Some Stunning Views of Alappuzha Backwaters

The beauty of the backwaters in Alappuzha is something that cannot be completely described in words. If you happen to take a houseboat trip along the backwaters of Alappuzha, then you might be able to discover the charming beauty of the long stretching backwaters. The best place to take some good pictures with your friends and family, the backwaters provide you with a cooling effect that is beyond explanation.

Here are 5 pictures of the Alapppuzha backwaters which I have gathered from the internet and hope that these pics will provide some glimpse about the amazing beauty of the backwaters, which makes Alappuzha a top travel destination in Kerala as well as in India. Just have a look at the pictures and hope everyone enjoys it.

A Houseboat in the backwaters of Alapuzha

A Toddy Shop in the Middle of the Backwaters

Backwaters of Alappuzha

The Charming Backwaters of  Aleppey
A View from a Houseboat in the Backwaters

Why We Love Travelling to Alappuzha

Alappuzha is one of the most popular tourist places in south India and is also known as the "Venice of the East". Alappuzha has a lot of potential in terms of tourism, and is one of the major income generating tourist places in Kerala. Unlike other places in Kerala, Alappuzha is blessed with a unique beauty and geographical features that attracts a lot of tourists throughout the year. The number of people visiting Alappuzha is on a rapid increase by each passing years and this is the major evidence why this place has a prominent spot in the tourism map of Kerala.

There are a lot of factors that attracts people towards this place and people of all age group love travelling to Alappuzha for a various number of reasons. Here are 5 important reasons in my opinion, that makes people love to visit this beautiful place in Kerala again and again.

1) Amazing and Beautiful Stretches of Backwaters
Backwaters are the trademark of Alappuzha and if you are on a trip to this place, you will never miss out the view of the amazing and beautiful stretches of backwaters. Most of the places in Alappuzha are influenced by the backwaters and this is mainly due to its low altitude from the sea level. Travelers love watching and taking snaps of the backwaters so that they can cherish its beauty for a longer time period. The beauty of the backwaters of Alappuzha is something that keeps travellers from visiting this place again and again.

2) Facility to Enjoy a Houseboat Trip Along the Backwaters
The beautiful backwaters of Alappuzha are stretched too long and is one of the major ingredients that boosts the overall tourism industry in Kerala. One of the best ways to explore the majestic beauty of the backwaters of Aleppey is to take a ride on the specially designed houseboats that are seen in this part of Kerala. The houseboats or kettuvallams are boats specially designed for taking a ride along the backwaters and spending a day in middle. The houseboats are like  a small house with all the facilities and amenities that will make your stay comfortable. You can also enjoy special food that are prepared inside the houseboats and overall the houseboat trips are the most enjoyable thing during your trip to Alappuzha.

3) An Opportunity to Enjoy Toddy and Delicious Food from Toddy Shop
Have you heard about Toddy? It is not a food, rather it is a drink that is taken from various type of palm trees such as palmyra, date palms, and coconut palms. Also known as "Palm Wine", the toddy is an alcoholic beverage that are available in toddy shops across Kerala. Enjoying toddy and delicious food from a toddy shop in Alappuzha is something that can bring special enjoyment to your trip. The food will be traditional spicy Kerala dishes and enjoying them with palm wine is something that everyone loves to do. If you have enjoyed toddy and food from a toddy shop in Alappuzha, then it is without doubt that the delicious taste will prompt you to visit this place again and again.

4) Presence of Beaches to Make Your Trip More Enjoyable
Alappuzha is not all about backwaters and there are also other travel places of interest that you can enjoy while visiting this place. The beaches and other places that are present in Alappuzha is something that you can really enjoy while on your trip. The Alappuzha beach is a popular tourist destination where you can enjoy some good time with family and friends. You might also get a chance to enjoy a ride on the camel top, as there are guys with camels specially meant for tourism activities. You can enjoy a walk along the beaches and enjoy a nice sunset to recharge your mind and body.

