A short drive from Kochi will lead you to what was the official residence of the then rulers of Kochi, the Hill Palace Museum in Thripunithura. It was built in the year 1865 and today it is Kerala's first-ever heritage museum. The imposing palace complex comprises 49 buildings and from the outside itself, you can see the best of Kerala-style architecture. The entire complex is spread over 52 acres of land, and the terraced garden that leads to the palace is one of the major attractions. Inside the palace, there are many rooms and wings that showcase everything from a huge palatial throne to the life and times of the royal members of the Kingdom Of Cochin.
We spent a good two hours exploring the various rooms and wings -- the crown jewels room was the most interesting since there's the gold crown of the kind located inside. You'll find many oil paintings, murals, antique furniture and belongings of the royal family as well. We particularly wanted the ceramic collection but unfortunately they weren't for sale. Outside the palace, there's an annexe building that showcases stone sculptures from ancient civilisations dating back to the Indus Valley.
The Hill Palace's most famous attraction is the Deer Park where you can mingle with hundreds of spotted deers behind a fence. You can feed them the leaves that are all strewn around the place. The royal bath house is another spot that you need to check out as well.
