Varun The small but quaint city of Alappuzha (also known as, Alleppey) is quite picturesque. It is filled with backwaters, beaches, and has greenery all around. It has a wide network of backwaters where we can take ferry rides to nearby cities and towns. I haven’t been to Venice yet but the picture comparison with Alleppey feels like it deserves the title of – “Venice of the East“.
A little information about the trip
So I wanted to go on a backpacking trip and I chose Kerala. Though Kerala is the neighboring state to Tamil Nadu (where I live), this was my first ever visit. I basically decided to do a 4-day trip where I would basically be city-hopping. Spend a day in Kochi move to Alleppey the next day and finally spend the last two days in Varkala.
So on day 2 morning, I took a ferry from Fort Kochi to Ernakulam and then a bus to Alleppey. Since it was Sunday, the roads were quite empty and I reached Alleppey in about 2 hours (costs Rs. 70).
While entering Alleppey, the bus crossed a few bridges over the backwaters. Every now and then we would pass through a bridge and could see houseboats and small boats floating below us. The sight looked unique from the other towns in India and I knew my day ahead would be nice.
Kerala’s efficient water transport system
A day before when I took a ferry from Ernakulam to Fort Kochi, I was super surprised to know that the ferry cost just Rs. 4! Yes. 4. I wasn’t aware that in India we have such places where a water transportation system exists. And I never expected it to be so well organized and work efficiently. They also have a State Water Transport Department which maintains these ferries and jetties (A jetty is where a boat halts – like a bus stand but for boats!). I was also super shocked to see people taking their bikes and cars with them onto the ferry. Later I learned that that’s part of their daily life! Getting to know this in Kochi, I knew Alleppey would be no different and I would be in for some very unique views. Alleppey is also known as the home of backwaters in Kerala!
Stay at Alleppey
I had booked – Trippr Alleppey (a hostel) which cost me just Rs.350 for a bed in an AC dorm. Normally hostels would be fully booked so I made advance booking 2 weeks before my trip. The location was right next to the beach and they had re-started the hostel after a very long break. If you are looking for affordable stay options on your backpacking trip, you can check out – Zostel, Trippr, and GoSTOPS in Alleppey.
Plan for the day
After reaching the hostel by walk (one guy gave me a short lift) and keeping my backpack, I got to talk with the manager of the hostel. He was sharing his story of how they re-started Trippr Alleppey. Coincidentally he’s also a Software Engineer and was working very close to my home in Chennai.
I didn’t really have anything planned for the day until 4:30 PM. At 4:30 PM, I had booked a sunset kayak with Oscar Crusie which costs Rs. 500 and was 2 hours long. I knew I would be tired after that so post kayaking, I would have dinner, and hit the beach.
I had time to kill till 4:30 PM so I was wondering if I should do a Shikara ride for an hour or so. The rates were too high (Normally it’s Rs. 400/hour but on weekends and during tourist season, the price goes up to Rs. 800 – Rs. 1000/hour). Traveling solo, it was not an option anymore but I did want to experience the backwaters in their glory. Arun (manager of Trippr) told me that there are government ferries that run from Alleppey to Kuttanad (Rice Bowl of Kerala). Seeing the ferry rates in Kochi, I knew this would be a far cheaper option and was confident that it would be a pleasant journey too.
Government Ferry Ride to Kuttanad
I took an auto from the hostel to reach the Alleppey KSRTC Bus Stand from where the ferry starts. The auto guy dropped me just outside the ferry point (cost Rs. 70). When I enquired, one staff pointed towards a boat whose motors were running and said – “Hop on, this will take you to Kuttanad and back to Alleppey”. Sweet!
I hopped onto the boat and since it wasn’t full, I was able to catch a window seat. The ferries which the government runs have two levels – ground and first. The journey from Alleppey to Kuttanad and back would nearly be 3 hours long including a 20-minute halt at Kuttanad. Oh, brace yourselves. The ticket cost was just Rs. 23 :). Yep!!
