Eranakulam Cochi and Marine drive in Keralam Through Google Satellite map view

For a satellite map (medium size)of eranakulam Marine Drive please click here.
Ernakulam city refers to the western part of the mainland of Kochi city in Kerala, India. Ernakulam is the most urban part of Kochi and has lent its name to Ernakulam District.Ernakulam District is a district of the state of Kerala in southern India. The district headquarters are at Kakkanad. Kochi and Kerala recently came in to fame for Dubai Internet city project to be developed in Kakkanad. The district includes the city of Kochi, an important seaport. The Office of the Corporation of Cochin is located here. The famous "Ernakulathappan Shiva Temple" is located in the city centre.

One of the reasons for the prosperity of Ernakulam according to legend is that Pazhyannur Bhagavathi looks directly at Ernakulam; it is believed that her vision helps Ernakulam develop in all fields.


Statistics
* Area : 2407 km²
* Population (as per 2001 census) : 3,105,798
* Language: Malayalam, the official language of Kerala. English is widely used in business circles.
* Religion: chiefly Hindu, with significant Christian and Muslim minorities. Kochi has also a small population of Jains, Jews, and Sikhs.
* Average rainfall (yearly) : 3432 mm
* Temperature : between 23 and 32 °C

Geography
The District which has an area of 895 km² can be divided geographically into highland, midland and coastal area. The altitude of the highland is about 300 m. The borders of the district are the Arabian Sea in the west, Thrissur District in the north, Idukki District in the east, and Alappuzha and Kottayam districts in the south. The Periyar River, Kerala's second longest, flows through all the taluks except Muvattupuzha. The Muvattupuzha River and a branch of Chalakkudy River also flow through the district. The district has a moderate climate, and mostly falls within the Malabar Coast moist forests ecoregion, while the highlands are part of the South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests ecoregion. Many types of sands, soil and also rocks which are geological importance is abundant here.

History
From ancient times Arabs, Chinese, Dutch, British and Portuguese seafarers followed the sea route to Kingdom of Cochin and left their impressions in the town. The word Ernakulam was drawn from a Tamil word Erayanarkulam means abode of Lord Shiva.

Ernakulam District was formed on April 1, 1958, from the taluks of Aluva, Kunnathunadu, Kochi, Kanayannur, and Paravoor, which were formerly part of Thrissur District. Initially the district headquarters was at Ernakulam, which gave the district its name; the headquarters was later shifted to Kakkanad. When Idukki District was formed on January 26, 1977, Thodupuzha taluk was joined with Idukki and Muvattupuzha taluk separated with to form Kothamangalam taluk.

The present Ernakulam District includes Paravur, Aluva, Kochi, Kanayannoor, Muvattupuzha, Kunnathunadu, Kothamangalam taluks which come under Fort Kochi and Muvattupuzha revenue subdivision.One of the leading private bank in India the Federal Bank Limited is headquartered in Aluva of Eranakulam.Federal Bank is famous for its achievements in using IT effectively in its Banking services.And they are pioneers in many of the latest IT implementation of banking services.

Ernakulam is the second-most advanced district in Kerala after Kannur District. It is 47.56% urbanised.Traffic congestion and lack of housing was a major problem here. The housing problem may aggregate with more and more people migrating to Eranakulam with advances in Dubai Smart City project.Even though Eranakulam is a major hub of builders like mathor, sahara, skyline; still good housing remains as a dream for budjet conscious people.

Places of interest in Ernakulam district
* Bolgatty Island: has a palace built by the Dutch in 1744 which is one of the favorite honeymoon location for many Keralites which also has a golf course.
* Marine Drive, Kochi: Enjoy a scenic view of the sea and the Cochin Port Trust. Shopping can be done at the GCDA shopping center. Two spectacular bridges have also been built along the shore. Boat rides are available to enrich holidays.
* Willington Island : Formed from the sand deposited when Cochin Port was deepened, Willington Island has a naval base, a railway terminus, a port, and customs offices.
* Chinese Fishing Nets (Cheena Vala): can be seen at Fort Cochin.
* Parikshith Museum: Museum with memories of 19th century.
* Dutch Palace : Made in 1568 by the Portuguese. Later re-structured by the Dutch.
* Hill Palace Museum : at Tripunithura. Paintings, Epigraphy, furnitures of the royal family etc are displayed.
* Kodanad: Elephant training centre is located here, you can see cute baby elephants also here.
* Kerala Historical Museum : Located at Edappally, on the Aluva-Ernakulam road.
* Chendamangalam, a village that is the location of the Paliam palace, Vypeenakotta Seminary, and is also remarkable for having a Hindu Temple, Synagogue, Church, and Mosque, all within one kilometer of each other.
* Bhoothathankettu: A scenic dam site with boating facilities is situated in a vast virgin forest.Here locates some resorts which rents house boat to spend exotic night in boats.
Kerala Tourism Corporation conducts nice tours to all these places. Apart from them several other tour operators are providing group tour packages covering all these places.Some resorts provides other travel facilities for small number of peoples.

For further information please visit wikipedia/ (The online free encyclopedia).