an Indo Portuguese museum which you can visit if history interests you… we didn’t have enough time to visit it.
Hello Sonia, How are you? Hope you are doing well. I liked your blog so much. Great Information. Kochi is beautiful place. I am planning to go Kochi from last few month but i am not able to do. can you please suggest me which month is suitable for me to enjoy my vacation in kochi. Thanks.
such a beautiful place. article is really interesting to read