The Bolghatty Palace, Built In 1744, Has Been Purchased By The Taj Group Of Hotels, Ph 355 003. It Is Wonderfully Situated Bungalow, With A Restaurant But Has A Lot Of Mosquitos. Singles 300Rs, Doubles 600Rs. It Is Airconditioned.
Related Travel Information
Cochin, With Its 700,000 Inhabitants (1 Million In The District), Is The Largest City In Kerala And An Important Port. It Consists Of Four Parts:
Fort Cochin/Mattancherry: The Charming Old Section Of Cochin, Built On A Peninsula Where The Gpo Is Located. It Has A Charm Of Its Own And Is Worth Seeing.
Kerala Tourist Reception Centre, Shanmugham (Shunmuham) Road, Ernakulam, Ph 353 234. Open Daily From 8am-6pm. They Take Bookings For The Bolghatty Palace And Cochin Sightseeing Tours As Well As For The Hotels In Periyar Park, But You Have To Pay A Hefty Booking Fee. Govt Of India Tourist Office Near The Hotel Malabar, Willingdon Island, Ph 6 045 Open Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm, Sat 9am-Lpm. Very Friendly And Helpful. They Have Plenty Of Pamphlets About India Even If They Are A Bit Out Of Date.
Pai And Company, 1st Floor At The Southern End Of Broadway, Ernakulam, Have A Good Selection Of Books
Perumanoor (Ernakulam)-Willingdon Island: Every 20 Minutes Between 6am And 10pm, Daily 35 Services. This Service Is Not Really Of Interest To Tourists.
Ernakulam-Willingdon Island-Mattancherry: Between 6.30am And 9.45pm And In The Opposite Direction Between 6am And 9pm - 25 Services Daily. A Large Part Of These Are By F.P. Boats (Fast Passenger) Which Don't Stop At Willingdon Island.
It Is About 10 Minutes' Walk From The Embarkation Jetty On Willingdon Island To The Tourist Office And The Hotel Malabar. The Ferry Doesn't Stop At The Tourist Office Boat Jetty.
For The Dutch Palace And Jewish Quarter
Before They Get To Mattancherry, The Few Non-Fast
This Island Group Belongs To India, And Lies Between 190km (118 Miles) And 300km (186 Miles) West Of Kerala. Of The 36 Coral Islands, With A Total Area Of 32.4 Sq Km (13 Sq Miles), Only Ten Are Inhabited. The Population Of 50,000 Are Mostly Muslim.
The Main Industry Is Fishing (Tuna And Sharks). That Could Change If They Were Opened Up For Unrestricted Tourist Development. On The Other Hand The Laccadives Are A Restricted Area, And Travellers Who Want To Visit The Islands Have To Get A Permit In Delhi. The Only Exception Is The Island Of Bangaram.
fort cochinlmattancherry, most of the attractions are in old cochin. fort cochin is at the northern end of the peninsula, and mattancherry is at the southern end. The main attractions in fort cochin are the chinese fishing nets, which you also encounter on a trip through the 'backwaters'. The nets aren't really good, as often when they are lifted they are empty, and when there is a fish in them, a hungry crow usually takes it.
The unimposing church ofst francis is of interest to sightseeing fans and also historians. It is supposed to be the first european church built
