Which City is known as the 'Venice of the East'?

The city of Alappuzha (also widely known as Alleppey), located in the southern state of Kerala, is famous globally as the 'Venice of the East'.

During the British colonial era, Lord Curzon (the Viceroy of India) visited Alappuzha in the early 1900s. He was absolutely mesmerized by the landscape and officially gave it this title. The comparison to Venice is made because:

1. The Backwaters: Just like Venice, Alappuzha is an intricate, massive maze of interconnected water canals, lagoons, and backwaters.
2. Water Transport: Even today, local villagers use small canoes and boats to travel to the market, drop kids at school, and transport goods, exactly like the gondolas in Italy.

• Luxury Houseboats (Kettuvallam): These are massive, traditional wooden boats converted into floating 5-star hotels. Tourists rent them to slowly cruise through the lush green coconut groves.
• Nehru Trophy Boat Race: Held every year in August, this is a thrilling, aggressive race where massive 100-foot-long wooden 'Snake Boats' (Chundan Vallam) rowed by 100 men race across the backwaters.