Hill Palace Museum a peep into the past

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Hill Palace Museum in Tripunithura is on top of a small hill. There are elliptical roads on two sides leading up to the main building. There are also steps that go up to the entrance. On both sides of the steps are neat gardens with beautiful flowers. The gardens support a wide variety of native flora from the state.

Hill Palace Museum; gardens; Tripunithura; Kochi; Kerala; India; outdoor; flowers; uasatish; https://uasatish.com; — Bougainvillea in Hill Palace Gardens

Getting There

Hill Palace Museum is 11 km from Ernakulam South station. It is a 30 minute drive via SH15 and Hill Palace Road. Chottanikkara Temple is 4.8 km (11 min) from the museum. Sree Poornathrayeesa Temple is a drive of 3.9 km (11 min).

Tower for Lift by side of Main Building; Hill Palace Museum; uasatish; Tripunithra; Kerala; India; — Tower for Lift by the Side of Main Building

History of Hill Palace Museum

Cochin royal family built the palace. Work began in 1865. It fell into disrepair after the death in 1964 of the last king of Kochi, Rama Varma Pareekshith Thampuran. The royal family handed over the palace the government’s archaeological department in 1980. The museum opened to the public in 1986.

Tripunithura; Kochi; Kerala; India; building; outdoor; uasatish; https://uasatish.com; — South Block, Hill Palace

Architecture

The palace complex makes use of the Kerala architectural style. The complex is spread over 52 acres of land. and contains 49 buildings. The oldest building includes the heritage museum and employs the Ettukettu style of construction. It is the largest archaeological museum in Kerala. The palace building is in two parts: North and South sides. The north side is built in traditional Kerala style whereas the south side is of European style. The complex hosts a deer park, pre-historic park and children’s park.

Exhibits in the Museum

The main building has exhibits of furniture, wood carvings, oil paintings and jewellery. The jewellery is inside a high-security room. The prime attraction is a 1.75 kg gold crown, studded with diamonds. King Immanuel of Portugal gifted it to the Maharaja.

Pond with Kulikkadavu in Hill Palace; Tripunithura; Kerala; pond; India; — Pond with Kulikkadavu in Hill Palace

The other buildings have exhibits of arms and ancient horse carriages. Visitors may like to take a look at the palace pond used for bathing by the royal family. There is a deer park at the back of the museum buildings.

Steps to Tripunithura Palace; Tripunthura Palace Museum; Kochi; Kerala; India; uasatish; — Steps Going Up to Tripunithura Palace

Many movies, including Manichitrathazhu (1993) and Chhota Mumbai (2007), had their locales here.

Museum Timings

The museum is open 9:00 to 12:30 hours and 14:00 to 16:30 hours on all days except Mondays. Entry fees are – adult: Rs. 50 and children (5-12 years): Rs. 10.

Footwear has to be left outside the main building. An interesting feature is that the main building has a tower holding a manually operated lift. Photography is not allowed inside the museum. But visitors can photograph the buildings from outside.

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