Alleppey Kerala - Land of Backwaters

 

Sailing Along the Backwaters of Alleppey

 Amigos, following our Kerala journey we began to depart Munnar (follow the Munnar journey here...) after visiting Mattupetty Dam. 

 Tha path we took on last day of Munnar will cost few extra miles, so we had to start off early as we   agreed not have many stopovers till we reach Alleppey. 

 

 So, before we embark on our backwater journey, a brief history about the place should be a nice one.

A brief touch on history:

Alleppey also knows as Alappuzha located in Kerala, the Southern part of India. The history of city dates back to ancient times. But for this article will keep it short and park the full details for some other day on a separate post. 

It is said, the earliest rulers of the place were the Chera dynasty and then Pandya dynasty, then by Cholas and later Zamorins of Calicut. On 18th Century, the Dutch built a trading post, taken later by the British.

Even during Independence movement, the city played a significant role. It is after Independence that the city became a part of the then newly formed Kerala. The town is known for its Coir industry and also an important trading route for spices into the Europe, Middle East and other parts of the world. 

Today, the city is primarily famous for its backwaters, traditional houseboats, boat races and its cultural heritage. 

Route options from Munnar to Alleppey:

Route 1: By Car via NH85 will take over 4 and half hours.

Route 2: By Bus via NH85 will take similar time. Bus leaves from Munnar Town Bus station and drops you at Alappuzha Bus stand. 

Route 3: Tourist who want to visit Thekkady, Periyar may travel via SH19 or NH185 route. Then take the NH183 route to reach Alleppey. Needless to say, one need to stay at Thekkady a day at-least before commencing further.

Route 4: Tourist also take the route via Kochi to Alleppey (via NH85). These if you want to stay at Kochi or do have time in hand and want to visit the any remaining must-see places around Kochi (like Chinese fishing nets, Periyar lake, Athirappalli and Vazhachal waterfalls, etc.). 

Journey Resumes... 

Day1:

Most part of the first half of the journey is on the same route that we took to reach Munnar from Kochi.

As we were leaving the greenery, tea estates and spice gardens on both sides of the hilly road, we cross the Cheeyappara and Valara Waterfalls and eventually the hills were receding from our eyesight. A melancholic feeling grasps our mind for the moment. It's never easy to say bid farewell to hills and mountains.  

                                                          Video Copyright ©Lazy Penning

From Queens City Hospital, Onnukal we took the left towards Pareekaani. Now we were onto familiar urban buzz as we kept on glancing local houses, buses, shops, post offices, schools, autorickshaws and others from our car window shield. Since Kochi, as we observed, majority of the houses in Kerala are painted in a colorful palette with a choice of white, green, yellow and red being the popular one as it seems. But the blissful factor is the traditional style that most of the houses are built with. Despite the rise of modern affluence among us, Kerala still chose to hold onto the traditional way wherever possible.

                                                             

 

After travelling for nearly two and half hours, around 1'O clock in the afternoon we decided to rest the engine for a while and quench our hunger pangs. Till now our reliance for good restaurants and places was on Srejith (our driver) and he didn't disappoint us so, no questions asked as we stop by a restaurant across the highway. It was a neat and clean and we opted for Dosa while Srejith himself gone for traditional meal as expected. 

After 40 minutes, we resume as we still had to travel for another two hours before we reach our Resort. The more we drove closer to along the Alappuzha-Madurai road, the landscape began to change as the palm trees began to appear adjacent to the road together with banana trees giving a typical beach like ambience. After another 20min we finally reach our resort, ILONA Lake Resort (now called - The World Backwaters) 

                                                      

When we arrived at the resort we are greeted with welcome drink and the view surrounding the resort is beautiful. The resort is surrounded by Vembanad lake on two sides. Vast open area with couple of tree houses and quite a few birds roaming around the place. We checked-in for now and decide to explore the area later. It's time to get refreshed and a quick nap to rekindled ourselves. 

                                                        Video Copyright ©Lazy Penning

In the evening, the resort area turned into varied appearance, the artificial lights alongside the border of the place brightens up the area. As we amble around, the resort has myriad amenities like swimming pool, indoor play area for children, badminton court, fish-pond with water stream, ayurveda center etc. But the key spot were the sitting benches provided alongside the border of the resort overlooking the lake girded by palm trees while the surface is covered with natural grass. You just need to sit and enjoy the calmness. 

                                   

  

The day ended with rice (fried -one) and chicken. As we wait for tomorrow to connect with the eminent one, we came to see. The Backwaters and a house-boat ride.

Day2:

Last night we thought the key landmark will be the house-boat ride on the backwaters, but before that we have to appease our visual senses by relishing the sunrise view from the resort garden area. The glittering light on the lake surface throws a spectacular vista. We get to know that the location of the resort is quite strategic in itself as it is located near to Thanneermokkom bund, Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary, Kumarakom Boat Jetty and Vembanad Lake. 

Our house-boat ride was schedule at noon, so we have some time to visit other tourist places.