5) Adorable Traditional Villages and Paddy Fields
If you are tired of watching the backwaters, houseboat rides and walking along the beaches of Alappuzha, then there is another option that can really provide you fresh travel experiences. Taking a trip through the traditional villages and paddy fields of Alappuzha can bring about a fresh feeling that you have never experienced before. The amazing beauty of the local villages and the green paddy fields are a real treat to the eyes. Meanwhile you can also have a tea and snacks from a local tea shop that can provide you a different taste.

Make Your Travel to Alappuzha Before June 2012

If you are an avid traveller and plans to visit Alappuzha in Kerala, then better you plan your travel package before June 2012, otherwise you would be wasting your money after that. The main reason is that the monsoon season hits Kerala on the first week of June and from there onwards it would be in full strength till September. Since Alappuzha is a low lying plain land, the rainy season would make a mess of it and it would be really unworthy of planning a tour travel package to Alappuzha during that time.

Once the monsoon arrives in Alappuzha, most of the areas in Alappuzha would be experiencing water logging and you would not be able to enjoy the beauty of Alappuzha at its best. More over many epidemics breaks out in Alleppey during the monsoon season leading to serious health issues. Taking all these factors into consideration, most of the travellers dare to make a trip to Alappuzha between June to September of every year.

Due to the heavy monsoon rainfalls in Alappuzha during the months between June - September, the tourism industry in Alappuzha comes to a halt and majority of the houseboats that takes travellers for a backwater ride would be seen empty. Most of the houseboats offers backwater ride at really low rates as they really becomes hit by the off tourism season. Even though it is a wonderful experience to cruise along the backwaters of Alappuzha in a houseboat during the monsoon season, the number of tourist taking a backwater ride during this time is negligible due to many other factors.

But once the monsoon is over by Septembers, travellers start coming to Alappuzha to explore it amazing beauty and charm. The houseboats will start raising their tariffs and would be in full flow by mid-November. So if you are planning to travel Alappuzha in the near future, then make it before June. Otherwise you would have to wait another 4 or 5 months which would be a big time gap as far as your professional and personal life is concerned.

Alappuzha City Needs to Have a Planned Traffic System

Alappuzha is one of the major travel destinations in Kerala and is well known for its amazing back waters and panoramic beauty. I have travelled through Alappuzha on a large number of occasions for various reasons. Even though Alappuzha as a whole is a beautiful travel destination, the one thing that’s needs to be changed immediately is the traffic system inside the city of Alappuzha.

Alappuzha town is somewhat old fashioned with old buildings and roads which make it look like an old city. Due to the old fashioned architecture of the city, the traffic inside the city becomes unbearable at some times. During the peak hours the traffic becomes so congested that we would never think of coming to Alappuzha ever again. The authorities have to think about a better plan which makes the traffic inside Alappuzha town smoother. Otherwise it would leave a bad impact on the tourists coming to Alappuzha from different parts of the World.

The outer areas of Alappuzha town do not experience this traffic congestion but the main city is a traffic hell. If the traffic system in Alappuzha is improved, it would certainly enhance the tourism potential of the city. Along with a good traffic system, cleanliness should also be improved as the city is below par in cleanliness and hygiene.

25 Hitech Ambulances for Alappuzha

In a move to strengthen the health zone of Alappuzha, the authorities have sanction 25 hitech ambulances which includes facilities such as ICU, ventilator, oxygen cylinders, automatic trolleys, stretchers and other life saving equipments. The services of these hitech ambulances can be availed 24 x 7 by dialing 108.

There had been a huge shortage of ambulances in Alappuzha town and the introduction of hi tech ambulances are seen as a measure to solve the shortages of the ambulances. Once 108 is dialed, the hitech ambulances would rush to the accident spot or any other destination to offer their help. There would always be a ambulance driver and a technician inside the ambulance and this makes things more easy.

