Kerala Backwaters Tour Package,Destinations Place Kerala Backwaters,Holiday Tour Kollam Backwaters Kerala,Kottayam Backwaters Tourism Kerala,Tourist Attractions Aranmula Boat Race

Quilon Backwaters:
Quilon is nestled among cashew plantations and red-roofed wooden house set among winding streets. It has Portuguese and Dutch and English influences. The boat cruise here consists of passing through the cashew processing factories. There are lots of birds to watch out for - Brahminy kites, egrets, kingfishers, and bee-eaters. You can tickle your taste buds with some sumptuous seafood. Prawn farming, fish catching, copra drying and matchstick making are the main occupations here. After the cruise you can get off at the Government Guest house at Ashtamudi center by the water's edge. There are large Chinese pickle jars, old lithographs of British times, old willow pattern plates that give you feel of its past. Matha Restaurant near the jetty is really cheap and serves up spiced chicken to the local laborers. Jala Subhiksha is Kollam's floating restaurant. The KTDC Yatri Niwas is a great riverside hotel with a pleasant water front lawn. Palm Lagoon is an idyllic resort offering cottages on the shores of Ashtamudi Lake. There are more backwater tours and ayurvedic massages.

Alappuzha Backwaters:
The Alappuzha area is a place that coaxes you to let your hair down. The canals here form a web that serves the coir industry. There is nothing much here by way of sightseeing, but if you plan your trip around the second Saturday of August each year, you'll be in time for the Nehru Cup snakeboat race, an adrenaline-pumping local event. Low slung chundan vellams or snake boats are decorated and it is rowed by up to 100 people. Alappuzha is known for its lazy cruises where you can float looking at the palm trees reflected in the green cool waters.

Kottayam Backwaters:
The other major place here that you must visit is Kottayam, focus for the Syrian Christians of India, and also the heart of rubber production. Kottayam's backwater cruise is shorter than Allapuzha's. There are elegant Syrian Christian churches that date back to antiquity - some are more than 500 years old. The Kumarakom bird sanctuary on Vembanad Lake is 16km west of Kottayam in a rubber plantation of yore. Waterfowl and other species can be spotted as they flutter about here. Several luxury resorts have opened here.

Aranmula Backwaters:
As you take a cruise do make it a point to go to Changanacherry and from there to Aranmula near Kottayam. You can enroll at the art village, Vijnana kala Vedi center, to learn woodcarving, dance, martial arts like Kalaraipayattu, and traditional medicine. You can fashion your own course though one month's training is preferred. You can take in an authentic all-night Kathakali performance at Thiruvalla. There are daily cruises from the Alleppey Tourist Development Corporation on alternate days. Many hotels in Komala Road Allapuzha book these. Cruises some of them by private operators start at 10.30 a.m. and reach by 6.30 p.m. The two stops are a midday lunch stop and a brief tea stop at Ayirmthengu or the coir village a mandatory stop.

Amritapuri Backwaters:
Boats also drop you off at the Mata Amritanandamayi Mission at Amritapuri, the headquarters of Amritanandamayi Ma, the female mystic. Some opt to stay here. The Kumarakody temple is also en route as is the Karumadi Kuttan Buddha image on the bank of the canal.

Kettuvalloms and Speedboats:
For the best experience there is no option but to try out the more expensive option--- hiring a kettuvellam or traditional rice barge. There are houseboats if you've booked a group tour. Houseboats cater to couples as well with double bedrooms. Overnight stays allow you to make the Kollam-Alappuzha in two days. It moors in the backwaters overnight. Optionally, Malayali food can be cooked for you at a small extra cost.