Alappuzha Beach: After breakfast, we set off for Alappuzha beach around 25km from our resort. A 45min drive and we reached the at the beach. We were in month of February, so there was modest crowd, but the place is very serene and clean compared to some other popular beaches across the country. But major reason for that we realized that there weren't many shacks or stalls on the beach. As we saw it donot hold any kind of water sports activities as well, but we enjoyed the walk along the beach with a cool breeze.

 

Alleppey Lighthouse: we then visited the historic lighthouse located close to the beach and railway station. The tower is at a height of around 30m. We ascend at the top of the tower and witness the amazing view from the top. The top of the tower overlooks the beach, the Arabian sea and the railway track. 106 steps to climb the top, so for elderly, advise not to scale the staircase. Was informed that earlier the Light source was from Coconut Oil Wicks, but now it is Solar Power.

Mullakkal Rajarajeswari Temple: Following that, we went to Mullakkal Rajarajeswari temple which is around 10km drive from the beach. It was really our first visit to a Hindu temple in our Kerala tour till now. The temple is dedicated to the Goddess Rajarajeswari, a form of the Hindu goddess Shakti (Goddess Durga). The other deities of the temple include Lord Hanuman, Lord Ganesha, Lord Krishna, Lord Ayyappa, Nagaraja, and the Navagraha (the Nine planets). 

Word of Caution: No Photography allowed inside the temple.

We learned that the temple is believed to be at-least 500 years old. Temple has a unique architecture and is built in the traditional Kerala style. The temple has a sanctum sanctorum, a mandapa, and a gopuram, which is a tall tower that is a prominent feature of South Indian temple architecture. The temple is also surrounded by a large pond, which adds to the temple's aesthetic beauty. We pay homage to Goddess Durga. Get to know about the biggest festivals held here named Mullakkal Chirappu held during the month of Nov-Dec every year stretching across 41 days. Last 11 days of the festivals being the most celebrated with elephant processing and fireworks. Hope in near future will get the privilege to witness grand ritual.

Backwater HouseBoat Ride: It was close to 12 'O clock and we then headed back to our resort for our lunch and the awaited backwaters ride. We had our lunch and after a 30min break we hopped into the car and went for the house-boat trip. As we were staying close to the Thanneermokkom bund, so we didn't have to travel far to reach our house-boat destination. The place was like a shallow water of inland lakes and few house-boats are docked. The area has a few huts like living places and get to know their livelihood is mainly based on fishing and houseboats. 

   

Nevertheless, we agreed to take a two-hour ride along the canals and the lakes. We get on to the boat and found it was no less than a hotel room with all essential amenities like bedroom, living room, bathroom, kitchen etc. Before starting, one lady came to us and ask what we want for lunch or snacks. We were mostly full as we took off half an hour after our lunch, but we desire the essence of having some munchies along the ride. We ordered fish fries and cold drink and requested to serve after an hour.

Finally, the motor driven boat geared up and with mechanized clatter the boat began to sail slowly. We ride through paddy fields with a view of villages along the banks of the canal. We drove across cross-crossed canals, lagoons. There were palm trees, pandanus shrubs, various leafy plants and bushes grow alongside the backwaters, providing a green hue to the surrounding landscape. The migratory birds and the cool breeze, everything giving us serene thoughts. we saw few fishing boats and ferry passing by as freshwater from the rivers meets the seawater from the Arabian Sea

We first sat inside the bedroom and view the lake and surrounding beauty from the bed (who thought we can even watch to sail from a bed!!), then we sat at the living area and savored the natural habitats.  As requested earlier, we were served with our fries and cold drink after around an hour which we devour bit by bit admiring the beauty of the environment. 

                                                   Image Copyright ©Lazy Penning
                            

The houseboat ride can be taken throughout the year however the peak season is from Dec-Jan. You can even take a Ayurvedic treatment while enjoying the boat ride. There is Day ride or an Overnight hire.  By this time, the boat retraced its path as we moved towards starting location. It was an indelible memory to take back. 

We reached our resort and cherished the wonderful moment that we perceived and then enjoyed. AT donner we ordered for Keralan style Biriyani also called Malabar Biriyani (from where it originated). Get to know that the rice it uses is called Kaima rice and not our known Basmati rice.

Well, an honest review from us - My taste-bids didn't suit with the dish, but She liked it and called it generously 'tastes different but nice". 

The day and the trip of Alleppey ends with this however our last hotspot for this Kerala trip remains. Next day early morning we backpack and headed for Kovalam.

Meanwhile as we do before closing any post, few pointers on Alleppey ...

Best time to visit Munnar: November to February when the weather is mild and pleasant. However, tourist rush. April - June - lean period better hotel deals!! July-Aug- rainy season but full brace for waterfalls.

No. of days - Two day will be good to visit the major spots and boat-ride.

What we missed:  Sree Krishna Swamy Temple, Marari beach, Krishnapuram Palace, Punnamada Lake are some of noteworthy mention that you can surely visit. 

Hope this post turns helpful and instill enough curiosity to embark your journey to the land of backwaters.