The largest backwater stretch in Kerala is the Vembanad Lake. It flows through three districts and opens out into the sea at the Kochi Port. The Ashtamudi Lake has having eight arms, which covers a major portion of Kollam district. It is the second largest and is considered the gateway to the backwaters.
The most exciting thing on the backwaters of Kerala, however, is the Kettuvallam(Traditional houseboat) which has become the most popular tourism product in India today. In a land as water bound as Kerala it wouldn't be an unusual sight, but for a visitor, a houseboat gliding along the vast green expanse of the backwaters is the most amazing spectacle in the world. Even more enchanting is a holiday in the houseboats of Kerala.
The backwater cruise through the narrow canals that crises-cross a typical Kerala Village, rich with green paddy fields and verdant coconut trees and is a thrilling experience. The boat cruise takes you to small islets tucked away amidst those waters where you get glimpses of village at the best of its serenity and innocence.
Watch village belles picking mussels, while their men folk collect sand from the bottom of the canal. Traditional fish farms and famed Chinese fishing nets. Watch the village folk make the golden fiber called coir from coconut husk and transform it into various coir products. Rustling coconut groves abound. So stop over to drink calm fresh coconut water and watch the toddy-taper tap at work. Watch birds like kingfishers; crow a pheasant, cormorants, drogues, wood pecker, Bee-eater, kites etc. Parrot green paddy fields sway like a chorus.
Kuttanadu is the one rare places in the world where farming is done below sea level (1.5 -2 meters below sea level). Inland waterways that flow above the land level is an amazing feature of this land. Kuttanad lies in heart of the backwaters of Kerala. This beautiful countryside with its waterways also is rich in crops like rice, banana, Cassava and yam.
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