Kochi's Hill Palace!

As we began climbing the steps towards Kochi's Hill Palace, we began to fully grasp the grandeur that must have once defined Kochi's royal bearings. This complex itself is composed of an archaeological museum, deer park, and a heritage museum. We have to remove our shoes before entering the palace, which brought us in direct contact with the sun-kissed tiles on the ground, so we tiptoed inside with great aplomb.

This palace was built by the Raja of Kochi in 1865, Sri Thampuran, and the architecture takes influence from both traditional Kerala wood-based intricate designs and European tilework and motifs. Since India was under colonial rule at the time, this palace served as both the residence and administrative centre for the royal family of Kerala, and today, under the governance of the Department of Archaeology, we can see artifacts from those times still preserved at the site.

We often see the elephant motif, which is part of the court's insignia.

There are multiple rooms we could walk into that display the crown holdings, family paintings, and weapons, all of which span decades into the past and reflect the region's legacy and cultural heritage. Walking outside, we did not miss the occasion to come close to the friendly deer and even enjoyed a fruit shake next to the park. Moreover, this is located quite close to the royal bathhouse of its time, which had rather comfortable stone-carved chairs and, surprisingly, this was the spot where we spent most of our time marvelling.

Two additional spots worth mentioning here would be the stone sculpture museum, which had a digital guide on the spot with all relevant factoids, and a small cave carved next to the medicinal forest.

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