Kerala's Backwaters: Drifting Through India's Most Serene Landscape
A converted rice barge drifts through Kerala's network of lagoons, canals, and lakes — past coconut groves, Chinese fishing nets, and villages where life moves at the pace of the water.
The backwaters of Kerala form a 900-kilometre network of interconnected canals, rivers, lakes, and lagoons running parallel to the Arabian Sea coast in the southwest of India. This labyrinth of waterways was the main transport artery of the region for centuries — rice, spices, and coir were moved by boat between the inland villages and the coastal ports — and the traditional kettuvallam, or rice barge, was the workhorse of this trade. Today, converted into floating guesthouses with teak-panelled bedrooms and open-air decks, the kettuvallam offers one of the most distinctive travel experiences in India.
The backwater region centres on Alleppey, also known as Alappuzha, a town built on a grid of canals that has been called the Venice of the East — a comparison that flatters both cities. From Alleppey, houseboats depart for overnight or multi-day cruises through the backwaters, navigating narrow canals overhung with coconut palms, crossing the broad expanse of Vembanad Lake, and mooring for the night in quiet inlets where the only sounds are frogs and the occasional splash of a kingfisher.
The Chinese fishing nets at Fort Kochi, at the northern end of the backwater region, are one of Kerala's most iconic images — enormous cantilevered nets suspended from bamboo and teak poles, lowered into the water by teams of fishermen using counterweights of stone. The nets were introduced by traders from the court of Kublai Khan in the 14th century and have been used continuously ever since. The best time to watch them is at sunset, when the silhouettes of the nets and their operators are reflected in the golden water of the harbour.
The village of Kumarakom, on the eastern shore of Vembanad Lake, is home to a bird sanctuary that attracts migratory species from Siberia and Central Asia between November and February. Egrets, herons, cormorants, and the rare Siberian crane can be spotted from the canoe trails that wind through the mangroves at the lake's edge. The sanctuary is best explored by small boat at dawn, before the heat builds and the birds retreat to the shade.
Kerala's cuisine is one of the great regional cooking traditions of India, shaped by the state's position as a spice-trading hub for two millennia. The backwater region specialises in fish and prawn curries cooked in coconut milk, karimeen pollichathu — pearl spot fish wrapped in banana leaf and grilled over charcoal — and the elaborate sadya feast served on banana leaves during the Onam harvest festival. A good houseboat cook will prepare fresh seafood bought from the morning market at each stop along the route.
The Kuttanad region, south of Alleppey, is one of the few places in the world where farming is conducted below sea level. The paddy fields here lie between one and two metres below the level of the surrounding waterways, protected by a system of bunds and sluice gates that has been maintained for centuries. The sight of rice paddies stretching to the horizon, with the masts of passing boats visible above the bunds, is one of the most surreal in Kerala.
The backwaters are best visited between October and March, when the monsoon has ended and the weather is dry and relatively cool. The Nehru Trophy Boat Race, held on Vembanad Lake on the second Saturday of August, is one of Kerala's most spectacular events — a competition between long snake boats crewed by up to 100 oarsmen, with the boats reaching speeds of up to 14 kilometres per hour. The race draws enormous crowds and is accompanied by traditional music and the chanting of the oarsmen.
