Sunset launch across Kochi harbour

Kochi's harbour is one of the busiest on India's west coast, and seeing it from the water explains the city better than any museum. We board a private launch near the Fort Kochi jetty in the late afternoon, with a guide, cold drinks and snacks. The boat passes Vypeen Island across the channel, Willingdon Island, which was built from dredged sand in the 1920s and 1930s, and the dock where the old Kochi port still works.

The route continues past Bolgatty Island, with its 18th-century Dutch-built palace, and towards the international container terminal at Vallarpadam. Dolphins are sometimes seen in the harbour mouth, though never guaranteed. Your guide points out the ferries, fishing boats, naval vessels and tankers that share the water, and the narrow passage at the mouth where ships pass within a stone's throw of Brunton Boatyard.

We time the return to reach the Chinese fishing nets for the last light, when the crews often lower the nets one final time. The colour over the sea is best from November to February. If you prefer something simpler, the public ferry between Fort Kochi and Ernakulam takes 20 minutes and costs very little, and we can arrange that with a guide instead.