Hill Palace

Thripunithura Hill palace museum is the largest archaeological museum in Kerala and the erstwhile official residence of the Kochi Royal Family. It was set up in the year 1865 and now is an important tourist attraction. Hill Palace is situated at a distance of about 12kms from Kochi on Ernakulam- Chottanikkara route. The Hill Palace Museum of Kochi is situated on a hillock and is surrounded by 50 acres of manicured lawns with fountains and ponds. The whole complex consists of around 49 buildings that are built in the traditional architectural style of Kerala. These buildings are enclosed by terraced lands spread over 52 acres and adorned with ponds, fountains and lawns. This palace used to be the residence of the rulers of Kochi at one point of time. The museum has 14 galleries, which displays some beautiful and rare artifacts that used to belong to the former rulers of Kerala. These items include paintings, weapons, arts, ancient carriages, etc. Among the royal collections, one can see beautiful statues, murals, majestic beds and royal ornaments like the crown encrusted with precious gems and stones. The ornaments are kept for public display in the ornaments gallery. The most popular object here is the royal throne or the "Simhasana" of the king.

The oldest building in the complex is a single storey Kerala style 'ettukettu' constructed around 1850 AD with an adjacent pond, temple and urappura. The other buildings are a combination of traditional and western architecture. The latest construction was a three storey western style building constructed in 1950 which used to function as the office.

Road: Kochi is well connected by a wide network of roads and Ernakulam is easily accessible once you reach Kochi.

Airport: The nearest is Kochi

Railway: The three railway junctions in Kochi are Ernakulam town, Kochi harbour and Ernakulam junction.