{"id":90,"date":"2008-01-11T16:41:19","date_gmt":"2008-01-11T16:41:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itravelabout.com\/kerala-backwaters\/"},"modified":"2008-01-11T16:41:19","modified_gmt":"2008-01-11T16:41:19","slug":"kerala-backwaters","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.itravelabout.com\/kerala-backwaters\/","title":{"rendered":"Kerala Backwaters"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Kerala<\/a> backwaters<\/strong>
\nare the highlight of the region, and for many their visit to India<\/a>
\n .  Nearly 1,000km of waterways spread from the
\ncoast to far inland.  The boats serving the area cross shallow lakes
\npeppered with Chinese cantilever fishing nets, and travel along narrow shady
\ncanals where traditions of processing coconuts and cashew nuts still thrive.<\/p>\n

The small villages that make up the backwaters are a treasure to
\nvisit.  You’ll find churches, mosques, temples and schools.  Motorized
\ntransport hasn’t replaced the traditional canoe yet, and is
\nunlikely to given the amount of canals and the small number of roads.<\/p>\n

The towns of Alleppey<\/a> and Kollam<\/a> are the major hubs for
\nbackwater trips, but Fort
\nCochin<\/a> also offers lots of good trips.<\/p>\n

There are three main ways to travel the backwaters:<\/p>\n

Houseboat<\/h2>\n

The Houseboat is the ultimate way to experience the backwaters.  Traditional rice
\nbarges (kettuvallam) have been converted to homes that cater
\nfor couples or groups.  Trips are normally for 24 hours and all meals
\nare included.  Costs are typically INR6,000 per couple, but much less outside
\nof the high season (Nov – Jan).  Prices differ for bigger group
\nhouseboats.  Single travelers are better to find someone to share with,
\nunless you have a big budget.  You can also have a day experience on a
\nhouseboat in Fort
\nCochin<\/a> for
\nINR550.<\/p>\n

If you have the budget you can easily commission a houseboat
\nfor a longer period of time to go where ever you want.<\/p>\n

The true houseboat experience is to be punted, where the
\ndrivers use long bamboo poles to power the houseboat.  This reduces the
\ndistance you’ll cover in a day, but is very peaceful.  To cover
\nmore ground an engine is required, which is obviously not as tranquil.<\/p>\n

Tourist Cruise<\/h2>\n

Tourist boats run everyday from Alleppey<\/a> and Kollam<\/a> and vice
\nversa.  These ferry
\nlike boats stick to the major
\nwaterways, and although you wont see the really delicate Keralan life you will
\nsee a little glimpse of many things.  The trips leave at 10.30am and
\narrive at 6.30pm, everyday in high season.  It’s the best way to get
\nbetween Alleppey and Kollam if you have time.  There are also trips between Alappuzha-Kumarakom
\nand Alappuzha-Kottayam.<\/p>\n

Canoe<\/h2>\n

To see the really intricate and traditional parts of the
\nbackwaters you’ll need to go on a canoe trip.  No other vessel can weave
\nthrough the narrow canals that make up the traditional village life of the
\nbackwaters.  Trips vary, but prices are about INR300 per half day. 
\nTrips can be arranged in Fort Cochin, Alleppey or Kollam.<\/p>\n

Combinations<\/h2>\n

Many places combine backwater travel experiences to give
\nyou a taste of each.  In Fort Cochin the Tourist Desk Information Counter
\nrun a good day trip with a morning on a house boat, and an afternoon in canoes
\nfor INR550, including lunch, water and hotel pickup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Kerala backwaters are the highlight of the region, and for many their visit to India .  Nearly 1,000km of waterways spread from the coast to far inland.  The boats serving the area cross shallow lakes peppered with Chinese cantilever fishing nets, and travel along narrow shady canals where traditions of processing coconuts and cashew […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itravelabout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/90"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itravelabout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itravelabout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itravelabout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itravelabout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.itravelabout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/90\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itravelabout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}