Cherai, Kochi, Indriya Beach Resort & SPA (Club Mahindra)

Cherai, Kochi, Indriya Beach Resort & SPA

Cherai

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Part of the island of Vypin and blessed with a unique blend of sea and backwater, Cherai is an exotic mixture of nature, culture and history. With the Periyar River to the east and the Arabian Sea westwards, Cherai also offers vast stretches of luminous green coconut groves, paddy fields situated below sea level, a shoreline of secluded golden beaches, an occasional school of frolicking dolphins and tranquil stretches of scenic backwaters with Chinese fishing nets along the banks. Chera's tryst with history includes the fabled ancient port of Muziris and in being part of the European colonial era in Kerala. The area contains several historical temples, churches, mosques and monuments of antiquity.

Little is known for certain about Cherai's early history. But it is surmised that due to flooding of the River Periyar in 1341 the backwaters burst through the narrow sandbanks that separated them from the sea at Kochi thereby creating a new outlet to the sea. It is believed that the island of Vypin was created as a consequence, providing a home to the early inhabitants who made their living from fishing.

Cherai first finds historical mention after the Portuguese arrived on the Kerala coast in 1498. At this time a powerful ruler, the Zamorin ruled over all the feudal chieftains of the time in Kerala including the Cherai area then under the ruler of Kochi. The Zamorin welcomed the Portuguese and allowed them to participate in the trade of spices threatening the monopoly of the Arab traders. The Arabs intervened with the Zamorin to protect their business interests resulting in the Portuguese being refused a monopoly. Angered, they sought favour with the Kochi ruler who nursed ambitions of independence from the control of the Zamorin. In the conflict that followed the Kochi armies with the assistance of the Portuguese General Albuquerque defeated the Zamorin and the Portuguese were given exclusive rights to the spice trade from the port of Muziris. At this point in time the pirates operating in the waters off the Pallipuram area of Cherai posed a constant threat to local merchants and their goods. In order to protect their commercial interests the king of Kochi permitted the Portuguese to construct a fort: a hexagonal, three storey structure that acted as an outpost to protect the trade through the port of Muziris. Pallipuram and Muziris were developed by the Portuguese as 'twin cities'. In 1507 they built the Pallipuram Ave Maria Church followed by a seminary in 1574 and Jesuit monastery. These structures are still intact and accessible to visitors. In 1661 the Dutch Admiral Vander Meyden made an alliance with the Zamorin which eventually resulted in the expulsion of the Portuguese and occupation of the fort in Pallipuram by the Dutch. Although the Protestant Dutch slaughtered local Catholics, they did not destroy the Pallipuram church and instead even built a chapel for the church. In 1728 the seminary was converted to a leprasorium, today it functions as a school. Eventually control of Cherai was transferred to the British colonialists till India's independence from colonial rule. In fact there is an area in Cherai that is still referred to as 'British' by the locals.

  • Indriya Resorts|Beach|Sea|Back Water|Hill Stations
  • Indriya Resorts|Beach|Sea|Back Water|Hill Stations
  • Indriya Resorts|Beach|Sea|Back Water|Hill Stations

MUZIRIS

Muziris was an ancient seaport of renown, set beside the Periyar River, center of the spice trade to West Asia and Europe and believed to have existed from around the beginning of the Christian era. Muziris finds mention in classical Tamil Sangam literature and in numerous European historical sources. In a massive flood of the Periyar in 1341, the port was said to have been partially destroyed and the river silted. The centres of commerce, over a period of time, shifted to other ports on the Malabar Coast. Soon the exact location of Muziris was forgotten. Currently, it is believed to have been located close to present day Kodungallur town.

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  • cherai beach
  • cherai beach

Muziris Corner

A fabled port once, now lost to the mists of time, Muziris was the centre of the spice trade to the markets of West Asia and Europe. Archaeological excavations in the area across the river from Cherai revealed the first site in the Indian Ocean to yield archaeological evidence of Mediterranean, North African, West Asian and Chinese maritime contacts. Radiocarbon dating of specimens revealed that the age of some of the objects go back to around 1300 BC to 100 BC.

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Archaeological research in the area conducted by the Kerala Council for Historical Research at Pattanam, across the river from Cherai, has led to the hypothesis that the area could have once been be an integral part of Muziris. This was the first site in the Indian Ocean to yield archaeological evidence of Mediterranean, North African, West Asian and Chinese maritime contacts.

In 1983 a large hoard of Roman coins was found at a site about six miles from Kodungallur on the northern bank of the 'Paravur Thodu', a branch of the Periyar River. The most remarkable find at the Pattanam excavations is a wharf complex built of brick with nine bollards to harbour boats, and in the midst of this, a highly decayed canoe, perfectly fossilized in the mud. The boat, 6 meters long, was made of Artocarpus Hirsutus, a tree common along the Malabar Coast. Radiocarbon dating revealed that the age of the canoe to date from 1300 BC to 100 BC, making it the earliest watercraft excavated from an archeological context in India.

The Jews of Kerala believed that it was to Kodungallur that their ancestors sailed sometime in the 1st century CE. Christian belief in the St.Thomas tradition states that it was here that Saint Thomas, one of the 12 Apostles of Jesus Christ, arrived in AD 52, bringing Christianity to the subcontinent. A church built by him and the earliest synagogue in India can be seen close to Pattanam and Kodungallur. It is also believed that a group of the early disciples of Prophet Muhammed, led by Malik Ibn Dinar arrived in Muziris to spread the faith and built the first mosque in India, the Cheraman Juma Masjid in Kodungallur.

Pillar

A 2000 year old pillar, the dimensions and motiffs suggest that it was probably a decorative pillar of a residence. Found while exploring a marsh, close the estuary of the Periyar River, the area believed to be a part of the fabled port of Muziris.

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