Kerala Backwaters in India Included In :1001 attractions of the world Major Backwater Spots : Ernakulam, Kumarakom, Kollam and Kottayam Most Famous : Alappuzha, Vembanad Lake (where farming is done below sea level) What To Do : Experience village life, explore many species of birds and aqua, relax

Kerala Backwaters - An Incredible Tour Through The Heart of Kerala

A Kettuvallam on Kerala Backwaters

Kerala Backwater Holidays in India

Backwater Cruise Kollam Backwaters

Alleppey Backwaters Kottayam Backwaters

Kerala Beaches

Enjoy backwater tours of Kerala in India. Probably the most memorable sight a visitor wonders about is when history flits past the windows, like a line of running coconut trees beside a moving train. The fascinating vista envelopes everything from geography, physics, botany, zoology and else he has read during his lifetime; visions of life gliding silently by. No doubt, one will cherish the whole drama, if the speed is slow, to baptize into the complete charisma of 'God's Own Country', Kerala backwater cruise is the idle choice through Kerala's backwater canals in a luxuriously converted rice boat. Past swathes of palm trees, vast paddy fields and small villages, these floating houses can be the most relaxing way to discover the unique experience of cognition. Kerala's glorious Kuttanad region, on both banks of Vembanad Lake, has the much-hyped backwaters, a rich culture that displays people's lives and not just their memories to linger on. Often praised as one of the must-do-experiences before death, the backwater cruise in one of those magnificent 'kettuvalloms' - that have become Kerala's defining image - is truly a lifetime experience.

Backwaters are intermeshed freshwater rivers and canals that swim towards the sea, through a couple of larger lakes, that savour the saline taste at times when the sea backs up. The sea often closes a call, because Kerala's seasonal rivers, which originate in the Western Ghats relatively close to the sea, just don't have the strength to hold the sea back. The shores, however, display a handsome play of colours, from the deep green of the coconut fronds to the lighter shades of the rice shoots. Even the shimmering water of the backwaters, reflecting all that passion, turns green. In some narrower canals, the trees meet overhead, and a cool shade imbrues the scene - ah! what a mesmerizing tour will it make. Enjoy Kerala backwater holidays in India to experience a different experience.

The Long Pads of Existence - Backwater Vacations

Enjoy backwater tourism in Kerala where you can see locally the houseboats are called 'Kettuvallam', which means a boat made of pieces of wood tied together. Incredible as it might sound, but not a single iron is used in the making of a 'Kettuvallam' but all local and eco-friendly items viz., bamboo poles, coconut fiber ropes, bamboo mats, coir carpets etc. Generally, Jack wood planks are juxtaposed together with coir rope and the logs are then coated with black resin extracted from boiled cashew nut shells. Stay in these houseboats which are the traditional country boats were once used as a convenient mode of transport to ply from the isolated interior villages to the towns. Today, these giant 80-foot long crafts have been moulded into luxuriously furnished houseboats with all modern amenities to satisfy the interests of an international traveller. From single-bedroom to four and even five-bedroom behemoths, with living rooms, en-suite bathrooms and equipped kitchenette, you get everything. Comfortable, ambling vessels, they even come with air-conditioning. You get a crew of a cook and a bearer along with two oarsmen to drive your way. Kettuvallams are usually adorned with traditional lanterns for light. And what could be better than that? Houseboat stay on Kerala backwaters is the end of your search for luxury.

Go Green With The Backwaters

Kerala Backwaters

Take a Kerala backwaters trip to see the spectacular beauty of Kerala's backwaters needs no preface. Yesterday's channels of commercial traffic, they are still the lifeline of the state nurturing a flourishing agriculture and fishing industry. And a sail along the palm-flounced waterways of Kerala in an opulent houseboat is perhaps, the most enthralling holiday experience in India today. Casting off a world of volatile pleasures, the tour will make you flip through ancient Chinese fishing nets, water lilies, lush paddy fields, 'kayar' (coir) villages, rustic homes, carved temples and high coconut groves. A guided tour down the backwaters would help you to see a Kerala that lives along these backwaters reverberating with its own unique culture and colour, a country craft that will fill your heart with an incredibly different experience and your eyes with an unusual yet absorbing representation. Stay on Kerala backwaters houseboats to experience the authentic greens.

Sumptuous Breaks Over A Cruise

Plan a backwaters holiday trip to the the Kuttanad region, also called the Rice Bowl of Kerala. The green sliver is probably the only place in the continent where farming is done below sea level, using a system of dykes and bunds. Visit the backwaters of Vembanad, on the sides of which are nestled several islands of enchantment, providing a vast scope of affluent photography. Make a stop over at the rural corners, still untouched by the hands of modernity. Watch that women, coir wound around her waist, meticulously handing it out in long strands as a whirling motor-powered wheel at the other end spins it into rope. Tourists can also meet a number of Siberian storks, egrets, herons, darters and kingfishers at the Kumarakom bird sanctuary, an Ornithologist's paradise. Dive into the emerald waters and get a good bath before you brush past the serene villages of Kerala, looking those nasty adolescents fishing with bamboo poles. While enjoying backwaters vacations in Kerala, look at those boats carrying coir and cheerful fishermen as they pass by in opposite direction. As you will pass through the locks that separate salt water from freshwater, the scenery would then begin to change - larger islands, broader canals, herons sporting in the paddy fields and a setting sun that vanishes behind the coconut trees, growing at mad angles on the water-front. Enjoy a mug of hot and filtered Malayali coffee while saying goodbye to a handsome evening. Ah! a perfect memory of holiday to relish throughout your life.

Float As You Like

Snake Boats In Kerala

Choose a backwaters houseboat catering to your particular need, interest and budget. For a single day vacation, tourists can hire a wooden canoe and explore the intricate passageways of Kerala backwaters. Enjoy the pleasure of touching shimmering waters while on a boat ride, as you pass through the slender corridors amidst deep, dense vegetation. Wave back at the cheerful village children on the banks. One can even invite some of them to hop in for a ride. While in a group, and with a crave to know the rural side of God's own country, hiring a steamer boat is an exotic option. You can stand on the deck and capture some postcard scenery nestling on the lands nearby. Watch the birds fly, the animals drink water and the elephants play in the mud along the shores. For a luxurious stay over the emerald green backwaters, hire a Kettuvallam, fostered with modern amenities, catering to every needs of an international traveller, including a fine cuisine that will surely satiate your hunger for a perfect holiday vacation on the backwaters. The Kerala backwaters holiday ideas is ceaseless.

Choose Your Way

Want to enjoy backwaters tours of Kerala, Tourists can start their backwaters tour from innumerable destinations, including Ernakulam, Kumarakom, Kollam and Kottayam. But it is best to go Alappuzha, often referred to as the 'Venice of the East'. You will witness a number of operators crowded at the boat jetty vying for your attention. Negotiate a houseboat and make it your mobile home for as long as you like. Or book yourself into one of the resorts that follow, and get yourself a speedboat or motorboat to get you around. Fixed itinerary trips typically take in a few of the sights that folow. But travellers can design their own itinerary with the help of a guide book. Plan a sprawled itinerary over a couple of days you have for your holiday and enjoy the cruise to its fullest.