ALAPPUZHA

FACTS & FIGURES Language Malayalam and English Best time to visit August to March STD Code 0477

Alappuzha (Alleppey) is one of the exotic backwater sites of India's southern state Kerala. Washed by the Arabian Sea, interlocked by a number of canals and bridges, this tiny marketplace is also famous for its Nehru Trophy boat race held every year. Alappuzha attracts tourists not only by its natural beauty but also through its locally made coir products that are of a very superior quality.

LOCATION
Separated out from the former districts of Kottayam and Quilon, Alappuzha consists of seven taluks spread over an area of 1414 sq km. It is bounded by Kochi and Kanayannur taluks on its north; Vaikom, Kottayam, Changanassery Thiruvalla, Kozhencherry and Adoor taluks on its east; Kannathur and Karunagappally taluks on its south and the exotic Lakshadweep of the Arabian Sea on its west.

BEST TIME TO VISIT
The climate of this small town is temperate and humid in general and relatively more pleasant in the winter season. The temperature ranges from 22 to 35°C in summer and 20 to 32°C during winters. The best time to visit Alappuzha is during the winter season. The months from August-September and February-March are ideal for a visit to this place. The backwater cruises in the exotic houseboats, which also serve Keralan cuisine delicacies, are an eternal experience. The Nehru Trophy boat race is the major attraction of this place, which is held during Onam festival celebrated in the month of August. The festivities of the Mullakal temple during the month of December are highly recommended as some of India's finest temple musicians perform in the main hall during this festival. Besides these, the locally made coir and carpets of coconut fibers are also attracting tourists these days.

HISTORY
Before the Dutch took over this place, the Portuguese were the predominant rulers of this place. Later Maharaja Marthandavarma came into power and he gave ample importance to the developmental works of the place. Slowly it became a very busy commercial place attracting merchants from all over. This resulted in the establishment of a number of coir factories producing coir-related goods of quality. The first coir factory was developed by an English sea captain and soon others followed suit. The first Anglican Church was built in 1816 by the Christian missionaries whose headquarter was in Alappuzha.

TOURISTS ATTRACTIONS

• Punnamada Kayal, the must-visit place of Alappuzha where the annual Nehru Trophy boat race takes place. During the month of August-September, the backwaters become crowded with thousands of spectators and a large number of competitors who come to participate in the famous Nehru Trophy boat race. The long boats, designed to resemble snakes, can accommodate 120 people, making two rows of 60 each. The energy, coordination, and the feeling of getting ahead in the competition make this game quite engrossing.
  
• Krishnapuram Temple, the two-storied building, displays the typical Keralan style of architecture. The largest mural painting, Gajendra Miksham, is displayed in a museum here.
  
• Ambalapuzha Temple, where Lord Krishna is worshipped, is also an important place to visit. Here one can see the typical temple architecture and culture of Kerala along with the chance to taste the Keralan delicacy, payasam, which is served to the visitors during the festival times of March/April.
  
• St. Andrew's Church, established by the Portuguese missionaries, celebrates the feast of St. Sebastian in a fun-filled, festive way.
  
• Situated in the heart of the town, Mullackal Temple, dedicated to goddess Rajarajeswari, is also a place worth visiting.
  
• Surrounded by thick-green forests, Mannarasala Sree Nagaraja Temple is a holy place where the king of serpents is worshiped. Number of devotees from all over India and abroad visit this place every year.
  
• The Chettikulangara Bhagavathy Temple is believed to have miraculous powers and hence visited by number of pilgrims every year.
  
• Kottamkulangara Mahavishnu Temple and Devi Temple are the oldest temples of Alappuzha and are sites worth visiting, especially during the time of festivals.
  

HOW TO REACH
BY AIR - Alappuzha is accessible by all the means of communication. The nearest airport is Kochi at a distance of 64 km north. The Trivandrum airport is located 159 km south of Alappuzha.

BY WATER - This exotic place is also well connected through waterways. It is linked by boat and ferry services through the scenic backwaters to Cochin, Kottayam, Kevalam, Changanassery and Chengannur.

BY ROAD - Cities like Cochin, Chennai, Howrah, Bangalore and Bokaro are well connected to Alappuzha. National Highway 47 goes through Alappuzha connecting it with almost all the nearby places of South India. We would provide you all India tourist permit vehicles for the local transportations and also for the intercity drives too.
WHERE TO STAY

We offer excellent accommodation facilities in and around Alappuzha.