Later on, I got to know that if you sit on the ground level, it costs Rs. 23 (one-side) and upstairs (which has better ventilation and sea feel) costs Rs. 60. If you take a ticket on the ground level, you would not be allowed upstairs (I got to know this later from the driver of the boat). So while returning, I ran and sat upstairs :p.
Ferry Ride Experience
The boat departed after a 20 minutes break (the departure time was 10:45 AM and it was right on time!). I was a little confused about how these boats were running. There was a driver sitting at the rear end of the boat who would have a bell to call for attendants and control the speed. In the front, there was another driver who would control the direction using the rotating wheel. There were 2 attendants on the boat who would make sure that the boat halts properly at the jetties and ensure people’s safety while boarding and de-boarding.
At the starting point, you would find a ton of shikara (wooden boats) floating there waiting for people to board.
The weather was pleasant and so the canal of the backwaters was looking quite beautiful. After our boat started, the scenery kept changing.
Sometimes we would be in the vast Vembanad lake and sometimes we would be moving through small canals. The boat was moving at a nice pace and every now and then the attendants would halt the boat at the jetty.
Halt! and go
Oh, so this part was interesting. If you have seen the videos where kids would stand on the corner of the boat and drop a mail and run towards the boat to board it, it was quite similar here. The driver would slow down the boat and move the boat towards the jetty. The two attendants would hop onto the jetty and tie the boat using ropes to the pillars and bring it to a halt. They would let people board and de-board. Once its time to move, they would untie the rope and hop onto the moving boat! This happened so many times and every time they would do it so gracefully.
Houseboats of Alleppey
Once we were far away from the starting point, I could many houseboats floating on the lake. When taking a closer look at these houseboats, you would be amazed! They have sofas, beds, well-fitted washrooms, and even AC on board! They look beautiful with a wooden exterior. While for a solo person it’s quite costly (up to Rs.7000 per room), if you are in a large group, the cost would come down to Rs. 2000 – Rs. 3000 per person.
Sometimes we would also come across a very unique shaped bridge that looked like this –
In one instance, I saw a person who tied his small boat with the larger houseboat and was selling ice-creams to the people on board! And, both the boats were moving together!!
Kuttanad – Rice Bowl of Kerala
Kuttanad, the place where would be halting is also known as the Rice Bowl of Kerala. Farming here is done a large part of reclaimed lands and paddy is grown in abundance. A lesser-known fact is that Kuttanad is the lowest point in India! It is situated at an altitude of -2 meters from sea level!
Near Kuttanad, there are many tiny strips of land that separate the backwaters and the paddy fields. On that strip, we would see nicely built houses and every house will have a boat of its own. There would be coconut trees lined up.
In one instance, there was a houseboat floating just in this scene and it looked like the perfect postcard picture of Alleppey!
Return to Alleppey
After a brief refreshment halt, we would start our journey back to Alleppey. When the boat came to the jetty, I quickly went upstairs and took a seat. I would be paying Rs. 60 this time for the luxurious (the seats were the same) experience.
5 minutes into the ferry ride, I realized that this was much better. The breeze was nice and refreshing. The view was also nicer and the shed protected against the sun. The weather was pleasant with occasional cloud cover and that made the breeze cooler right in the middle of the day.
The ferry ride back to Alleppey was even more scenic and picturesque. We passed through narrower canals and sometimes it would feel that we have come quite far into a dreamland. At one instance, we were waiting for the boats to pass and it was a cute little traffic flow happening there.
The return ferry took a little less time and I reached Alleppey at around 1:45 PM. The ferry experience was refreshing and it made me fall in love with Kerala a little more than I already did.
Stay tuned for my Kayaking experience in Alleppey where I met some interesting people and kayaked through a canal that was just 6ft wide! The location at the end of this canal was quite surprising!
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