Allaphuza – Venice of the East
Sep 17, 2014
What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of Alleppey? Is it Houseboats? Or is it the world-famous Backwaters? Well it does to mine!
Oh! The heavenly feeling of traveling on these fancy looking, well equipped house-like boats, floating around in the wide expanse of water on all sides; it literally feels like you are on the 7th heaven. Whatever little amount of land that is visible is dotted with these giant palm trees giving the impression of a fence around your own private heaven, well even if it is in the company of other houseboats scattered and sailing around you.
Alleppey has a history dating back to the first decade of the 20th century. Back in the day it was a sleepy, beautiful and untouched town encompassing of water and greenery to as far as your eyes could see. It first caught the attention of Lord Curzon, the then Viceroy of India who visited this town and his first reaction on seeing the uninhibited beauty of Alleppey was, “Here nature has spent up on the land her richest bounties. Alleppey, the Venice of the East.” he exclaimed. It is because of this statement that Alleppey got its epithet. Before Allepuzha became a revered travel destination, it was a small town in the backwaters where people lived on small narrow strips of land in the middle of narrow canals and streams meandering through the land. The inhabitants used small boats for commuting and daily activities.
Although, Alleppey has now become a hub for tourists and many people have shifted base on to the dry lands, there are still a lot of residents living like they did in the old days and commuting through boats. This aspect of Alleppey is a major attraction for anyone visiting this part of the famous Backwater of Kerala. There are several houseboat tours that take travelers through to the small canals and streams to see the lifestyle of the villages settled here. You will get to sight people going about their daily activities on their small boats like loading freshly cut grass, crops and timber, fishing, washing clothes and utensils, boats carrying supplies from the mainland and more.
According to recent reports, Alleppey is the fifth largest urban town of Kerala drawing in maximum tourist traffic each year. This is no surprise as anyone and everyone who visits this unique heaven on earth is awestruck at the pure and mesmerizing beauty this lovely town represents. No matter how many times you visit this incredible town in the Backwaters of Kerala, you will never get enough of it and keep coming back for more!