Kerala Historic Destinations

The history of Kerala is marked by the rise and fall of many dynasties and communities. With the landing of Vasco De Gama on the Malabar Coast, in the year 1498, there opened a new chapter in the history of Kerala. The trade link between Kerala and many Middle East, Mediterranean and China opened gates to the foreign communities. From 16th century A.D. to 19th century A.D, there was much chaos over domination and the place saw settlement of many merchant communities. Many historic places of Kerala provide living records of these communities and the bygone time.
The forts grounded in Kerala form some of the much famed attractions in the region. The forts of Kerala are amongst the best preserved forts in India. Many of these forts were built by the foreign powers to safe guard their hold on the state. Forts like St.Angelo's Fort, Bekal Fort and Palakkad Fort belong to this category. The establishment of these forts influenced the architecture and style of building in the coming generations.

Kappad

This is the historic beach where Vasco da Gama landed on the 27th of May, 1498 with 170 men in three vessels. The rock studded beach is locally known as Kappakadavu. An interesting feature of the landscape is the sprawing rock that protrudes into the sea. The temple on the rock is believed to be 800 years old

Synagogue

Constructed in 1568, this is the oldest synagogue in the Commonwealth. Destroyed in a shelling during the Portuguese raid in 1662, it was rebuilt two years later by the Dutch. Known for mid 18th century hand painted, willow patterned floor tiles from Canton in China, a clock tower, Hebrew inscriptions on stone slabs, great scrolls of the Old Testament, ancient scripts on copper plates etc.

Santa Cruz Basilica

This historic church was built by the Portuguese and elevated to a Cathedral by Pope Paul IV in 1558. In 1795 it fell into the hands of the British when they took over Kochi, and was demolished. About a hundred years later Bishop Dom Gomez Ferreira commissioned a new building at the same site in 1887. The church was proclaimed a Basilica in 1984 by Pope John Paul II.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia and numerous other sources that provide freedom to copy and redistribute content, with or without modifying it, either commercially or noncommercially.

Keep in mind..

Carry your visa for entry to India/Kerala on your holiday. For further clarifications, contact the Indian High Commission.
For visa extension, contact Office of the Commissioner of Police, Thiruvananthapuram. Ph: 0471-2320579.

Kerala Insights

Palakkad Fort
is located in the district of Palakkad, on the Western Ghats, in the state of Kerala. The place shares its borders with the state of Tamil Nadu and lies close to Coimbatore, a popular region in the latter state. Palakkad Fort was built by Hyder Ali, the mighty ruler of Mysore, in the year 1766 A.D. The fort was primarily built to speed up the communication between Coimbatore and the West Coast. The region, during those days had a great strategic importance. The fort however fell into the hands of British Empire in the year 1784 after a siege that lasted 11 days. With the Zamorin's capture of the fort, the dispute and the battle was not meant to end there. The British recaptured the fort in the year 1790 A.D. and with that established their stronghold in the region. Palakkad Fort, at present, is looked after by the Archaeological Survey of India.