Kerala India

Kerala: What Backwater Tourism Gets Right and Gets Wrong

Kerala is a narrow strip of land on India’s southwest coast, roughly 550 kilometres long and averaging 80 kilometres wide, bordered by the Western Ghats to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. The state’s reputation internationally rests on three things: the backwater network around Alleppey, the tea hills of Munnar, and the Ayurveda industry. All three are real and worth visiting. All three have also been packaged into tourist products that vary wildly in quality, and knowing which version you are buying matters.

The Backwaters

The backwaters are a 900-kilometre network of interconnected lakes, canals, rivers, and lagoons running parallel to the coast. Vembanad Lake, the largest lake in Kerala, connects many of the major backwater towns. The classic way to see them is by kettuvallam, the converted rice barge houseboat now fitted with bedrooms, a kitchen, and a rooftop deck. A standard two-bedroom houseboat with crew costs Rs 8,000-15,000 (approximately $95-180 USD) for 24 hours depending on the season and operator quality. This includes all meals, which are typically fish curry, rice, and vegetables.

The honest assessment: the main backwater channels near Alleppey (Alappuzha) are busy with other houseboats, and the environmental pressure from this volume of diesel engines in a closed water system is significant. The more interesting areas are the smaller canals that connect village life to the water – the sections where women wash clothes on concrete steps, men fish from dugout canoes, and coconut palms arch over waterways barely wider than your boat. These are accessible either on foot from the town, by bicycle, or by booking a smaller canoe or punt tour rather than a full houseboat circuit. A half-day canoe tour from Alleppey runs Rs 500-800 per person through any of the town’s guesthouses.

Fort Kochi, 90 kilometres north, is the alternative base if you want the backwater experience without committing to a houseboat. The town itself has Dutch, Portuguese, and British colonial architecture, the Chinese fishing nets (installed in the 14th century and still operated by hand), and a manageable tourist infrastructure with better restaurants and guesthouses than Alleppey. The evening kathakali performances at the Kerala Kathakali Centre (Rs 350, performances at 6 PM) give you the full makeup process from 5 PM, which is more interesting than the performance itself.

Munnar

Munnar sits at 1,600 metres in the Western Ghats, 130 kilometres east of Kochi. The drive up takes 4-5 hours through hairpin bends and increasingly dramatic scenery. The tea gardens here were planted by British companies in the 1880s and cover the hillsides in a continuous carpet of precisely maintained bushes. The Tata Tea Museum in town covers the plantation history with more honesty than most such museums manage.

The viewpoints marketed as attractions (Echo Point, Top Station on the Tamil Nadu border) are frequently crowded and fogged in by midday. Go early, before 9 AM, and you get the views. After that the clouds build from the valley and visibility drops. Eravikulam National Park, 15 kilometres from Munnar, protects the Nilgiri tahr – a mountain goat found only in the Western Ghats. The park’s lower section is accessible to visitors from October to April (closed during calving season February-March). Entry is Rs 125.

Thekkady and Periyar

Periyar National Park surrounds an artificial lake created by a dam in 1895. The boat safari on the lake does give views of wildlife on the banks – elephants come to water regularly in the early morning – but the wildlife density is not comparable to dedicated safari destinations. The surrounding area has spice plantations offering tours; cardamom, pepper, cinnamon, and vanilla are grown in this region. A proper spice farm tour costs Rs 200-400 and takes an hour.

Varkala Beach

Varkala, 50 kilometres north of Thiruvananthapuram, is the beach worth your time in Kerala. A red laterite cliff drops 30 metres to the beach below, and the cliff-top path is lined with restaurants and guesthouses. The beach is swimmable from November to March. The spring at the base of the cliff (Papanasam Beach) is considered sacred; the beach is split between the area where locals bathe in devotional practice and the more northern section where tourists swim. Respectful separation of these areas is the norm.

Food

Kerala food is one of the genuine arguments for visiting. The sadya, a traditional feast served on a banana leaf, consists of rice surrounded by 24-28 side dishes: sambar, rasam, three types of pickle, pachadi, olan (white pumpkin and coconut milk), erissery (pumpkin and black beans with coconut), payasam for dessert. It is served at communal feasts and increasingly at restaurants catering to tourists. A full sadya runs Rs 300-500. Karimeen (pearl spot fish) is specific to Kerala’s backwaters and worth ordering wherever you see it on a menu. Fish molee, the coconut milk fish curry, is gentler than coastal curries further north and pairs correctly with appam, the lacy rice flour pancake with soft centre.

Practical Notes

Getting around Kerala requires planning. Trains connect Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alleppey, Ernakulam (Kochi), and Thrissur on the coastal corridor. For Munnar and Thekkady, private taxis or buses are necessary. The state bus network is extensive and cheap but slow. The best time to visit is November through February: post-monsoon, before the summer heat. The monsoon (June-August) is dramatic if you are not trying to move around quickly.