At which Indian port did Vasco da Gama land in May 1498?

Vasco da Gama landed at Calicut in May 1498.

Da Gama’s fleet reached Kappad, near the major port city of Calicut, on 20 May 1498. Calicut is the historical English name for Kozhikode, a prominent trading center on India’s Malabar Coast in present-day Kerala. The arrival marked the first successful direct sea link from Europe to India around the Cape of Good Hope.

The expedition had sailed from Portugal in 1497, rounded the southern tip of Africa, and crossed the Indian Ocean with help from monsoon winds and a pilot obtained at Malindi. At Calicut, da Gama sought access to the lucrative spice trade and an audience with the Zamorin, the city’s ruler.

A common mix-up is treating Goa or Cochin as the landing site. Portuguese influence later became important at both places, but da Gama’s first Indian landfall was at Kappad near Calicut. The voyage opened a route that transformed European trade and helped launch Portugal’s maritime empire in the Indian Ocean.