Traveledncaptured: Allepey

Kerala- Backwaters (Allepey)

Alappuzha also known as Alleppey, is a city in Alappuzha District of Kerala state of southern India. Alleppey is situated 62 kilometres (39 mi) to the south of Kochi and 155 kilometres (96 mi) north of Trivandrum. A town with picturesque canals, backwaters, beaches, and lagoons, it was described as the one of the places known as "Venice of the East" by Lord Curzon. Malayalam is the most spoken language. Hindi, English and Tamil are also widely spoken in the town.

The nearest station to Alleppey is Kottayam. We reached Kottayam at 8AM by Trivandrum express from Chennai. The journey took us 12hrs.

Distance from Kottayam to Allepey is 47 km.
We could not see any taxi stand and we had a lot of time so we decided to travel by the local bus. The bus took 1.5hrs to reach Allepey bus stop,from there we took an auto(30INR) to the finishing point(houseboat pick up)

BUS STAND.

CAUTION: The buses here are not particularly comfortable. So keep the right expectation.

Online booking for houseboats can done easily. We booked a 2 bedroom houseboat (AC)for a day for 10k - all meals included. You would be asked to pay some advance and then the balance need to be paid at the start of the journey.

Our abode on the water

The house boats are really given the look and feel of an apartment.

Our houseboat!!

Our ratings: Food-Excellent Cleanliness - Excellent

The meals!!

As the journey begins you find yourself surrounded with water as you calmly float in company of serene setting.

Along the way you would get a chance to sample the life of the locals. The houses here are along the banks and each house has their own boat here. On the banks one can see rice fields and coconut trees,occasionally a temple or a church!!

Life on the backwaters is entirely different.There are no roads here only waterways. Life here cannot be without a canoe or boats. It is the land of fishermen and women.