ERNAKULAM ( KOCHI )

Ernakulam

Ernakulam  the  mainland portion of the city of Kochi in central Kerala, India. The city is the most urban part of Kochi and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Ernakulam is called the commercial capital of the state of Kerala.The Kerala High Court, the Office of the Corporation of Cochin and the Cochin Stock Exchange are situated here. The Ernakulam part of Kochi city just comprises the postal pin codes 682011,682016,682018,682031 and 682035. The Ernakulam Junction or South station, Ernakulam Town or North Station and Ernakulam Terminus(now defunct) railway stations of the Indian Railways lies in Ernakulam. Initially, Ernakulam was the headquarters of the Ernakulam District but was later shifted to Kakkanad. Ernakulam was once the capital of the Kingdom of Cochin. It is located 220 kilometres (137 mi) towards north-west of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city has served as an incubator for many Malayali entrepreneurs and is a major financial and commercial hub of Kerala.

Mattancherry

Mattancherry (Malayalam: മട്ടാഞ്ചേരി) is a locality in the city of Kochi, India. It is said that the cheri (street) full of mutton butchers gradually became muttoncheri which is spelled now as mattancherry. Also, it is said that the name Mattancherry comes from "Ancherry Mattom", a Namboodiri illam which the foreign traders then pronounced it as Matt-Ancherry, gradually became Mattancherry. It is about 9 km from Ernakulam town. There are frequent bus and boat services to Mattancherry from Ernakulam town. The boats start from Main Boat Jetty near Subash Park at Ernakulam. The word cheri in malayalam can be translated ghetto or slum, the word root comes from chernilam which means wetland. The sea level height of city of kochi is very low and almost wetland

Kochi

Kochi , also known as Cochin (KO-chin), is a major port city on the south-west coast of India by the Arabian Sea and the Laccadive Sea and is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala. It is often called Ernakulam, which refers to the mainland part of the city. With a corporation limit population of 612,343 and metropolitan population of 2.1 million, it is the largest city and the largest urban agglomeration in Kerala followed by state capital Thiruvananthapuram. Kochi city is also a part of the Greater Cochin region and is classified as a Tier-II city by the Government of India. The civic body that governs the city is the Cochin Municipal Corporation, which was constituted in the year 1967, and the statutory bodies that oversee its development are the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) and the Goshree Islands Development Authority (GIDA).
Known as the Queen of the Arabian Sea, Kochi was an important spice trading centre on the west coast of India from the 14th century, and maintained a trade network with Arab merchants from the pre-Islamic era.. Occupied by the Portuguese in 1503, Kochi was the first of the European colonies in colonial India. It remained the main seat of Portuguese India until 1530, when Goa was chosen instead. The city was later occupied by the Dutch and the British, with the Kingdom of Cochin becoming a princely state. Kochi ranks first in the total number of international and domestic tourist arrivals in Kerala. Kochi has been ranked the sixth best tourist destination in India according to a survey conducted by the Nielsen Company on behalf of the Outlook Traveller magazine. Kochi was one of the 28 Indian cities found to be among the emerging 440 global cities that will contribute 50% of the world GDP by the year 2025, in a 2011 study done by the McKinsey Global Institute.
Kochi is the home to Southern Naval Command of the Indian Navy and the state headquarters of the Indian Coast Guard with an attached air squadron, named Air Squadron 747. Commercial maritime facilities of the city include the Port of Kochi, an International Container Transshipment Terminal, the Cochin Shipyard, offshore SPM of the Kochi Refineries and the Kochi Marina. Kochi is also home for the Cochin Stock Exchange, International Pepper Exchange, industries like HMT, Cyber City, Kinfra Hi-Tech Park major chemical industries like the FACT, TCC, IREL, Petronet LNG, Merchem, HOCL and Kochi Refineries, electrical industries like TELK and industrial parks like the Cochin Special Economic Zone,Smart City and Infopark. Kochi is home for the High Court of Kerala and Lakshadweep, Naval physical and oceanographic laboratory (NPOL), Indian Maritime University, Sree sankara Sanskrit University and the Cochin University of Science and Technology. Kochi is also home for Kerala's National Law School, The National University of Advanced Legal Studies.
Ancient travellers and tradesmen referred to Kochi in their writings, variously alluding to it as Cocym, Cochym, Cochin, and Kochi. The Cochin Jewish community called Cochin as Kogin (קוגין), which is seen in the seal of the synagogue which is still owned by the community. The origin of the name "Kochi" is thought to be from the Malayalam word kochu azhi, meaning 'small lagoon'. Yet another theory is that Kochi is derived from the word Kaci meaning 'harbour'. Accounts by Italian explorers Nicolo Conti (15th century), and Fra Paoline in the 17th century say that it was called Kochchi, named after the river connecting the backwaters to the sea. After the arrival of the Portuguese, and later the British, the name Cochin stuck as the official appellation. The city reverted to a closer Anglicization of its original Malayalam name, Kochi, in 1996. This change in name was challenged by the city municipal corporation and officially, the city is still called "Cochin" (Corporation of Cochin).