The hitech ambulance is also expected to be much helpful for patients suffering from heart stroke as the ambulance has the most advanced equipments which can  serve the patients in a much better way. An hitech ambulance was allowed for alappuzha district one year back, but unfortunately the ambulance was later offered to some other districts, which led to huge protests.   

A new agency would be appointed to manage the operations of these hitech ambulances in Alappuzha and the health department authorities would be conducting a meeting in Trivandrum regarding the finalization of this. Hope that more hitech ambulances would be allotted to other districts in Kerala, which really needs such services.

Alappuzha All Set for the Traditional Boat Races

Alappuzha is well known for the array of boat races it conducts during a year and the boat races in Alappuzha are so famous that people from different regions comes here to view the amazing boat race. A wide variety of boats would be assembled on various backwater section in Alappuzha making an entire festive atmosphere. The boat races in Alappuzha has been there since a long time and it is a matter of pride for the locals to conduct these boat races successfully.

Some of the major boat race competition in Alappuzha include the Champakulam boat race, the Nehru Trophy Boat race at Punnamada lake, the Rajiv Gandhi Boat race at Pulinkunnu and the Kayamkulam boat race. Besides these there are many other small boat races in Alappuzha and most of these boat races are centered around the period of the traditional festival Onam.

The participants of the boat race spends months of valuable time in practicing and they consider it as a matter of pride to win these prestigious trophy. The "Vanchi Pattu", a peculiar folk song related to the boat races are also being practiced during the prepratory section. There are various boat clubs, who participate in these tournaments and they usually spend around 80 lakhs to 1 crore rupees as a part of the preparation and participation in these boat races.

Of all these boat races the Champakulam boat race is the oldest one and a number of well known boat clubs take part in this race. The second most popular is the Nehru Trophy boat race which takes place at the Punnamada lake and is very much popular in the international arena. This occurs during the second Saturday of August every year. The next Saturday Pulinkunnu would be hosting the Rajiv Gandhi boat race which is also a popular one. The fourth saturday of August would be the time for Kayamkulam boat race after that there is the Mamman Mappila boat race at Neerettupuram. The boat race season in Alappuzha comes to an end with the Pallana Kumarakodi boat race.

The boat races marks the arrival of the new tourist season in Alappuzha and as a results a lot of foreigners would be present there to watch this amazing boat races. The boat races in Alappuzha are a real treat to the eyes and the mood and spirit during these times would be electrifying.

Pathiramanal Island in Alappuzha

Pathiramanal is an amazing tourist spot in Alappuzha and is around 1.5 hours drive by a motor boat from Alappuzha. If you are taking a speed boat, then it would take only around 30 minutes to reach Pathiramanal. Pathiramanal is actually a small island on the backwaters of Alappuzha and is visited by a large number of tourist throughout the year.  A large number of rare and unique birds which migrate from other parts of the world are found at Pathiramanal.

The island is pretty beautiful in its appearance and is surrounded by the famous Vembanad lake, and the only mode of transport which helps you in getting to Pathiramanal is the boat services. The island is greenish in nature and is a perfect destination for those who wants to take a cool break and also for those who are interested in bird watching and similar activities.  Some of the major bird species that is found in Pathiramanal are e Pintail Ducks, Common Teal, Night Heron, Cormorant, Darter, Indian Shag, Purple Heron, gulls, terns, large egrets, Intermediate Egret, Cattle Egret, Indian Pond Heron, Little Egret etc.

The Pathiramanal island is actually situated between Kumarakom and Thaneermukkom and is located on the border of Kottayam and Alappuzha district. Since the island is surrounded by backwaters, you would be getting cool breeze throughout the day. The atmosphere here at Pathiramanal is very much calm and quiet and helps you to get relaxed and be free from the hassles of city life.

There are many resorts and hotels in and around Alappuzha where you can get a decent accommodation. The nearest railhead is at Alappuzha and the nearest airport is at Cochin.