India Welcomes You….

India or Bharath is the Destination of the Millennium, a Land of All Seasons where beauty beckons, culture echoes, diversity delights and tradition talks. Those who reach India are greeted with a gracious Namasthe, Namaskaaram, Vanakkam or SatSriAkal denoting warmth, hospitality and respect - a tradition in tune with the country’s age-old motto “Athidhi Devo Bhava” where the guest is treated as God.

Blessed with mist clad mountain ranges, deep blue seas, enigmatic deserts, golden beaches, emerald green valleys, palm fringed backwaters on the one hand and unique art forms, exciting fairs and festivals, interesting pilgrim centres, exclusive heritage sites, royal forts, majestic monuments, architectural marvels and exotic flora and fauna on the other, this legendary land is unique in all aspects - it is no wonder that India has emerged as one among the Top Five Tourist Hotspots of the world, with a tremendous increase in tourist traffic all through the year.

Discover and explore this wonderful peninsular subcontinent that isIndia, the land that projects Unity in Diversity - surrounded by the grand snow capped Himalayan ranges in the North, the spectacular coastline offered by the Arabian Sea in the West, the vast Bay of Bengal in the East, and the awesome Indian Ocean in the South..

People and Life Style: Indians are greatly bound by religion and family. These ties run deep into the cultural framework of the nation. The ancient culture of South Asia, going back at least 4,500 years, has come down to India primarily in the form of religious texts. The artistic heritage, as well as intellectual and philosophical contributions, has always owed much too religious thought and symbolism. The listing of the major belief systems only scratches the surface of the remarkable diversity in Indian religious life. The complex doctrines and institutions of the great traditions, preserved through written documents, are divided into numerous schools of thought, sects, and paths of devotion. In many cases, these divisions stem from the teachings of great masters, who arise continually to lead bands of followers with a new revelation or path to salvation. The local interaction between great traditions and local forms of worship and belief, based on village, caste, tribal, and linguistic differences, creates a range of ritual forms and mythology that varies widely throughout the country. There are many diverse ethnic groups among the people of India. The 6 main ethnic groups are as follows.1.      Negrito .2.      Proto - Australoids or Austrics .3.      Mongoloids .4.      Mediterranean or Dravidian .5.      Western Brachycephals .6.      Nordic Aryans . Negroitos/Brachycephalic: The people belong to Negroitos or the Brachycephalic are (broad headed) people fromAfrica were the earliest people have come to India. They have survived in their original habitat in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Jarawas, Onges, Sentinelese and the Great Andamanese are few examples and some hill tribes like Irulas, Kodars, Paniyans and Kurumbas are found in some patches in Southern part of mainland India. Pro-Australoids/Austrics: Pro-Australoids/Austrics were the next  group come to India after the Negritos and laid the foundation of Indian civilization. They cultivated rice and vegetables and made sugar from sugarcane.  They are people with long headed with low foreheads and prominent eye ridges, noses with low and broad roots, thick jaws, large palates and teeth and small chins with wavy hair lavishly distributed all over their brown bodies, The Austrics of India represent a race of medium height, dark complexion with long heads and rather flat noses but otherwise of regular features. Miscegenation with the earlier Negroids may be the reason for the dark or black pigmentation of the skin and flat noses. Now these people are found in some parts of India, Myanmar and the islands of South East Asia. Their languages have survived in the Central and Eastern India. MongoloidsThese people are found in the North eastern part of India in the states of Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Tripura. They are also found in Northern parts of west Bengal, Sikkim, and Ladakh. Generally they are people with yellow complexion, oblique eyes, high cheekbones, sparse hair and medium height. Dravidians:These are the people of South India having different sub-groups like the Paleo-Mediterranean, the true Mediterranean, and the Oriental Mediterranean. They have been believed to come before the Aryans.  They appear to be people of the same stock as the peoples of Asia Minor and Crete and pre- Hellenic Aegean's of Greece. They are reputed to have built up the city civilization of the Indus valley, whose remains have been found at Mohenjo- daro and Harappa and other Indus cities.  Western Bracycephals: These include the Alpinoids, Dinarics and Armenoids, The Parsis and Kodavas . They are the broad headed people living mainly on the western side of the country such as theGanga Valley and the delta, parts of Kashmir, Kathiawar, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Nordics/Indo-Aryans:This group was the last one to immigrate to India somewhere between 2000 and 1500 B.C. They are now mainly found in the northern and central part of India