Kerala Tourism Beautiful Natural Backwaters of Kerala

Beautiful Natural Backwaters of Kerala

Posted Date: 05-Sep-2011	Category: Kerala Tourism	Rating:
Author: Ramanathan A R	Member Level: Diamond	Points: 35 (Rs 30)

Read about the beautiful natural backwaters of Kerala. Kerala is a land of beauty, nature at its best, a paradise on earth. In the entire country of India it will be impossible to find a parallel to the beauty and enjoyable backwaters (lagoons or lakes). These are nature made by the 38 rivers joining the sea. It will be ideal for tourists who want tranquility with nature’s beauty at its best.

Kerala Kaayals - Lagoons

The Kaayals, backwaters or lagoons of Kerala are a group of 4 lakes interconnected by canals and another one separate. The canals are mostly natural, but in some places where the nature has not made a canals to connect the lagoons canals are made by Government so that it is possible to commute without break. They run parallel to the Kerala coast (known as the Malabar Coast) on the west of Kerala at the meeting point of Kerala with the Arabian Sea. These Lagoons or lakes are formed by the 38 rivers of Kerala joining the sea. The Kaayals length may be almost equal to half the length of Kerala. Out of these 4 are between Cochin and Kollam districts. The 5th one is in Kozhikode district. One can imagine the beauty of the coast added with the beauty of the rivers at their peak and the greeneries around the area. The greenery is contributed mainly by the Pandanus shrubs (dioecious palm – palm shrubs – plant that has only either male or female flowers), the coconut trees, palm trees and other leafy plants. These lagoons are actually huge junctions of the fresh water or the river and the salt water of sea. These waters known as brackish will be with salinity level in between the salt water and pure water. Now let us have a brief look at the 5 main lagoons of Kerala.

Alappuzha (Alappy) Kaayal

The famous Punnamada Kaayal is part of this. It is in Alappuzha District or to put it more correctly, Alappuzha District is in the Alappuzha lagoon interlocked with number of bridges and canals. It is a small market place. It is in this lagoon the world famous Nehru Trophy Snake Boat races are held every year on the 2nd Saturday of the month of August. One can see the beautiful long but narrow wooden boats rowed by people in two rows of 50 to 80 each. The design of the boats are like a snakes long and sleek and when is in race will look like snakes crossing the water. Those interested can have boat ride. Those interested can have visits to the famous Ambalapuzha temple (known for the world famous paal payasam – sweet milk porridge), Krishna Puram temple, The Mullakkal Devi (Durga) temple and the St Andrew's Church.

Kollam lagoon

Kollam and Alappuzha Kaayals area so interlocked with each other that these two can be considered as one for the purpose of the cruise in the waters. In this stretch one can have a delightful ride of 8 hours duration. The places of interest are the 144 feet high Thangasseri Light House, Pulliuchira Church and the Ananda Valleswaram Temple. It has beautiful beaches known as the Mahatma Gandhi Beach and the Thirumullavaram Beach. The famous Ashramam Picnic village and the Kochupilamoodu Park are also worth seeing in Kollam.

Kochi – Cochin Backwaters

Kochi is known as the Queen of Arabian Sea. Kochi is not one island but a cluster of islands in the vast and famous Vembanad Kaayal (lake). Some of the beautiful islands in the cluster of Kochi are the Bolgatty, Vypeen, Gundu and Vallarpadam. There are several sightseeing places in Kochi. Some of them are the Dutch Palace (for beautiful mural paintings) and the hill palace. A stroll at the Fort Kochi Beach at the Sun Set time will be a lingering memory in the entire life time.

Kumarakom Backwaters

This is a well known backwater lake worth visiting. It has ample opportunity for boating. Those interested in fishing has a good chance. Kumarakom Islands also are situate in the Vembanad Lake. There is a good bird sanctuary where during the season migratory birds come here for breeding. The species of birds include the snake bird, Siberian stork, Cormorants and crow pheasants etc. During Onam season Vallamkali (boat ride) is a famous sports activity with snake boat racings.

Kozhikode Backwaters

This is not yet been popularized till now. It has the Pazhassiraja Raja Museum, an art gallery, Late V K Krishna Menon Museum and the Ettumanoor Shiva Temple. For Boating the ideal places are the Elathur, Canolly Canal and Kallai kadavu etc in this lake. There is a beautiful bird sanctuary in Kadalundi. The famous Korapuzha jalolsavam is in Korapuzha within the lake.

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