Situated on the south-western coast of India, Alappuzha is also known by its anglicized name Alleppey. Gifted with immense natural beauty, Alappuzha’s backwaters have been the mainstay of Kerala’s tourism. Alappuzha port used to be one of the busiest trade centers and traded with the Persian Gulf regions and even Europe. Close to Alappuzha lies Kuttanad, the ‘Granary of Kerala’, where farming is done below sea level.
In early 20th Century, the then British Viceroy Lord Curzon, while visiting Alappuzha, was fascinated by its scenic beauty and declared it as the Venice of the East. Alappuzha, whose foundations were laid by Travancore’s Dewan Raja Kesava Das in the second half of 18th century, had trade relations with ancient Greece and Rome. Even travelers like Pliny and Ptolemy have mentioned about places in Alappuzha in their works. It was because of the efforts and foresight of Raja Kesava Das, who constructed roads and canals to improve transportation, that Alappuzha became a premier port town.