Kerala Backwaters

The Kerala backwaters are a labyrinthine network of lagoons, lakes, canals and deltas stretching approximately 900 kilometres along the Arabian Sea coast of Kerala state in southwest India, forming one of the largest riverine systems in Asia. The backwaters were created by the combined action of rivers flowing west from the Western Ghats and the sea, which deposited sediment to form coastal barrier bars that enclosed lagoon basins over thousands of years.

The system is fed by 38 rivers and linked to the sea at several points including Kochi, where the harbour merges with the backwater network at the Vembanad Lake, the largest of the lagoons at more than 200 square kilometres. Alappuzha (formerly Alleppey) is the main hub for backwater tourism, its narrow canals flanked by coconut palms, rice paddy fields and villages where daily life continues as it has for centuries.

The iconic houseboats — converted from old rice barges — cruise the canals and offer overnight accommodation with a cook on board, though the proliferation of motorised houseboats has raised concerns about water pollution and disturbance to aquatic life including the endangered smooth-coated otter.

A traditional canoe (vallam) race, the Nehru Trophy Boat Race held every second Saturday of August on Punnamada Lake near Alappuzha, features the dramatic champakulan boats — over 100 metres long, crewed by more than 100 rowers — that were once used as war vessels by the kingdom of Chemperi in the pre-colonial era.

The Kumarakom bird sanctuary on the eastern shore of Vembanad Lake attracts migrating birds from Siberia, the Himalayas and the Gulf of Finland between November and February each year. The backwater communities have developed a distinctive culture including the manufacture of coir (coconut fibre) products, toddy tapping from coconut palms, and a cuisine based on coconut, seafood and rice.

Kettuvallam — the traditional rice barges before their conversion to houseboats — were built without nails, using only coir stitching to join the planks, a technique preserved in the restoration workshops of Kottayam. A 2010 Supreme Court ruling ordering the removal of illegal structures from the backwater banks remains partially unimplemented, reflecting the tension between ecological preservation and the economic pressures of a tourism-driven economy.

The backwaters function as a complete ecosystem and highway simultaneously; villagers use the same waterways for bathing, fishing, transporting goods and celebrating festivals. Kuttanad, a region within the backwaters south of Alappuzha, is one of the few places in the world where farming is carried out below sea level, with the paddy fields reclaimed from the lake bottom by building earthen bunds and pumping out water. The entire backwater system has been under pressure from increasing houseboat traffic, agricultural runoff and the construction of permanent structures in the floodplain.

The backwaters offer a unique aquatic ecosystem found nowhere else in India and represent a centuries-old water management and transport system.

An overnight houseboat cruise provides the most immersive experience of the canal villages, birdlife and the interplay of land and water.

The Nehru Trophy Boat Race is one of India's most spectacular sporting events and a window into the region's pre-colonial maritime heritage.