Vallam

While hill resorts and beaches can be found in other parts of India, the backwaters are unique to Kerala. Meandering through the coastal areas of Kerala is a 900-km-long (560-mile) intricate network of lagoons, lakes, canals, estuaries and deltas of several rivers that flow into the Arabian Sea. This is a natural phenomenon, as major rivers and streams that flows within Kerala drain themselves into backwaters regions, resulting in creation of several small land strips, lagoons, islands etc, which opens to sea at few areas. Thus backwaters are one of the largest fresh-water sources and rich in marine habitat as well as adds to natural beauty. Kerala has 3 backwater regions. The most beautiful and accessible part of the backwaters is the stretch in the districts of Ernakulam, Alappuzha and Kottayam. The Vembanad Lake is the longest lake in South Asia and listed as prestigious Ramsar sites, with rich biodiversity. The north Vembanad Lake opens to sea at Kochi harbour.