Hill Palace Museum, Tripunithura, Kerala

 

If you have not visited the largest archaeological Museum in Kerala so far, you might want to reconsider. Located in Thripunithura - around 12 kms from Kochi city - Hill Palace Museum  is the largest archaeological Museum in Kerala. The palace built in 1865 was the former residence of the Kochi Royal family.

As the name suggests, the palace is situated on a hill top. Once you enter into the palace compound, you are welcomed by the entry steps that lead to the hill top which is beautifully painted in a striking combination of red and black .

Front view of Hill Palace Museum

Left to the entry steps is the children's park. You will be mesmerised by the view of an old pond beside the children's park.

The Hill Palace is a single-storeyed Kerala style' Ettukettu' and is the oldest building in the palace complex.

Home to 14 categories of exhibits, the major share of attractions in this museum have been contributed by the Cochin Royal Family .

Ranging from  oil-paintings, murals, sculptures in stone and manuscripts, inscriptions, coins, belongings of the Kochi royal family, rock-cut weapons from the Stone Age, wooden temple models, plaster cast models of objects from Mohenjodaro and Harappa of the Indus Valley Civilisation, there's a lot to admire here. Also exhibited are over 200 antique pieces of pottery and ceramic vases from Japan and China.

Moving into the Paliam gallery, you can find collections donated by the Paliyath Achans, who were hereditary Prime Ministers to the Cochin Maharajas for a long period. The Royal Crown and gold ornaments decorated with precious stones are some of the exhibits here which shows the wealth and splendor of the Rajas of Kochi.

Weapons Gallery

Old weapons collected from different places are displayed in this building.

Left to the Weapons Gallery is the Royal Chariot Gallery.  Here, you  come across displays of horse drawn coaches imported from England and formerly used by the Maharajas of Travancore. You can find stone sculptures ranging from the 10th century up to the 18th century in the Sculpture Gallery.

From the Sculpture Gallery, you can walk to the Heritage Museum.

Short cut to Heritage Museum

Here there are  traditional household utensils, artifacts and items for religious worship .  A big copper vessel is placed in the Heritage Museum compound.

Heritage Museum

Near the Cloak Room, you can spot a beautiful wooden bird house.

This 54 acre museum complex has also a deer park.

Entry time is restricted from 9.30 AM to 12.30 PM and 2.00 PM to 4.30 PM and is open to the public everyday except on Mondays and Holidays.

Footwears , Bags, Camera, Mobile Phones etc are prohibited inside the Museum. You can keep your belongings in the Cloak Room.

So if you’re someone who loves art then make sure you have this museum on your itinerary on your next trip to Kochi.