Kerala on the backwaters: the slow southern state of houseboats and coconut palms

It’s 6:23 a.m. on a houseboat in the Kerala backwaters and I’m on the open foredeck with a coffee, watching the canal-side village of Kanjippadam wake up. The fishermen in their narrow dugouts are out. A woman is washing clothes on the steps that lead down to the water. A small girl in a school uniform is being ferried across the canal in a tiny rowboat. A water buffalo is being washed by its owner. We are moving at three kilometres an hour. The world is wet and green.

Why I keep coming back

Kerala is the south-western Indian state stretching along 600 km of the Arabian Sea coast, with a network of inland canals (the backwaters), a Western Ghats mountain range running its length, and a culinary tradition shaped by 2000 years of Arab and European spice trade. It is, by almost every quality-of-life measure, the most developed state in India — highest literacy, lowest infant mortality, highest life expectancy, the longest matriarchal traditions in the country.

It also has one of the world’s distinct travel formats: the houseboat. The kettuvallam — a traditional rice-barge converted into a one-bedroom floating cottage with crew of two and a cook — lets you sleep on the canals between Alleppey and Kollam at three kilometres an hour, watching village life happen on the banks.

Where to base yourself

Fort Kochi for the colonial-era heritage town with its Portuguese churches, Dutch palace, Jewish synagogue, and famous Chinese fishing nets.

Alleppey (Alappuzha) for the houseboat launches.

Munnar for the Western Ghats highland tea plantations.

Varkala or Kovalam for the beaches.

Wayanad for the forests and the wildlife reserves.

A classic Kerala loop is Kochi → Alleppey (houseboat) → Munnar → Wayanad → back to Kochi, 10–14 days.

What to actually do

Sleep one night on a houseboat. Pick up at Alleppey, drop off at Kollam (or vice versa) — this two-day, one-night route covers the most varied backwaters and is the better option than a same-day return. The boat costs around ₹8,000–15,000 per night including food and crew. Choose a smaller, double-decker boat over the larger ones.

Walk Fort Kochi in the early morning. The old colonial port town with the famous cheena vala (Chinese fishing nets, said to have been brought by traders from the court of Kublai Khan). The Paradesi Synagogue in Jew Town is the oldest active synagogue in the Commonwealth. The Dutch Palace’s mural rooms are extraordinary.

Take a cooking class. Kerala cuisine is one of the most underrated regional cuisines in India — coconut, curry leaves, tamarind, mustard seeds, dried red chilies, and the spice tradition (cardamom, cloves, pepper, all grown in Kerala). Cook & Eat or Mrs Leelu Roy’s are the established home classes in Fort Kochi.

See a Kathakali performance. The classical Keralan dance-theatre form; the masks and the make-up alone take hours to apply. Kerala Kathakali Centre in Fort Kochi does a 90-minute performance with the make-up application visible from 5 p.m.

Visit a spice plantation. In the Western Ghats around Munnar or Thekkady. Cardamom, pepper, vanilla, coffee, tea, all growing together.

Spend a day on a Munnar tea-estate walk. The high hill stations at 1600 m are blanketed with tea bushes, all geometric and green. Local guides will walk you through estate trails.

Where to eat

Kerala food is fish-heavy on the coast, vegetarian and spicy in the highlands.

Dhe Puttu (Kochi) — Specialty in puttu (steamed rice-flour-and-coconut tubes); the traditional Keralan breakfast. Kayees Rahmathulla Hotel (Kochi) — A famous 1940s biryani shop; Malabar-style mutton biryani. Fusion Bay (Fort Kochi) — Modern Kerala seafood; the karimeen pollichathu (pearl spot fish in banana leaf). Spice Garden (Munnar) — Highland Kerala vegetarian. Toddy shops along the coast — Local rural pubs serving toddy (palm wine) and spicy fish dishes. Ask a local; the official spots are not advertised. Sadya — The traditional Kerala feast served on a banana leaf with up to 28 small dishes. Mostly served at festivals or in heritage hotels. The Brunton Boatyard hotel does a Sunday sadya.

When to come

December through February for the coast and the backwaters — pleasant temperatures, dry weather.

June through September is the monsoon — heavy daily rain, but the highlands are at their most extraordinary green (and the Ayurvedic treatment centres consider this the recommended season for cures).

March and April are hot but workable.

Practical notes

• Visa: E-visa for most Western passports.
• Money: Cash and card. Smaller villages cash-only.
• Transport: A car with driver is the standard for the inland circuit; around ₹3000–4500 per day. The state’s road network is excellent by Indian standards. The Konkan Railway connects Kochi to Mumbai along the coast — overnight train is one of the great Indian rail experiences.
• Toddy shop alcohol: Kerala has occasional alcohol restrictions; the rules change. Hotels with foreign-tourism licences are reliable.
• The houseboat itself: Mosquito coils, a light blanket, light reading — what you need on the boat. Wi-Fi is patchy or absent; that’s a feature, not a bug.

A final thought

Kerala is the Indian state most often described in travel literature as ‘God’s Own Country’ — the official tourism slogan, slightly cheesy, almost accurate. The state has, more than any other in India, managed to retain its rural character, ecological diversity, and slow-village daily life while developing the infrastructure to receive Western visitors comfortably.

The houseboat night is the cliché and the cliché is correct. Sleeping on a rice barge in the backwaters, with the canal water lapping under your bedroom, the cook making fresh karimeen in the galley, and the village life of the canal banks passing at three kilometres an hour, is one of the most particular experiences in Indian travel. Spend 10–14 days. Do a full loop. Slow down. The state will return the gesture.