Many of the festivals and events in the region are centred around religious celebrations. The devout culture that is very much part of the Cochin heritage is still strong and alive today. These special occasions often offer the most opportune excuse to immerse oneself into the life and soul of this unique culture.

Temple Festival: the Siva Temple in Ernakulam is the location for this important religious festival. Elephant processions and the best of the region’s traditional performance arts bring the temple and its grounds to life with daily activities. Traditional dance and music performances are among the most formidable of shows to behold; while on both the second last and last days, fabulous firework displays light the evening skies in thundering bursts of colour.

Vishu Festival: this is the celebration of the Malayalee new year and is one of the most special days in the Malayalam calendar. It marks the first day of the Medam, which is considered the first month of the year.

Thissur Pooram: first introduced by the once Maharaja of Cochin, this festival sees huge processions of majestic, caparisoned elephants march through the streets of Medom, close to Cochin. Various temples and their elephants take to the streets for the annual festival with the Krishna Temple from the Thiruvambadi and the Devi Temple close by providing spectators with the most impressive of spectacles.

Yosakoi Festival: the streets of Cochin come alive for this Japanese festival held each year. The festival is opened on the 9th with a large fireworks display, while the Yasakoi Dance Festival, held on the 12^th, is one of the festivity’s most colourful and lively days. Games, performance and fireworks are a big part of this festival, ideal for children and adults alike.

Athachamayam Festival: elephant processions followed by lively musical ensembles make their way to a picturesque park, featuring sculptures by renowned artist Canai Kunuram. Amusingly enough this festival marks the first day of the Onam Festival.

Onam Festival: this exciting festival commemorating the visit of King of Mahabali each year, is among the most important to take place annually in either August or September according to the lunar calendar. In addition, it is also a celebration of the harvest.

Cochin Carnival: dating back to the Portuguese colonisation and held at Fort Cochin in Kerala, this is one of the most exciting and fun-filled festivities to take place in the region, marking the Western calendar’s New Year. It features games and competitions and an extravagant parade, taking place on New Year’s Day.

Indira Gandhi Boat Race: one of Kerala’s most renowned events, the first round winners of the snake boat races go on to further rounds until the strongest participant becomes the reigning champion for the year. This is one of the opening events of the Tourism Festival.

Tourism Festival: is organised to bring all 13 ethnic groups living in Cochin together for a week-long festival that sees the city’s streets come alive. One of the main features is a food procession offering samples of the various specialities of the communities.