Kerala backwaters
From World travel guide
Backwaters in Kerala is a network of 1500 kms of canals both manmade and natural, 38 rivers and 5 big lakes extending from one end of Kerala to the other.
Before the trucks became popular, the main cargo transportation was through backwaters by 'Kettuvalloms'. Kettuvallom means, ‘stitched boat’. They are 70 foot long, 30 tons capacity, made with wooden planks joined and stitched together with coconut ropes and painted with cashew nut oil outside. Now a days these kettuvalloms are converted to houseboats with bedrooms.
There are many island resorts in the backwaters.
About
While hill resorts and beaches can be found in other parts of India, the backwaters are unique to Kerala. Meandering through the coastal areas of Kerala is a 900 kilometers (560 miles) long intricate network of lagoons, lakes, canals, estuaries and deltas of several rivers that flow into the Arabian Sea.
The most beautiful and accessible part of the back waters is the Ernakulam area, where the Cochin harbour is. The calm waters, are so because, it is not the sea, for the islands or land mass between the water body and the sea stop the waves, all we see is calm waters, greenery of the islands and the villages in the area. Not all places are villages, one island, called the Wellingdon island, where the Naval base is, it, where the local airport was.
Since most of you come by air, you will not land in Wellindon Island, anymore, the new airport is some 30 kilometers (19 miles) away.
There are few homestays in the island of Kumbalangi, Bolghatty etc. But to see the backwaters, you don't have to stay in any of the islands, there are hotels in Mainland Ernakulam, from where you can go the islands, or backwaters.
Few expensive and not no expensive hotels are facing these backwaters.
Gateway
Ashtamudi ('eight hair') Lake and Vembanad Lake are the two most important gateways into this backwater network.
Through the backwaters
The backwaters flow through almost all the districts of Kerala -- Alappuzha, Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Kottayam, etc. Almost all the stretches have breathtaking views. Not to be missed are the Thiruvallam backwaters, Kumarakom (on Vembanad lake) and Kuttanad.
The backwaters can be explored by hiring a boat for one or several days. If you go for more than a day, the boat usually comes with a navigator and a cook.
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