Willingdon Island

Willingdon Islands is the largest artificial man-made island in India, which forms part of the city of Kochi, in the state of Kerala, India. Much of the present Willingdon Island was claimed from the Lake of Kochi, filling in dredged soil around a previously existing, but tiny, natural island. Willingdon Island is significant as the home for the Port of Kochi, as well as the Kochi Naval Base (the Southern Naval Command) of the Indian Navy and Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, a constituent unit of Indian Council of Agricultural Research.
The island is also home for other establishments associated with the port, namely, the Office of the Cochin Port Trust (that controls the Port of Kochi), the Customs Office, and more than two dozen export-import offices, warehouses, a few hotels and business centers

Kochi - a gateway for travelers to Kerala Kochi, the prominent travel destination of Kerala, India, has always been an exotic location in a traveler's not-to-be-missed list. The sea, backwaters, monuments, heritage; Kochi has all that would keep a traveler engrossed. With many architectural, cultural and natural splendors, Kochi, which is also the commercial hub of Kerala will never cease to enthrall you. Just off the Kochi Marine Drive is the Bolgatty Island. It is an island of calm right in the midst of the bustling City of Kochi. Located in this fascinating island is the stunning property of KTDC - Bolgatty Palace and Island Resort. The other centre of attraction in this property is Kochi International Marina and Bolgatty Event Centre. Bolgatty Palace and Island Resort - a well-preserved legacy Amid this picturesque island of Bolgatty is the beautiful Bolgatty Palace, the exclusive mansion with four palatial rooms, provides the travelers with world class amenities and wonderful holidaying options. Originally built by Dutch traders in 1744 and it is the oldest of its kind that exists outside Holland. The resort combines leisure with business and it is, popularly known as the honeymooners' paradise. The resort is neatly tucked among giant umbrellas of refreshing green and is sure to give an exotic island experience in Bolgatty. The resort has a main block, a mansion block, which houses the palace rooms and a marina block which faces the marina. The Marina block has marina on the one side and the golf course on the other side. There are six lake view cottages also in the resort. The resort is encircled by a 9 hole golf course established in 1925

Kodanad

Kodanad is a rural riverside village of Ernakulam district, Kerala, southern India. Kodanad is situated on the south bank of Periyar river, about 42 kilometers east of Kochi. The nearest air port is Cochin International Airport which is about 20 km (12 mi) by road. The village is a major tourist destination because it houses an Elephant training center.

Kalady

Kalady or Kaladi is a census town located east of the Periyar river, in the Ernakulam district of Kerala, India. Notably, it is the birthplace of Adi Shankara and a popular destination for pilgrims. Kalady started featuring in the spiritual map of India only after its rediscovery in the late 19th century by the then Shankaracharya of Sringeri and the subsequent consecration of a temple for Sri Adi Shankara in 1910. The Centenary of Kalady was celebrated in May 2010 and the story of Kalady and its re-discovery a hundred years ago has been documented in a film by the Sringeri Sharada Peetham.

Mangalavanam Bird Sanctuary

Mangalavanam is an ecologically sensitive area situated at the centre of the Indian city of Kochi.Covering about 2.74 hectares, the it also houses a shallow tidal lake connected with Kochi backwaters by a canal. It is situated behind the Kerala High Court building. It is a nesting ground for a large variety of migratory birds and supports many types of mangroves. The Managalavanam is often regarded as the "green lung of Kochi", considering its role in keeping the city's air pollution under check. The area is a roosting place for many kinds of resident and migratory birds.
Recently the high-rise buildings in the nearby area are curtailing the movement of birds in the sanctuary. The buildings close to the sanctuary interrupt proper orientation, take-off and landings of the birds. They also cause hurdles in the regular movements of the nesting birds in transporting nesting materials. It is also likely to hinder the movement of birds while bringing food materials to the chicks and fledglings. The administrative control of the sanctuary is with the Assistant Conservator of Forest and Wildlife Warden Mangalavanam Bird Sanctuary of Nature Study Centre Kalady and then to the Range Officer Research Range Kodanad.

Hill Palace Museum, Thripunithura

The Hill Palace, Kerala's first heritage museum noted for royal collections of the erstwhile Maharaja of Kochi, is today the largest archaeological museum in Kerala. Built in 1865, the palace complex consists of 49 buildings in the trational architectural style of Kerala, sprawled over 52 acres of beautifully landscaped terraced land which houses a deer park and facilities for horse riding. Numerous species of flora including rare medicinal plants grow here. On display in the full-fledged Ethno-archaeological museum are oil-paintings, murals, sculptures in stone and manuscripts, inscriptions, coins, belongings of the Kochi royal family and royal furniture including the simhasana (throne).
Also exhibited are over 200 antique pieces of pottery and ceramic vases from Japan and China, Kudakkallu (tomb stone), Thoppikkallu (hood stone), menhirs, granite, laterite memorials, rock-cut weapons from the Stone Age, wooden temple models, plaster cast models of objects from Mohenjodaro and Harappa of the Indus Valley Civilisation. The museum also houses a gallery of contemporary art