Vypin (, Cochin Portuguese: Isla Santa) is one of the group of islands that form part of the city of

Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...

, in the Indian state of

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. Vypin forms a

barrier island Barrier islands are a Coast#Landforms, coastal landform, a type of dune, dune system and sand island, where an area of sand has been formed by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of an ...

which lies between the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...

in the west and the Cochin backwaters (Kochi Backwaters) formed by the various

distributaries A distributary, or a distributary channel is a stream channel that branches off and flows a main stream channel. It is the opposite of a ''tributary'', a stream that flows another stream or river. Distributaries are a result of river bifurca ...

Periyar Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy (17 September 187924 December 1973), commonly known as Periyar, was an Indian social activist and politician. He was the organizer of the Self-Respect Movement and Dravidar Kazhagam and is considered the architect o ...

river, in the east. The northernmost end of the island lies on the estuary of the Periyar river in Muziris (Kodungallur), and the southernmost end in the mouth of the Cochin Backwaters (Kochi Backwaters) in Kalamukku near Fort Vypin. Boats in Vyppin

The island is about long and is connected to mainland Kochi by a series of bridges known as the

Goshree bridges Gosree bridges is a system of three bridges that link the mainland side of the city of Kochi to the islands lying to the north of the backwaters. It provides the vital road connectivity to the islands of Bolgatty and Vallarpadam and also link ...

, which start at Kalamukku in Vypin, touch other two islands and then finish at Marine Drive covering a total distance of around . Vypin is 58th most densely populated islands in the world.

Njarakkal Njarakkal () is a village in the Vypin area situated in Ernakulam district in the Indian state of Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, fo ...

is one of the most densely populated locations within Vypin.

Development

At far the northern tip of Vypin, is home to the Munambam Fishing Harbour, the largest fishing harbour in Kochi. Puthuvype has become the major industrial hub in Kerala and the fastest growing city suburb due to the SPM project run by

Kochi Refineries Kochi Refinery Limited (KRL) is a crude oil refinery in the city of Kochi in Kerala, India. It is the largest public sector refinery in India with a production capacity of 15.5 million tonnes per year. Formerly known as Cochin Refineries Limited ...

, an offshore pumping station of Kochi Port, the Puthuvyp

LNG Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the volume o ...

Terminal, the IOC Bottling Plant and the proposed Oceanarium. There are ten lighthouses in

, one of which is situated at Puthuvype Beach and is the tallest in Kerala. India's first international container trans-shipment terminal (ICTT) in the Special Economic Zone at Vallarpadam Island, designed to handle the largest container ships, was opened by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 11 February 2011. There are regular boat services from

Fort Kochi Fort Kochi ( , ; Cochin Portuguese: ''Cochim de Baixo'', , Tamil: ''Koçhé Kōtàì''), formerly also known as Fort Cochin or British Cochin or Old Kochi, is a region of Kochi city in Kerala, India. Fort Kochi takes its name from the For ...

to Vypin Island. In 2004 a bridge was built by the

Goshree Islands Development Authority Goshree Islands Development Authority (GIDA) is a government body established in 1994. It is responsible for the development planning of eight island gram panchayats in Ernakulam district and two wards (Thanthonnithuruthu and Fort Vypeen) of Koch ...

(GIDA) to connect Vypin to the mainland. The

also connect the islands

Mulavukad Mulavukad, also known locally as Bolgatty Island, is one of the islands that forms part of the city of Kochi in Kerala, India. It is in the Mulavukad Grama Panchayat. Vypin Island and Vallarpadam Island lie to its west, while Vaduthala lies to ...

and

Vallarpadam Vallarpadam is one among the group of islands, that form part of Kochi, in the state of Kerala, India. It is situated in the Vembanad Lake, locally known as The Kochi Lake and has a population of over 10,000. ''Vallarpadam'' is one of the two ...

. Vypin is now a fast-developing suburb of Kochi City. Today, all the basic infrastructure of modern living is available in Vypin. Travellers from North Kerala can use the Vypin–Munambam state highway to reach Ernakulam.

History

The island was formed in 1341 following a heavy flood.

Gram Panchayats of Vypin

* Pallippuram *

Kuzhuppilly Kuzhuppilly is a suburb of Kochi city and a tourist destination in Vypin Island in Kerala, India. The areas in Kuzhuppilly village are Pallathamkulangara, Cheruvaipu, Thundippuram, Manappally, and Ayyampilly. Statistics The total population per ...

Edavanakkad Edavanakad is a part of Vypin islands, which comes under the Ernakulam district of Kerala, India. It is a suburb of Kochi city. The Vypin - Munambam state highway passes through the village. Its western border is Arabian Sea, the eastern Borde ...

Nayarambalam Nayarambalam is a suburb of Kochi city and coastal village on Vypin island in the States and union territories of India, state of Kerala, India. The village is surrounded by Edavanakkad Gram panchayat to the north, Narakkal Gram Panchayat to th ...

Njarackal Njarakkal () is a village in the Vypin Vypin (, Cochin Portuguese: Isla Santa) is one of the group of islands that form part of the city of Kochi, in the Indian state of Kerala. Vypin forms a barrier island which lies between the Arabian ...

Elamkunnapuzha Elamkunnapuzha is a village in the Ernakulam district in the Indian state of Kerala. Demographics India census, Elamkunnapuzha had a population of 26,092, with 12,572 males and 13,520 females. Education * Government Arts and Science College, ...

Revenue Villages of Vypin

* Pallippuram *

* Puthuvype (part of Elamkunnappuzha panchayat)

Other Villages

Cherai Cherai is a small town located in north side of Vypin island. It is a region in the suburb of the city of Kochi, in the state of Kerala, India. It is at a distance of about from the ''High Court Junction'', Kochi. Cherai has the longest bea ...

(part of Pallippuram panchayat) *

Munambam Munambam is a suburb of Kochi, India at the north end of Vypeen Island, surrounded by the Arabian Sea on the west, Periyar river on the east, and a mouth of the sea on the north. The main occupation of its inhabitants is fishing. Munambam is ...

(part of Pallippuram panchayat) * Chakkarakadavu (part of Pallippuram panchayat) * Ayyamppilly (part of Kuzhuppilly panchayat) * Nedungad (part of Nayarambalam panchayat) * Perumpilly (part of Narakkal panchayat) * Malippuram (part of Elamkunnappuzha panchayat) * Valappu (part of Elamkunnappuzha panchayat) * Ochanthuruth (part of Elamkunnappuzha panchayat) *

Murikumpadam Elamkunnapuzha is a village in the Ernakulam district in the Indian state of Kerala. Demographics India census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating populat ...

(part of Elamkunnappuzha panchayat) * Fort Vypin (part of

Kochi Municipal Corporation The Kochi Municipal Corporation is the municipal corporation that governs the Indian city of Kochi in the state of Kerala. The Corporation manages 94.88 km2 of Kochi city and has a population of 677,381 within that area. It is the most densely ...

) File:Nedungad2.jpg, Nedungad File:Puthuvypin.jpg, Cricket at Puthyvypin Beach File:Kerala Backwaters Sunset.JPG, Vembanad Kayal File:Cherai Beach.jpg, Cherai Beach File:Ayakotta.jpg, Pallipuram Fort File:Veeranpuzha.jpg, Sunrise at Veeranpuzha

External links