Kerala - Mattancherry Palace - Museum - Fort Cochin

Cochin the heart of the southern state of Kerala has got an array of attractions to its name.
From the cultural and traditional significance to the ancient heritage.One of such ancient building is the well known “Mattancherry palace”. Built by the Portuguese in 1557 as a gift to the Raja of Cochin, Veera Kerala Varma, legend goes like the palace was gifted to him, partly as a compensation for a temple they'd destroyed and partly as a bribe to gain favors from the ruler.

The palace still stands tall narrating its long history with white walls and brown roofs. The palace also holds a temple of the deity Palayannur Bhagawati in the central. The palace has got an impressive interior with beautiful ceilings and painted walls.  The wooden works in the ceiling and other parts of the palace is superb.  The most attractive part of the palace is the wall painting depicting the  scenes of Hindu mythology, Ramayana and the Mahabharata in the form of mural paintings.

The palace now stand as a museum and still preserves the exhibits of a rich collection of memorabilia which includes a variety of palanquins, costumes,weapons, turbans and paintings of old Raja's. One of the most visited palace in Cochin, you can find both local and tourists here quite usually. There are many shops of antiques and other artifacts outside the palace which too draws a huge crowd specially on weekends.