Chennamangalam Synagogue

Kerala


Around 5km northeast of North Paravur, this beautifully restored synagogue is one of Kerala's most ancient, established in 1420 (though rebuilt in 1614 following a fire). The interior is awash with door and ceiling wood-reliefs in dazzling colours, while just outside lies one of the oldest tombstones in India – inscribed with the Hebrew date corresponding to 1269.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Kerala attractions

1. Chinese Fishing Nets

13.81 MILES

The unofficial emblems of Kerala’s backwaters, and perhaps the most photographed, are the half-dozen giant cantilevered Chinese fishing nets on Fort…

2. Bastion Bungalow

13.86 MILES

Though the interior of this 1667 Indo-European bungalow was being renovated into a museum at research time, you can admire its fine whitewashed, tiled…

3. Kashi Art Gallery

13.89 MILES

The pioneer of Fort Cochin’s art revival, Kashi displays changing exhibitions of local artists in a creatively restored Dutch heritage house, attached to…

5. St Francis Church

13.95 MILES

Constructed in 1503 by Portuguese Franciscan friars, this is believed to be India’s oldest European-built church. The faded-yellow edifice that stands…

6. David Hall

14.02 MILES

Opposite the parade ground, this beautiful restored bungalow is all that remains of three 17th-century Dutch-era houses built using materials from…

7. Santa Cruz Basilica

14.02 MILES

Built on the site of an early-16th-century Portuguese church (demolished during the British Raj), Fort Cochin's imposing neoclassical Catholic basilica…

8. Dutch Cemetery

14.08 MILES

Consecrated in 1724, this cemetery near Kochi's beach contains the worn and dilapidated graves of Dutch traders and soldiers. Its gates are normally…