Witness the Rich Heritage of Kerala in the Hill Palace of Tripunithura

Hill Palace Museum is regarded as one of the largest archaeological museums in the state of Kerala, which is located close to Tripunithura, at the distance of 12 Km from Ernakulam town.
The palace museum is considered to be the state’s first heritage museum, which holds the royal belongings of Maharaja of Kochi.

Apart from the collection of heritage items in the museum, the place has a deer park, a prehistoric park and a children’s park. Apart from these, there are various rare species of medicinal plants found in the surrounding areas of the museum. The palace was structured in the year 1865, and its complex includes around 49 other buildings that are built in a traditional style of architecture, spreading over an area of about 52 acres.

The Museum

The museum displays around 14 types of statues that are built in stone and plaster of Paris. Other items of display include striking carve works, manuscript, wall paintings, inscription and many more. Most of the items exhibited in this museum belong to the royal family of Cochin. Besides these, some belong to Travancore royal family and the rest are provided by the archaeological department.

The main highlight among the items displayed in this museum is the crown of Maharaja of Cochin, which is a golden crown with a precious stone affixed on it. The Simhasana of the Cochin King can also be seen at this place. Other exhibits belonging to the royal family are some gold coins, valuable coins, king-sized beds, precious ornaments, samples of epigraphy and few others. The place also holds over 200 types of primeval pottery, including rock cut weapons of Stone Age, wooden temple models, ceramic vases of China and Japan, hood stone, granite etc. 

There are also some plaster cast models that date back to the Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro of the Indus valley civilization and some unique collections of silver and bronze coins that date between the 14^th and 16^th century. If you have some spare time left after observing all these ancient items in the museum, one can also enjoy horse riding along the beautiful grounds of the surrounding area.

Opening Time: The museum remains open on all days of the week except on Mondays, from 9.00 am to 12.30 pm and 2.00 pm to 4.30 pm.

Entry Fee: The entry fee to the museum is Rs 10 for the adults and Rs 5 for the children.

Best Time to Visit

There is not specific season to visit the museum as it can be visited all around the year.

Accommodation

There are plenty of options for accommodation around the area of Hill Palace, which offer standard quality of staying. The hotels and resorts found in this place are all well maintained and well equipped to make your staying even more comfortable and a memorable one.

How to Reach

By Road: The palace museum is easily accessible by road from the main town of Ernakulam, located at a distance of about 12 km. The place can be visited from the town through various modes of transportation by road. Ernakulam has a very good network of roads that connects the place with several l major parts in Kerala.

By Rail: The nearest train station to the place is in Ernakulam, located at a distance of about 10 km. The station is well connected with several major cities in south India. Local taxis and hired cabs are available from outside the station to get to the place.

By Air: The nearest airport to the palace museum is Cochin International Airport, located at a distance of about 33 km. Both bus and taxi services are available from the airport to the place.