Shikara Ride Route in Alleppey, Stop by Stop

The first two hours: Punnamada and the village canals

Every ride, whatever its length, covers these seven stops first.

1. Alleppey Boat Stand, where the ride sets out.
2. Punnamada Lake and the houseboat stand. This is the lake the houseboats leave from, so you pass them moored along the shore.
3. The Nehru Trophy race start and finish. The snake boat race has been held on Punnamada Lake since 1952, when it was first run for Jawaharlal Nehru’s visit. It takes place on the second Saturday of August over a 1,380 m track.
4. The narrow canals of Kavungal village. Some are only about five feet wide, which is why a shikara can go in and a houseboat cannot.
5. The canals of Kuppapuram village, lined with homes close enough to the water to see daily life at arm’s length.
6. Paddy fields and temples along the canal banks.
7. Village life and coir making, the rope and matting made from coconut fibre.

The 3rd hour: out onto Vembanad Lake

The third hour leaves the small canals for open water. Vembanad is India’s longest lake, up to 96.5 km long, and its wetland has been a Ramsar site since 2002.

• Vembanad Lake, the open water beyond Punnamada.
• Panackal small canal.
• The Lake Palace Resort front, seen from the water.
• The Vilakkumaram heritage canals.
• The Kainakary and Kuttamangalam bridges. Kainakary is a small island village whose boat jetty is the heart of the place.
• Sunset over Vembanad Lake, on the Sunset start only. The sunset shikara ride page shows when the sun goes down in each month.

The 4th hour: into Kuttanad

The fourth hour goes past the lake into Kuttanad, where rice is farmed 1.2 to 3 metres below sea level on fields held back by mud dikes. The system has been an FAO Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System since 2013.

• The inner canals of Kuttamangalam.
• The C Block paddy fields, one of the reclaimed fields below sea level.
• The pink water lily lagoon.
• Duck farms and birdlife on the field edges.

On the 4-hour ride the lake comes in the third hour and the paddy fields at the end, so the sunset over Vembanad is not part of this route.

Which hour is worth adding

Two hours is enough to see why people come to Alleppey for the canals: the narrow channels, the homes on the banks and the race track, all close to town. Three hours adds the scale of Vembanad, and on the evening start it ends with the sun going down over the water. Four hours is for anyone who wants Kuttanad itself, the paddy fields below sea level and the lily lagoon, and is happy to give up the lake sunset for it.

Food along the way

Food is not included, but the boat can stop on request for tea and snacks, a Kerala lunch or a toddy shop serving karimeen, kappa and duck roast. You pay for the food at the stop. The legal age for drinking in Kerala is 23.

Why a shikara can take this route

A shikara is low and narrow enough for canals about five feet wide, where houseboats cannot go. A houseboat keeps to the lake and the wider channels; the shikara or houseboat page compares the two, and the backwaters guide covers the wider area. On holidays and peak dates only the 2-hour route runs, so plan the longer rides for other dates.