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Kochi - Asia’s Largest Natural Christmas Tree & Asia’s largest art Biennale coincides to herald a secular, sustainable paradise for artists!

 Asia’s largest Christmas tree

Kochi has a 25-year-old tradition of decorating Asia’s largest Christmas tree. This natural Christmas Tree is located in Veli Ground, in a locality called Fort Kochi in the older part of Kochi City in Kerala, India. The lighting of this Christmas tree draws huge crowds, with up to 50,000 visitors each evening during the Christmas period.

This is a natural Christmas tree, an existing rain tree, estimated to be around 200 years old. The rain tree is decorated with lights and ornaments every year for Christmas celebrations. Every year, the Christmas tree is lit up in a different color, and it is yellow this year.

Asia's largest Natural Christmas tree in a different color each year

The Christian population in Kochi (and the state of Kerala) traces its roots to St. Thomas the Apostle and can be considered among the oldest Christian communities in the world. The people here have a strong secular civic identity, often attributed to high literacy and long social reform movements, and you’ll find temples, churches, and mosques within walking distance of each other.

Kochi-Muziris Biennale

The Kochi-Muziris Biennale is widely described as the largest contemporary art festival in Asia and the region's largest contemporary art event. The Kochi Muziris Biennale is India’s first and South Asia’s longest-running international art biennale. It was launched in December 2012 and is held every two years in Kochi, Kerala, India.

It features works by Indian and global artists and includes painting, sculpture, installations, performances, workshops, and film screenings. The exhibition simultaneously takes place across multiple heritage venues in Kochi, predominantly in Fort Kochi and Mattancherry, The Kochi-Muziris Biennale is an exhibition you experience alongside the older cultural landmarks of this vibrant city.

Compared to the Bangkok Art Biennale, another large art biennale in Asia, the Kochi-Muziris Biennale is more expansive in scale and in international participation. The Kochi-Muziris Biennale attracts about 600,000 visitors (domestic and international) over the three-month duration of the Biennale. The Biennale strengthens Kochi’s place on the global contemporary art map.

Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2025 logo

The sixth edition is ongoing, having started on 12th December and will run till 31 March 2026, and has the theme “for the time being.”

Kochi is the epitome of green and sustainable cities

Kochi has the world’s first fully solar-powered airport and the world’s largest organized public electric water transport system.

The entry points into Kochi are either the Cochin International Airport or the International Cruise Terminals. The International Cruise Terminals (Samudrika and Sagarika) are on India’s oldest and largest man-made Island, Willingdon Island, which also houses the Cochin Port. 

The Cochin International Airport (CIAL) is the world’s first fully solar-powered airport. Cochin International Airport is the fourth-largest international airport in India by passenger traffic. From the airport, you can hop on an electric or hydrogen-run bus to reach the nearest Kochi Metro station.

The Kochi Metro is an elevated, electric, metro rail (urban rapid transit). The Kochi Metro, the second profitable metro rail network in India (after the Delhi Metro), had a ridership of over 100,000 every day (Dec 2025).

The Kochi Water Metro, a fleet of electric boats considered the world’s largest organized public electric water transport system, connects mainland Kochi to its islands, including Fort Kochi. The Kochi Water Metro had a ridership of over 17,000 every day (Dec 2025). This Water Metro operates alongside an older boat and ferry service.

If you ever feel tired of walking, there are the green-colored electric rickshaws, or tuk-tuks, which are omnipresent on the roads and at your beck and call.

Kochi city, which includes 10 islands, is often known as the ‘Venice of the East’ for its numerous navigable rivers and the Indian Ocean’s backwaters. Kochi is also known as the ‘Queen of the Arabian Sea’ and marketed as ‘God's own country’. Kochi originated from Muziris, the legendary spice-trading port city, which led to the ‘Spice Route.’ In search of Muziris-Kochi, the famed spice-trading port of India, Christopher Columbus accidentally discovered the American continent and called the indigenous people Indians!

Kochi city is one of the top 10 trending travel destinations in the world for 2026, according to travel booking company Booking.com. Read more about Kochi in my other posts.

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