Local folklore has it that Kerala was 'reclaimed' from the sea by the warrior sage Parasuraman by a throw of his battle - axe. Whatever the truth behind the legend, the fact remains that Kerala is a land with a huge necklace of canals, lagoons, lakes and rivers. This peculiar landscape has had a distinct impact on the life style of the people who live along the banks of these backwaters. Kerala's uniqueness lies in its backwaters - found nowhere else in the world.
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The backwaters are a gateway for the visitor to see first hand the unhurried village life of rural Kerala. The life is tough and traditional work is highly intensive - a reason for the strong communist sympathies of the rural folks. Here one meets the people engaged in country boat building, prawn cultivation, sand mining, coir manufacture, limestone collection (by divers who are specialists in this field), rice farming, fish farming, duck rearing, etc....
Such unhurried life holds a certain fascination for the visitor to these places. This place is also a strong magnet for the millions of tourists who come here from all over the globe to see and enjoy the unbelievable beauty of the place and the life of millions besides these backwaters.
The journey normally begins at Alappuzha, because of its large network of canals. The journey winds through the small canals out into the Vembanad Lake. This place is also called Kuttanad, once the rice bowl of Kerala. Interestingly this place is one of the few places below sea level.
One beautiful back water destination is Kumarakam. The lagoon here with its spectacular view and fringed by coconut groves, has been featured in travel books all over the world. A 14 acre bird's sanctuary adds to the natural beauty of Kumarakom.
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Alumkadavu
|Location : Karunagapally, 20 km north of Kollam
Nearest railway station : Kollam, 20 km
Nearest Airport : Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, 90 km
Gliding along the calm and serene backwaters, flanked by green palm groves, seeing a rural Kerala preserved through the ages and completely hidden from the roads, is an enchanting experience to any visitor, more so while sailing a slow - moving, Kettuvallam (houseboat). Alumkadavu a quiet spot in the town of Karunagapally - hardly 23km north of Kollam - has become a hot point of houseboat building
Kollam
Location : 5 km from Kollam town
Nearest railway station : Kollam, 5 km
Nearest Airport : Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, 71 km to the south
The enchanting old city of Kollam on the banks of the picturesque Ashtamudi Lake is now known more as the centre of the world cashew industry. Traces of a once-prosperous trade with China are still seen in the form of Chinese fishing nets, huge Chinese water pots, blue and white porcelain and sampan-like boats.
Quilon is an inviting gateway to Kerala's backwaters. For the most intense backwater experience, take the regular ferry to Alappuzha - a rigorous ride lasting more than 8 hours. As the ferry putters from one village on the waterfront to another, you are treated to a full range of lives and activities and some of the most beautiful scenery imaginable. For the less intrepid, shorter cruises can be made in the larger comforts of the houseboats with idyllic villages such as Alumkadavu as your launch base.
Kumarakom
Location : 14 km from Kottayam
Nearest railway station : Kottayam, 14 km
Nearest Airport : Kochi International Airport, 70 km.
Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, 170 km.
On the shores of the enchanting Vembanad lake, 14 km from Kottayam lies Kumarakom in its small-town hush and redolent of restful ease.
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A boat ride into the countryside offers a close look into an engaging rustic life. Skiff fishermen launching their cockleshell boats. Large flotillas of ducks waddling down to the water to the water from thatched houses on the banks. Women, neck-deep in water, with their waist-length hair heaped in a crown, searching for fish with their feet. And carefree cattle grazing in lush pasture-land, where white lotuses lie here and there in small, low-lying pools.
At Kumarakom, you could sail the backwaters in rented houseboats, which are poled by local oarsmen and simply furnished with a living room, a bedroom and bath, together with a raised central platform creating a private sit-out for the passengers. Sections of the curved roof of wood or plaited palm open out to provide shade allow uninterrupted views. Boat trains - formed by joining two or more houseboats together - make for a convenient mode of sightseeing when the company is large.
The more adventurous could perhaps indulge in water sports as windsailing and water skating. You could even take a canoe out into the quiet lagoons and spend time angling. Make sure you sample Karimeen and fresh toddy - the favourite freshwater seafood and the wine.
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Alappuzha - Kuttanad
Location : Alappuzha town
Nearest railway station : Alappuzha, 2 km
Nearest Airport : Kochi International Airport, 85 km from Alappuzha
town.
The sweeping network of canals honeycombing the town of Alappuzha has earned for the place its sobriquet - 'The Venice of the East'. Small, low-slung country boats are the taxis of this water land. It is a heart-warming sight to see them carry a motley assembling of cycles, goats, fisherwomen with cane baskets, school children, toddy-tappers with their knives and pots, duennas in white with gold earnings, Syrian
Christian priests and a bare-chested boatman a piece.
Do not miss out on a ride into Kuttanad through shimmering, green paddy fields and tail-waging, groups of ducks. The coir-workers too present an interesting sight as they soak coconut fibre in pools, beat them out and weave the tough brown strands into long ropes on spindles stretched between endless coconut trees.
Alappuzha becomes the cynosure of the eyes of the world on August-September every year as it plays host to the celebrated Snake Boat Races - a water regatta unique to Kerala.
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Kochi
Location : Kochi Marine Drive
Nearest railway station : Ernakulam Junction, 1 km; Ernakulam Town, 2 km
Nearest Airport : Kochi International Airport, 25 km.
Come into Kochi, Queen of the Arabian Sea, believed to be the finest natural harbour in the world. With ferry rides here command a breathtaking view. As you cruise around man-made islands with lush green lawns sloping down to the water's edge.
Abroad, you can relax with a drink, watching the tree-shaded buildings of spice-traders and merchants, the descendants of the families who are said to have sold gold, ivory, timber and peacock to King Solomon.
Giant Chinese fishing nets that billow from massive teak and bamboo poles dot the entrance to the harbour. Silhouetted against the setting sun, they present a magnificent sight of the waterfront.
Kochi is the oldest European settlement in India. Recording a history of visitors who came, saw and stayed for hundreds of years. Layered impressions of the Chinese, Arab, Jewish, British, French and Portuguese are contained within its environment.
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Kozhikode
Location : Kochi Marine Drive
Nearest railway station : Ernakulam Junction, 1 km; Ernakulam Town, 2 km Nearest Airport : Kochi International Airport, 25km.
Up north in Kerala, the cool backwaters of Kozhikode lay waiting to be discovered, with a bewitching beauty of their own.....unspoilt, uncommon, unknown.
North - east of the city, Elathur offers an ideal jump-off base into the Canoly Canal - a name taken after its British builder and administrator. The canal links itself to the Kallai River which unhurriedly threads through the city and offers its shores to Kozhikode's historic timber trade. Timber from Kozhikode is believed to have even adorned the courts of King Solomon and queen Sheba a few millennia ago.
Further south Kadalundi with its charming bird sanctuary - haven to an amazing assortment of delightful water birds. Another river of the region - Korapuzha - is fast gaining popularity as the venue of the water sports festival - the Korapuzha Jalotsavam - staged every August.
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