Fort Cochi is a beautiful fishing town in the Indian state of Kerala. While we spent just under 24 hours here, I had a great time exploring the touristy shops, restaurants, and sites sprinkled about. Our accommodation was similar to Ooty's in its elegance and feeling of luxury. Perched alongside the ocean, sea breezes and sounds of waves gently crashing against docks drifted onto the balcony of our room. We arrived around 6p.m. just before the sunset and here was the view:
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| An interesting decoration on the hotel's dock. |
Since we arrived in the evening, our only evening itinerary was dinner and relaxation. We found a delicious side street restaurant but, as it frequently occurs in India, the power went out just after ordering. As we found out, each evening power is turned off for around thirty minutes to conserve energy in Fort Cochi. Thankfully, the staff had candles ready to go and we had extra time to chat. Dinner was served soon after the power returned and most of us retired early after a long day of traveling.
The next morning, we were up and out to tour Fort Cochi. One of its best known attractions is Chinese fishing nets. The contraptions are used along the water's edge and use various weights and ropes to raise and lower the nets. The fishermen even let us raise a net!
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| Here the net is raised and not in use. |
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| Here the net is submerged and ready to be lifted. |
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In addition to Chinese fishing nets, regular fishing boats
are also used in Fort Cochi. |
This strongly European-influenced town has a lot of Christian influences. In fact, nearly 70% of Fort Cochi residents are Christian - whereas in all of India nearly 85% practice Hinduism. We stopped at a few Catholic churches to look at the architecture and beautiful details inside and out.
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| Saint Francis Church |
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| Santa Cruz Church |
After the churches, we drove to the Hill Palace Museum - a former palace of royalty. Unfortunately, pictures were not allowed, but the centuries-old art, ceramics, religious texts, woodwork, and more were stunning! One of my favorite parts was the room with necklaces, rings, earrings and all sorts of jewelry. After walking for what felt like hours, we drove back to the center of town for lunch at Kashi Art Cafe. If you ever find yourself here, make sure to stop by! This restaurant has the coolest set up. As you walk in, a display of art is strewn across the front room's walls. Continuing toward the back of the building, the floor turns to small, loose stones with weathered wooden planks set in every few steps. Various sections of the roof are intentionally uncovered and vines and tree branches lace themselves along the edges. I suppose it also doesn't hurt that the tuna melts are delicious and they guarantee chocolate cake each and every day!
Following an overly-filling lunch, I had an hour or two to shop before leaving. While it was sad to leave this quaint fishing town, I was very much looking forward to our final destination: Varkala!
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