The Kerala backwaters have always been appreciated by travelers from across the globe and houseboat of these backwaters, particularly Alleppey are always highlighted. Even for our readymade Kerala tour packages, we have the houseboat stay incorporated during the stay in the backwaters. Houseboats are really good, it gives an opportunity to cruise through remote places of the backwaters where you get a chance to witness the life and lifestyle. Having said that, the backwaters have a lot more to offer than just the houseboat cruise. Here in this blog post we are sharing about things you can do in Alleppey apart from a houseboat.
Here are the top things to do in Alleppey
Shikara boat ride
Shikara boat rides in Alleppey are a great way to explore the backwaters. The can easily go through all the places of the backwaters just like how a houseboat cruises. The only difference is that the Shikara is smaller and can accommodate up to 6 guests at one go with independent seats for everyone. It is advised to carry some water and fruits during the Shikara ride in Alleppey. The cruise generally last for two to three hours. One advantage of the Shikara boat cruise is that it can move faster and flexible and can pass through very narrow canals give you better scenic views of the backwater villages.
Paddling in Alleppey backwaters
There are many operators in Alleppey who offer early morning and evening paddling experiences in the backwaters of Alleppey. They last from one to two hours. This is hundred percent manual activity, where you paddle sitting on a light weight kayak. The sunrise and sunset paddling experiences are amazing and it is a great work out. The village rides in kayak to remote islands and backwater countryside opens up a new horizon of the Kerala backwaters.
Alleppey beach and the Lighthouse
Alleppey was one of the traditional ports of the Travancore kingdom, one can see the broken sea bridge at Alleppey which once used to ship coir and spices to far lands. There is a man made extension to the beach, which can be used for a walk. The beach becomes active during evenings and there is a light house at Alleppey where guests can visit, which closes by five in the evening.
Visit to a toddy shop
Now toddy is a fermented drink extracted from the coconut tree. Kerala being the land of coconut trees, it would be obvious to have an alcoholic beverage from the coconut tree. The toddy shop is a licensed place where one could find coconut toddy drink in Kerala. But a good toddy shop will have an array of local delicacies that go in accompaniment with toddy. The idea is make people consume more toddy with contrasting flavours, spices and tastes. Toddy might not go well with the tummy for everyone, but tasting it works well. The food however works well for everyone. It is generally a nice culinary experience, very much local and authentic to Kerala.
Paddy fields of Kuttanad
Kuttanad is rice producing belt of Kerala where you can find acres and acres of paddy fields extending to the horizon. At different times of the year you find different phases of paddy cultivation. It looks like a green carpet all over the place extending to the horizon. The farmers here follow biosaline farming practices where the ground water here has higher concentration of saline elements.
Taking a public transport boat from Alleppey to
Just like how we have freeways, the people of the backwaters have a lot of waterways where boats ply to and fro transporting people from place to place. These are government operated boats where you need to take a ticket to use the service. They are quite common in Alleppey and everyone uses this for local commute. Take a twenty minute ride to see how practically people in the backwaters live.
Coir Factory visit
There are multiple small and large coir factories in Alleppey, there are many cooperative societies which produce coir. This is a labour intensive mechanism and not much of a mechanisation has come into the whole process, in that way it works like a cottage industry collecting coir from various places in Alleppey. This coir area again yarned together to make large coir ropes, seeingt his process might very interesting.
in short there are very interesting things to do in Alleppey, where you can make the best use of the time spent in this backwater town. Mostly our drivers help guests in going to all these places which saves a lot of time for them. Check out the tour packages that involve Alleppey in the Kerala tour packages offered by us.
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