Destination
The Kerala Backwaters
900 kilometres of interlocking canals, lakes and lagoons.
The Kerala backwaters are a 900-kilometre network of brackish canals, rivers and lakes running parallel to the Arabian Sea coast. It's a whole geography you travel by water rather than road.
Fed by 38 rivers and centred on Vembanad, India's longest lake, the backwaters are at once a transport system, a farming landscape and a way of life. Alleppey and Kumarakom are the best-known gateways; Kollam and the lesser-travelled northern stretches reward those who go further. The defining experience is the houseboat, a converted rice barge. But country canoes, village ferries and shore-side stays each open a different angle on the same living waterway.
Highlights
- ·Vembanad Lake and the classic Alleppey–Kumarakom stretch
- ·Heritage houseboat vs. day-canoe, choosing your pace
- ·Backwater village life, coir and paddy farming
- ·Best season: September–March, after the monsoon
See The Kerala Backwaters the Tourify way.
The Kerala Backwaters is one chapter of a single connected journey. Request the itinerary to see how it fits the whole.
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