Nehru Trophy Snake Boat Race
Alappuzha, Kerala, India
Nearby attractions
Alleppey Backwaters (Houseboat Cruise)
Alappuzha, Kerala
The Venice of the East — kettuvallam houseboats drifting past paddy below sea level, toddy shops, kingfishers and coir villages.
Alleppey Backwaters
Alappuzha, Kerala
A dreamlike maze of palm-fringed canals, lagoons and paddies below sea level, cruised on converted rice-barge houseboats with crew, fresh karimeen meals and nothing to do but watch village life drift past. Venice of the East and the crown of Kerala's backwaters.
Alappuzha Beach & Sea Pier
Alappuzha, Kerala
The town's breezy shore with its 150-year-old pier skeleton, lighthouse and evening fair — the sea-side of the backwater capital.
Marari Beach (Mararikulam)
Mararikulam, Kerala
The hammock-quiet fishing beach between Alleppey and Kochi — palm groves, ayurveda resorts and mornings of nets and butterflies.
Pathiramanal Island
Muhamma, Kerala
The 'sands of midnight' — an uninhabited Vembanad islet of migratory birds reached only by boat from Muhamma or Kumarakom.
Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary & Vembanad Lake
Kumarakom, Kerala
The luxury backwater village on India's longest lake — heron rookeries, sunset cruises and the resorts that hosted presidents.
Ambalappuzha Sree Krishna Temple
Ambalappuzha, Kerala
The 15th-century Krishna shrine famed for its ambrosial palpayasam — sweet milk pudding served daily since a legendary chess debt.
Kuttanad (Below-Sea-Level Paddy Country)
Alappuzha, Kerala
The rice bowl beneath the sea — dyke-guarded green fields lower than the canals that feed them, threaded by country boats and duck flocks.
Vaikom Mahadeva Temple
Vaikom, Kerala
The great Shiva of 'Vaikathashtami' and the 1924 Vaikom Satyagraha — where temple roads first opened to all castes.