Alleppey

Alappuzha (Alleppey) is fondly called as the Venice of the East, for its maze of interconnecting waterways and channels. Alleppey or Alappuzha as it is known in local language truly lives up to its name! The waterways and channels are best explored in country boats as in Venice.

Alleppey is indeed famous for at least a million reasons. It is the only place in the world other than Holland where rice is cultivated well under the sea level. Thickly punctuated with coconut palms, Chinese nets and paddy fields, Aleppey is enchanting and receptive to tourists all round the year The enviably slow pace of the lives in the lagoons and the tranquility that is broken only by the echoing calls of the migratory birds, make it a different world altogether!

Today Alappuzha has emerged as a famous backwater tourist centre, which draws scores of tourists each year. Probably the boat races of Aleppey are the biggest crowd pullers of this destination. Scores of impressive snake boats that can accommodate as many as 120 oarsmen cut through the waters to race up to the finishing line in the Nehru boat race, which forms one of the red letters days in Alleppey tourist calendar.

No trip to this place will be complete without a house boat trip. These huge boats that are made from ecofriendly materials like wood and ropes were originally designed to carry farm produce like rice along the waterways. Now these have evolved as well equipped house boats that ensure a leisurely cruise for the tourists along the Punnamada Lake and Alleppey backwaters apart from ensuring a cozy stay amidst the waters. Be it a corporate holiday, honeymoon or a family trip, you would surely enjoy every bit of this memorable house boat trip!

The interconnected waterways of Alleppey form part of the 900km of navigable backwaters of Kerala. In Alleppey, life revolves around water where people own country boats in place of cars; where kids learn to swim before they walk and where the people are awakened by the hooting of the horns of the boats that ferry not only passengers across the backwaters but also vegetables, essential commodities and even posts!

While in this city, you won’t have any dearth of activities for sure. Take an up close view of the simple life of the people around, swim along the shallow waters, take a leisurely stroll along the village roads or explore the village markets that sell the local crafts and art forms among others. You can even try your mettle with the fishing rods and in case you fancy tasting the local beverage of coconut toddy , hop into a toddy shop and savour the tangy taste of this beverage to the accompaniment of a variety of spicy fish delicacies including the signature dish of karimeen ( Pearl spot).

There are many ancient religious places around including the fabled Ambalapuzha Sri Krishna temple and the St.Andrew church, founded way back in 1866 by Portuguese missionaries. Come, enjoy the best of nature on a platter and live in tandem with the rhythm of nature by soaking up the enchanting beauty of this coastal district of Alleppey in Kerala.