WATER TRANSPORT

Publish Date : 14/06/2018

The Cochin Harbour is the single major harbor of Kerala. In the flood of 1341 AD, the estuary of the harbor widened. It was Robert Bristo who opened the harbor for ships in 1930-31. He was its architect too. On 1st August 1936, Kochi was made into a major harbor. Bristo was the first Director of the Harbour Administration. The Cochin Port Trust came into being in 1965. 

The waterway from Kottapuram to Kollam (168 KMs) was declared National Water Way 3 in 1993. The other national waterways are Kottapuram-Kochi (30 KMs) and Kochi-Alapuzha (30-92 KMs). Ernakulam city has two boat-jetties. One is close to Subhash Park and the other is adjacent to the High Court. Hundreds of passengers including foreign tourists make use of the two Jetties for travel to Fort Kochi, Mattancherry, Vypeen, Bolgatty Palace, Mulavukadu, and Vallarpadam. The recently built Goshri Bridge and the Varapuzha Bridge have considerably lessened the pressure of passengers in the Jetties. For the tourists, boat cruise in the backwaters is an elevating experience as the sights and sounds of nature embrace them through and through.