Category:Kochi, Kerala

English: Kochi (Malayalam: കൊച്ചി, pronounced [koˈtʃːi], formerly known as Cochin) is a city in the Indian state of Kerala. The city is one of the principal seaports of India. It has a population of 564,589, with an extended metropolitan population of about 1.5 million, making it the largest urban agglomeration in the state and the second largest city in Kerala after the state capital. Kochi is located in the district of Ernakulam, about 220 kilometres (137 mi) north of the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram. The current metropolitan limits of Kochi include the mainland Ernakulam, Fort Kochi, the suburbs of Edapally, Kalamassery and Kakkanad to the northeast; Thrippunithura (Tripunithura) to the southeast; and a group of islands closely scattered in the Vembanad Lake. Old Kochi loosely refers to Fort Kochi, Mattancherry and a group of islands including Willingdon Island where Cochin Port is situated. For centuries up to and during the British Raj, the city of Kochi was the seat of the eponymous princely state — the Kingdom of Cochin.