COCHIN Area in Sq Km : 8700 Population : 16,00,000 By Air Indian Airlines flies in daily from Delhi to Nedumbassery International Airport in Cochin and has weekly flights from Kozhikode and Chennai. It also flies twice a week from Goa and Lakshadweep. By Train Cochin has three railway stations- Ernakulam Junction, Ernakulam Town and Cochin Harbour Station. Some important rail connections to Ernakulam Junction and Ernakulam town are: From Delhi: Kerala Express, Rajdhani Express and Ernakulam-Nizamuddin Express. Other trains are: Trivandrum-Howrah Express from Calcutta, Guwahati-Cochin Express from Assam and Trivandrum-Chennai Mail from Madras. By Road Cochin is well connected by highways to other cities in Kerala. The main KSRTC bus stand is in Ernakulam. State transport buses ply between Cochin and Ernakulam. The distance to Cochin from Allapuzha is 64 km, Bangalore is 565 km away, Coimbatore 223 km, Guruvayur 109 km, Kanyakumari 309 km, Kodaikanal 444 km, Kottayam 76 km, Kozhikode 145 km, Madurai 324 km, Mysore 470 km, Ooty 132 km, Quilon 86 km and Thiruvananthapuram 223 km away. October to March. Reasons why: Temperature barely exceeds 25ºC and the rainfall is light. . You can travel in and around Cochin by bus, taxi, auto rickshaw, ferries and even rented bicycles. A Jewish synagogue with a Belgian chandelier and Chinese tiles, Vasco da Gama's tombstone and a mosque shaped like a temple - Cochin springs surprises whichever way you turn. And just when you think that you have seen it all, the beautiful lagoons, backwaters and beaches make you fall in love all over again. Cochin is full of God's bounty. Cochin or Kochi as it is now called, was only a small village until about 1340. It became an important trade centre because of its natural harbour. The Chinese, Dutch, British, Portuguese and Arab all came to Cochin for commerce. In 1500, the Portuguese led by Vasco da Gama established the first European colony here in India. It passed into Dutch hands in 1663; the British took control in 1795. After India's Independence, Cochin, Malabar, and Travancore were merged to form the state of Kerala in 1956. Today, apart from being an important trade centre and an upcoming industrial area, Cochin is also famous as a place of historical importance. . The climate is hot in the southern parts and temperate in north. The monsoons are heavy. Cochin has an annual rainfall of 310 cm. In summer, the temperature can go up to 35 ºC. Winter rarely crosses 25 ºC..