[ Kochi (Cochin) photo ]
Kochi (Cochin)
Kochi, on Kerala's coast, has been a meeting point of merchants and empires for six centuries. The Chinese fishing nets of Fort Kochi, the Dutch Palace and Jewish Synagogue in Mattancherry, and St Francis Church where Vasco da Gama was buried tell a layered history of trade. A Kathakali performance in the evening and a backwater cruise the next day complete the classic Kerala start.