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| Making tracks
The distance from Bangalore to Kochi
is 512 km and you can get there by air, train or by road. You can embark on your backwater
cruise from a number of boarding points in Alapuzzha (Alleppy), Kumarakom and Kottayam.
The nearest airport for these towns is at Kochi, from where you can get a train, car or
bus. From Kochi, you can drive to Alleppy (66 km) in 1½ hours; to Kumarakom (81 km) in 2
hours; and to Kottayam (76 km) in 2 hours.
Best time to go
The best time for a cruise is from October
to March, when the backwaters are easily navigable and the weather is at its pleasantest.
Winter temperatures range from 20° C to 32° C. Carry sun-protection, light cotton
clothes and mosquito repellent.
Room with a view
There are hotels, resorts and traditional
'tharawads' converted into guest rooms, scattered around the backwaters. You have the
option of making your base at one of the tourist centres or taking overnight cruises and
staying on houseboats.
Bib and tucker
The houseboats have a cook on board to
cater to your palate, or you can dine at the restaurants along the coast. |
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From Bangalore
A
kaleidoscope of Kerala culture flashes before your eyes. You bask in the shade of a
canopied Kettuvallom gliding down the river. The ripple of the waters lulls your senses
into peaceful submission. You surrender to the beauty of the moment and the haunting lilt
of the boatman's song… This is the backwater experience, a soothing houseboat cruise
over 1900 km of palm-fringed canals, rivers and lakes along the Kerala coast from Quilon
to Kochi.
As the kaleidoscope shifts, the picture changes from dense foliage to drenched paddy
fields, from quiet farms to bustling villages, from churches to temples and mosques. You
sail by settlements where people live on a few metres of reclaimed land with their
livestock, cattle and little gardens. They eke a living tapping toddy, fishing, paddy
farming, making coir and boat building. They sail to work on their own boats and
canoes.
Here and there you will come across drop-nets and Chinese fishing nets; open barges being
loaded with coir, copra and cashew; floating markets of tiny canoes selling fresh green
coconuts; flocks of ducks paddling happily ahead of your boat; parakeets screeching and
fluttering up to the sky.
There are a number of ways to do your backwater cruise, and a number of venues to start
from. Cruise lengths vary from 3-4 hours to 2-6 days. Choose between dugout canoes or
vellams propelled by bamboo poles, houseboats or kettuvallams powered by outboard motors,
ferries and launches. The kettuvallams are traditional rice barges made out of wooden
planks, put together without a single nail. The planks are 'stitched' together with
coconut ropes and painted with cashew oil.
En route, the boat drops anchor at interesting destinations, villages, parks and
eating-places. The best of Kerala cuisine is yours for the tasting - Meen moilly, Malabar
beef curry with Kerala paratha, appam and chicken stew, avial with steamed rice, vegetable
korma and thoran . You can eat your fill of prawns, karimeen, crab, mussels, and kalamari
in this seafood lovers' paradise. And while you are there, don't miss out on the wonderful
Ayurvedic massages that Kerala is famous for.You are bound to come back rejuvenated!
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