7 Things to Do in Alleppey, Kerala's Backwater Capital

Alappuzha, still commonly called by its former name Alleppey, sits on Kerala's coast where a dense network of lagoons, canals and rivers feeds into Vembanad Lake, the longest lake in India. Built by the Dutch as a trading port in the 18th century and once one of Kerala's busiest coir and spice harbours, the town's canal-side warehouses have since given way to a different economy: the kettuvallam, or houseboat, tourism that Alleppey is now most associated with across India. Here are seven ways to spend time there.

1. Take an overnight houseboat cruise

Converted from traditional rice barges, Alleppey's houseboats remain the defining way to see the backwaters, moving slowly past coconut groves, paddy fields below sea level and canal-side villages, usually with an onboard cook preparing Kerala meals through the day.

2. Walk or cycle the narrower canals around Kainakary

Away from the wider channels the houseboats use, villages like Kainakary sit on a maze of narrower canals crossed by small footbridges, where daily life, washing, ferrying goods, children going to school by canoe, continues much as it has for generations.

3. Watch, or join, practice for the Nehru Trophy Boat Race

Held on Punnamada Lake on the second Saturday of every August, the Nehru Trophy Snake Boat Race is Kerala's best-known boat race, contested by chundan vallam crewed by dozens of rowers; outside race season, crews often train on the lake in the early morning.

4. Spend a morning at Alleppey Beach

A long, dark-sand beach fronting the Arabian Sea at the edge of town, marked by a 19th-century pier that once served cargo ships and now draws an evening crowd for the sunset.

5. Visit Krishnapuram Palace

A short drive south of town, this Travancore-era palace in the traditional Kerala architectural style houses an 18th-century mural, Gajendra Moksham, among the largest of its kind in the state, alongside antique furniture and sculpture.

6. Bird-watch at Kumarakom, across the lake

The Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary, on Vembanad Lake's eastern shore and reachable by road or boat, draws migratory birds over the winter months and is a common half-day addition to a backwater trip.

7. Learn the coir trade at a village workshop

Alleppey was historically India's largest coir-producing hub, and several villages around the backwaters still run small-scale coconut-fibre processing that can be visited, a quieter counterpoint to the houseboats that now dominate the local economy.

Traveller tips

• Cochin International Airport, around 1.5 to 2 hours by road, is the nearest major airport with wide domestic and international connections.
• December to February brings the most comfortable weather for houseboat trips; the monsoon (June to September) floods the paddy fields but can disrupt cruising.
• Houseboats vary widely in size and standard; checking recent reviews of a specific operator matters more than the price alone.
• The Nehru Trophy Boat Race draws large crowds to Alleppey in August, so accommodation should be booked well ahead for that week.