Why You Should Visit Kochi, The Queen Of Arabian Sea In 2024

Kochi, the coastal city in Kerala, has been named as a place you should visit in 2024. According to London-based Cond¨¦ Nast Traveller, Kochi is one of the best places to visit in Asia in 2024. In fact, Kochi is the only Indian city that has made it to the annual list of the luxury travel magazine.

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Nepal's Kathmandu Valley, Singapore, Uzbekistan's Silk Road, Japan's Kobe, Thailand's Bangkok, Mongolia, UAE's Ras Al Khaimah, Saudi Arabia's Red Sea, Vietnam's Da Nang, and South and Central Sri Lanka are the other places Cond¨¦ Nast Traveller recommends as the best places in Asia to visit in 2024.

Why you should visit Kochi in 2024

Cond¨¦ Nast Traveller says you should visit Kochi for sustainable initiatives, stunning waterways, and local festivals.

"Kochi's waterways have lured visitors for centuries, its verdant backwaters, lagoons and rivers as attractive to travellers today as they were to Arab, Chinese and European merchants in the 1300s," the magazine said.

The report also has a special mention of Kochi's water metro.

"As one of the first in the world, its water metro system ¡ªa socially inclusive transport option connecting 10 islands along a 78-kilometre network¡ªwas already revolutionary when it launched but will set the bar even higher by late 2024, when it becomes fully solar powered," it said.

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Another key sustainable initiative Cond¨¦ Nast Traveller has highlighted about Kochi is the Cochin International Airport (CIAL), the world's first fully solar-powered airport.

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Located in Ernakulam District of Kerala, along the coast of the Araibin Sea, Kochi has a long history of being the welcome point for foreigners, especially those coming to India for spice trade.

Kochi's Jewish connection

Kochi was one of the first places in India to become home to the Jewish community.

The Paradesi Synagogue, located in Kochi's Mattancherry, is the oldest place of worship for the Jews in the country and dates back to the 1500s.

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Mattancherry was also the home of a thriving Jewish community until their mass migration to Israel. Even today, the relics of the old Jewish street are one of the must-see attractions in Kochi.

Chinese fishing nets

If you search online for photos of Kochi, the chances are one of the first pictures that you will see is of a sunset and a Chinese fishing net. That is because the Chinese fishing nets, locally known as Cheenavala, have become an identity of Kochi.

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It is believed that these unique fishing nets were introduced in Kochi by Chinese explorer Zheng He from the court of the Kubla Khan somewhere between 1350 and 1450 AD.

Kochi's Portuguese and Dutch links

Long before the British, the Portuguese and Dutch came to India in search of spices, and Kochi was one of the first places they established trade relations. The first Portuguese sailor to reach the shores of Kerala, Vasco da Gama, was laid to rest at the St. Francis Church, Fort Kochi, in 1524.

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The Church, built in 1503 in a mix of Indian and Portuguese architecture, still stands as a testament to the centuries-old ties. Portuguese cuisines have also greatly influenced what is today known as Kerala-style cooking.

Burning of the Pappanji

Pappanji is anoter relic of Kochi's Portuguese past.

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Every year, on the eve of New Year, a giant effigy of an elderly man called Pappanji, which in Portuguese means grandfather, is burned down in Fort Kochi, symbolising the passing of the year.

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