An Introduction
there are large lakes.
The Backwaters are not, however simply or even principally a tourist attraction. They are a living and working part of the landscape of India. We'll see some of these uses in the next few emails. But it is also important to remember that these waters are traveled by the local residents in their boats
and used by the residents for a variety of everyday purposes as well such as washing clothing.
Of course, at sunset on the Backwaters, it is easy to simply forget all this and be overwhelmed by the beauty of the place.
The Backwaters of Kerala refers generally to a chain of various water forms all interconnected -- canals, rivers, lakes, and inlets. All together there are over 900 kilometers of waterways, near the coast of Kerala. Kerala is a state of India on the Malabar (west) Coast near the southern tip of India. It is a beautiful and warm (and sometimes hot) region, near-tropical. (It should be remembered that all of the Indian subcontinent proper is north of the Equator.) One of the attractions of the area -- and there are many -- are the Backwaters.
When cruising along the backwaters, you can imagine yourself at times as being in Bayou country (or for those of you more theme park oriented, at Disneyland in the Pirates of the Carribean ride).
But this is really doing the beauty of the place a disservice. In addition to the canals,
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