Alappuzha is the gateway to the Kerala backwaters, and two or three days covers it. Spend one night on a houseboat across Vembanad and Punnamada, then take the public ferry or a canoe into the narrow canals of Kuttanad. Give the other day to the beach, the 1862 lighthouse and Marari, and add Ambalappuzha for its temple pudding.
Alappuzha is a canal town on the Kerala coast, with the sea on one side and Vembanad Lake and the paddy of Kuttanad on the other. Come for the backwaters: a night on a houseboat, a ferry with commuters, a canoe in the side canals.
The kettuvallam, a thatched rice barge turned floating bedroom, is the reason most people come. A night on board covers Punnamada, Vembanad and the Kuttanad canals, usually with a cook and Kerala meals on board.
The State Water Transport boat crosses Kuttanad with commuters and schoolchildren, past paddy, churches and canal-side houses. It is the cheapest backwater trip there is, about two hours one way.
Houseboats stay on the wide water. A shikara or a hand-paddled canoe slips into canals only a few metres across, past kingfishers, duck flocks and village kitchens. This is the backwater at its closest.
A long sand beach with the iron stumps of the old pier running into the sea, the last of the port that made the town. Families crowd it at dusk. The water is rough, so treat it as a walk, not a swim.
Alappuzha's lighthouse was lit in 1862 under Travancore and still guides ships. Climb the spiral stairs for a view over the palms to the sea, then see the small lamp museum at its foot.
Kuttanad grows rice one to two metres below the sea, behind earth dykes, with fish and ducks in the same water. FAO lists it as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System. The ferry and the canoes both cross it.
Snake boats with around a hundred oarsmen each race on Punnamada each August, in Kerala's best-known regatta. It dates to Nehru's 1952 visit. The 2026 race ran on 22 August, four days before Thiruvonam.
The Sree Krishna temple at Ambalappuzha is known across Kerala for its palpayasam, a rice and milk pudding made as the noon offering. It is about 14 km south of town, an easy auto or bus ride.
A fishing-village beach north of town, quieter and cleaner than the town beach, where wooden boats land the catch in the morning. Resorts sit behind the dunes, but the sand stays open to all.
An 18th-century Travancore palace in Kerala style, now a state archaeology museum. Its draw is the Gajendra Moksham, among the largest murals found in Kerala, on the ground floor.
The public boat across the widest part of Vembanad, to the bird sanctuary shore.
The 1970s barrier that splits the lake into salt and fresh water. Best at sunset.
A serpent temple in a forest grove lined with carved snake images, led by a priestess.
Home of the Kumbha Bharani and its towering kettukazhcha floats.
An eight-hour canal cruise south past Amritapuri, run in season. Check the dates.
The St Sebastian feast at Arthunkal, its main day on 20 January.
Floats as tall as temple towers, on Bharani day in the month of Kumbham.
The Sree Krishna temple festival, with Velakali martial dance.
The first snake boat race of Kerala's season, on the Pamba.
The great regatta on Punnamada; in 2026 it ran on 22 August.
Kerala's harvest festival; Thiruvonam fell on 26 August in 2026.
Three days of boat racing near Haripad during Onam.
Eleven days of processions and fireworks at the town temple.
The nearest airport, about 83 km north on NH 66, around two hours by taxi. Trivandrum is about 149 km south.
On the coastal line between Ernakulam and Kayamkulam, with trains to Kochi and Trivandrum. An auto runs you into town.
Public boats from the jetty by the bus station run to Kottayam, Kumarakom and the Kuttanad villages.
Pearl spot fish, spiced and cooked in a banana leaf.
Duck from the paddy flocks, slow-roasted in coconut and spice.
Lacy rice pancakes with a mild coconut milk stew.
Tapioca with a red fish curry soured with kudampuli.
The temple's slow-cooked rice and milk pudding.
Prawns dry-roasted with shallots and curry leaves.
Lake clams stir-fried with coconut.
Fresh palm sap, sold in the toddy shops along the canals.
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