Alleppey is a town about 50 km south of Kochi. I cam from Munnar though, which had a direct bus leaving at 06:30 and arriving in Alleppey at 13:00.
Alleppey is the gateway to the so-called backwaters of Kerala, a network of (sweet water) waterways, lagoons and canals, which run in parallel to the shoreline of the arabian sea in the west. These waters create several small islands, with and without settlments, which can onnly be reached by boat. Alleppey is therefore also known as “Venice of the east”.
Backwaters
There are several ways to explore the waters. You even rent a houseboat and stay overnight. This doesn’t make a lot of sense for solo travelers, therefore I opted for a 3 hours tour on a small ship. After leaving the main canal which goes through Alleppey itself, we quickly reached some of the lagoons and the more hidden canals and escaped the sounds of the city into a serene and beautiful landscape, watercanals all surrounded by lush greenery.
Ohter activities
The backwaters are without any doubt the highlight of Alleppey, but there are a few other notable options:
– beach: Alleppey as one beach in its immediate proximity. The sea is rough and the beach itself is rather direty, so I think it can be skipped.
– massages: I tried one traditional indian massage, which consisted of fullbody massage, a face massage where hot oil drizzles slowly on your face and 15 minutes in a steam bath – which was actually a small wooden box where I had to sit inside and only my head poked out while my body got steamed. The whole massage felt rougher than what I am used to in europe but in the end it was a nice and relaxing experience.
– Revi Karunakaran Museum: a personal collection of ivory items, crystals an other treasures. Very intersting to see and a welcome change.
Dive into the backwaters of Kerala in the picture gallery:
