Three days from now, Kerala celebrates Thiru Onam, the harvest festival. It is the season when the tourist inflow to the state jumps manifold. There couldn’t have been a better time to launch a cruise trip that offers visitors a taste of the heritage landmarks of the Ernakulam-Kochi area.
The heritage cruise, started by Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) and Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation (KSINC), kicked off on August 4. We are among the first people to embark on the tour.
The journey takes three and a half hours and costs just Rs 200. It begins in Ernakulam, threads the backwaters, and ends at Kochi.
Ernakulam district, the commercial hub of Kerala, has two ferry stations. The cruise leaves from the main Boat Jetty and navigates towards Fort Kochi, home to Portuguese, British and Jewish relics.
Fortunately, the weather is balmy and pleasant. The cruise boat is festooned with balloons. The air-conditioned 50-seater vessel, which is almost full, has all the props it needs for a touristy experience.
Some tourists, however, choose to give up the comforts of plush furniture and spend most of the time on the upper deck enjoying the sea breeze.
The double-decker boat plies twice a day — from 9.30 am to 1 pm, and 2.30 pm to 6 pm. Lake Queen, another such vessel, also offers a similar experience.
“I wanted to have a cruise experience and thought this was a unique offering since it includes heritage sites,” says Pune’s Seema R, who takes the opportunity to visit the ancient Jewish synagogue when the boat halts at the Mattan-cherry station.
Built in 1568, this is the oldest surviving synagogue in the Commonwealth countries. Another historical highlight is the Dutch Palace, with its fine collection of mythological murals.
At Fort Kochi, we get a chance to visit St Francis Church, where Vasco da Gama is buried. The church dates to 1503 and is the first ever to be built by Europeans in India.
At Fort Kochi, we also get to see the Chinese fishing nets — a survival from the times of Mongolian emperor Kublai Khan, who founded the Yuan Dynasty in China. That’s when these nets, which look like enormous hammocks, came to India. Outside China, these nets are said to be found nowhere but in Kochi.
At every station, the boat stops for well over a quarter of an hour.
While KTDC will market the cruise, KSINC, which is known for its backwater tourism, has offered new boats. In addition to this sightseeing cruise, KTDC will promote the Sagar Rani, KSINC’s upmarket flagship vessel. Being big, this is the only vessel that can sail into the Arabian Sea off Fort Kochi. This sunset cruise costs Rs 300 per person on weekends and Rs 250 on weekdays.
Besides the state government, private tour operators ply upscale wooden houseboats, or kettuvallams, along Kerala’s 900 km of interconnected waterways, artificial canals, rivers and lakes. There are over 400 kettuvallams in Kerala.
One of the USPs of these boats is the food. It is real culinary fare: experienced cooks on board dish up fresh coastal delights. There are also companies which arrange for canoe trips on the gentle waters. These target small groups of tourists who seek privacy.
For the common man, however, the commuter ferry is a reliable choice of transport. With fares as low as Rs 2 — the maximum fare is Rs 3.50 — it’s no surprise that some 60,000 men and women from all walks of life use the ferry every day. The passenger ferry is safe, punctual and avoids all the traffic jams.
