Fort Kochi Ethnic Guided Private Tour

Kochi is not just a harbour but storehouse of several cultures, traditions and epics. An interesting land where you can see the glimpses of Arabian, Chinese, Portuguese and British culture, Chinese fishing nets with the backdrop of rising sun in saffron, Cochin Dry Dock, the Fort Immanuel of the Portuguese, St Francis Church where Vasco d gamma’s soul rests, Dhobi Khana,historical streets of the Mattancherry and end the with a Mehandi workshop with a Konkan family who escaped the Portuguese from Goa!

Highlights:

• History of Malabar
• Local cuisine
• Expert guide
• Historical sites
• Spend some time with a Konkan family
• Shopping at Spice Market

Itinerary:

• With pick-up from your hotel at 9 am, we start our tour with the visit to the famous 'Cheena Vala' (china Nets). After spending some time at the nets, we move on to the steam boilers. These boilers were used until the late 1970s in Cochin Dry Dock, which is a narrow basin that can be flooded or drained for the construction, maintenance, and repair of ships. 
• After that, we will visit Fort Immanuel. The broken bricks of the Fort Immanuel and the lonely rusty cannon in the bastion whisper stories of the busted Portuguese power. Later we will discover the St Francis Church where Vasco d gamma’s soul rests.
• From the St Francis church, a Tuk Tuk will lead you to the almost extinct Dhobi Khana. It’s an amazing community-based activity. It was the Dutch established the laundry station to clean the soldier uniforms.
• Our next destination is the Indian fruit market. Then we slowly stroll in the Mattancherry Streets where you could pick bits and pieces of history. 
• Sip a cup of tea from there and later we enter the Agraharams –Brahmin houses where the art of designing Kolams can be learned. Spend half an hour learning how to draw kolams. Have ever wondered why Indian women draw patterns on home entrances. It’s a little secret that you will discover from the Brahmins - the scholars of Vedic Literature… 
• After that move on to the spice market.  From where you can see and buy the finest ginger, cloves, cardamom, turmeric and pepper. 
• After the visit to the spice market, we meet a Konkan family of Goa origin whose ancestors have fled from Goa against the conversion to Christianity by the Portuguese. They will be offering you a Mehendi design workshop in their house. Mehendi has a lot of cultural significance in Indian traditions and is one of the most important pre-wedding ceremonies in Indian marriages. Wave your beautifully designed Mehendi hands for a goodbye. And now you know why Kochi is ‘KOCHI’.