India GOWhere is Kochi: facts about the city
Kochi, formerly Cochin, is a port city on India's southwest coast, in the state of Kerala and its Ernakulam district. It is the largest metropolitan area in Kerala, though not its capital, and for five centuries it was one of the great spice ports of the Indian Ocean. Below: where exactly it is, which part is which, what it is famous for and a short history.
Kochi is in the state of Kerala (South India).
Kerala's seafaring crossroads, where Arab, Portuguese, Dutch and Jewish traders met: old Fort Kochi with its Chinese fishing nets, the synagogue and Jew Town, spice markets, antiques and evening Kathakali performances. The gateway to Kerala's famous backwaters, too.
Where Kochi is
Kochi is a port city on the southwest coast of India, in the state of Kerala, part of Ernakulam district. It sits at about 9°58′ N, 76°13′ E, where the backwaters of Vembanad Lake meet the Arabian Sea, so the city is spread over a strip of mainland, the tip of a peninsula and a cluster of islands linked by bridges and ferries.
Three parts matter to a visitor. Fort Kochi is the old colonial quarter on the peninsula, with the Chinese fishing nets and St Francis Church. Mattancherry, next to it, is the spice-trading district with the Dutch Palace and the synagogue. Ernakulam, across the harbour on the mainland, is the modern centre with the railway stations, the metro and the shops. Cochin International Airport (COK) is at Nedumbassery, about 40 km from Fort Kochi.
Kochi is not Kerala's capital: that is Thiruvananthapuram, further south. It is the state's largest metropolitan area and its commercial capital. And it is not the Japanese city of Kōchi on Shikoku, which shares the name in English.
What Kochi is famous for
Six things that people come for, or leave knowing about.
Chinese fishing nets
The cantilevered nets on Fort Kochi's waterfront, cheenavala in Malayalam, are teak and bamboo frames balanced by stone counterweights. They are believed to have come from China in the 14th–15th centuries and are still worked at the tide. Chinese fishing nets
Five centuries of spice trade
Kochi rose as a port after a Periyar flood in 1341 silted up the older harbour of Muziris. Mattancherry hosted the world's first pepper exchange, and Bazaar Road still moves sacks of pepper, ginger and cardamom by pushcart.
Many faiths in one old town
The Paradesi Synagogue (1568) is one of the oldest working synagogues in the world. St Francis Church, first built by the Portuguese in 1503, is one of the oldest European churches in India; Vasco da Gama was buried there before his remains went back to Portugal. St Francis Church
Kathakali
Kerala's classical dance-drama, with green make-up, huge skirts and stories told by hands and eyes. Fort Kochi's theatres let you watch the make-up go on before the play. Kerala Kathakali Centre
The Kochi-Muziris Biennale
India's first art biennale, held since 2012. For about a hundred days every other winter, Fort Kochi's warehouses and godowns are filled with contemporary art.
Firsts on the water and in the air
Kochi Water Metro, opened in 2023, was India's first water metro: electric boats linking ten terminals. Cochin International Airport was the first airport in the world to run entirely on solar power.
Kochi in numbers
| State, district | Kerala, Ernakulam |
| Metropolitan population | about 2.1 million (2011 census) |
| City corporation | 677,381 people on 94.88 km² (2011); formed in 1967 |
| Height above sea level | close to sea level |
| Languages | Malayalam; English is enough in tourist areas; Hindi |
| Name | Cochin officially became Kochi in 1996 |
| Kochi Metro | one line, 25 stations, Aluva to Tripunithura |
| Airport | COK, about 40 km from Fort Kochi |
A short history
The name is usually traced to the Malayalam kochu azhi, 'small lagoon'. Kochi grew after 1341, when the Periyar flood ended the old port of Muziris to the north, and by the 15th century Chinese fleets under Admiral Zheng He were calling here. The Portuguese founded the first European settlement in India at Kochi in 1500 and built Fort Emmanuel in 1503; the same year they raised the fort at Pallipuram, the oldest surviving European fort in India. The Dutch took the town in 1663 and left the Dutch Cemetery (1724); the Dhobi Khana laundry is still worked by descendants of the Vannan washermen brought here in the 1720s to wash Dutch uniforms. Under a treaty of 1814 the British took over. From 1920 the harbour engineer Robert Bristow rebuilt the port, and with the reclamation of Willingdon Island in 1928 Kochi became a major modern seaport.
Lesser-known facts
Things most visitors walk past.
- A bird sanctuary behind the High Court — Mangalavanam is a small tidal mangrove patch in central Ernakulam, the only bird sanctuary in Kerala set in mangroves. Mangalavanam
- India's biggest shipyard — Cochin Shipyard is the largest shipbuilding and maintenance yard in India by capacity; it also built the first batch of Water Metro boats.
- The home temple of Onam — Thrikkakara, in the city's east, is where Vamana is said to have met King Mahabali, the story behind Kerala's biggest festival.
FAQ
Where is Kochi?
On the southwest coast of India, in Kerala's Ernakulam district, where Vembanad Lake's backwaters open to the Arabian Sea.
Which state is Kochi in?
Kerala. Kochi is the state's largest metropolitan area, though the capital is Thiruvananthapuram.
Is Kochi in Japan or India?
This Kochi is in India. Japan's Kōchi is a different city on the island of Shikoku.
Is Kochi the same as Cochin?
Yes. Cochin was the colonial name; the city officially returned to Kochi in 1996, and both are still used.
Is Kochi a city or a state?
A city. Its metropolitan area has about 2.1 million people and includes Fort Kochi, Mattancherry and Ernakulam.
What is Kochi famous for?
The Chinese fishing nets, five centuries of spice trade, the Paradesi Synagogue and St Francis Church, Kathakali, and the Kochi-Muziris Biennale.
Sources (4)
Facts checked: 15 October 2026. Prices and hours are approximate; check locally.
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