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USD $45.00
Private Tour: Kochi City Tour and Kathakali Dance Performance
Kochi, India
Immerse yourself in the rich history and fascinating culture of Kochi on a private sightseeing tour. Explore the neighborhood of Fort Kochi, and learn about the history of this trade port that was the center of the Indian spice trade for many centuries. You'll also see a dramatic Kathakali dance performance, a 17th-century classical dance drama that originated in Kerala and is famous for its elaborate costumes and makeup.
Your cultural and historical exploration of Kochi begins with a walking tour around Fort Kochi, a well-preserved historical neighborhood reflecting Kochi's colonial past. Walk down the colonial roads and beside the coastal shore. See the magnificent Chinese fishing nets, a gift to Kochi from Chinese traders during the reign of Kublai Khan.
Continue to Saint Francis Church, one of the oldest European churches in India and built by Portuguese Franciscan friars in 1503. Next, visit Santa Cruz Basilica, an architecturally impressive Catholic church. Admire the soaring spires and white-washed exterior and the beautiful canvas murals inside. Meander around Mattancherry Palace and admire the amazing murals depicting scenes from Hindu legends.
Continue to the theater to enjoy a thrilling Kathakali dance performance. Prior to the performance, go backstage and watch the performers prepare for the show. See them apply makeup, put on colorful costumes and elaborate headpieces, and meditate into their characters. Then enjoy the lively theatrical performance, full of expressive facial movements and extravagant gestures. When the performance ends, your guide will escort you back to your hotel.
Suberb driver for the whole of this tour, accommodated to our needs from start to finish. The guide which we had in Fort Kochi was very knowledgeable and was great with my younger children to stop them getting too bored. The Kathakali dance performance was interesting and definitely worth doing if visiting Kochi, the only issue was, our guide just left us to our own devices at the dance performance so therefore had to find our driver in the dark after the performance. the driver was suberb with this though and was waiting close by the car watching for us, and also recommended and took us to a supermarket on the way back to our hotel.
Review by: Matt, June 2016
My wife and I booked 2 excursions for our first day in Kochi while taking a cruise. This was the second tour of the day and it turns out was pretty much exactly the same as the one we booked through the cruise line. Oops! Turns out it didn't matter. Our guide Aram I think that's how it's spelled picked us up as we were departing the coach from our morning tour and sat us in a very comfortable car to begin our tour. He asked us a little bit about where we were from and what we'd like to get out of this tour, and proceeded to customize the tour to our needs and desires. Instead of just taking us to each site and allowing us to wander around on our own for a few minutes, Aram took us to a silk shop to purchase a custom sari and kurta a wonderful restaurant for some authentic continental Indian food spice markets and the original Jewish Synagogue in Jew Town, among other sites.
Review by: SANA A, January 2014
The city is a nice place to be in and I enjoyed it a lot. Also the Kathakali Dance performance was so nice and I enjoyed the performance of the actors.Bravo
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