Vallam Kali Snake Boat Races

The chundan vallam, or snake boat, is a longboat of about a hundred to a hundred and forty feet with a high curved stern, built from anjili wood without nails, crewed by more than a hundred rowers with singers and helmsmen aboard, and owned by villages rather than individuals. Races are held through the monsoon months on the Kerala backwaters, the best known being the Nehru Trophy on Punnamada lake at Alappuzha in August, instituted after Nehru watched a race in 1952 and donated a trophy. Villages train for months and the rivalries are serious; a professional league now runs several races a season.

What you actually see

• The chundan vallam - hundred-foot boats with high curved sterns.
• The crews - well over a hundred rowers to a boat, singing in time.
• The Nehru Trophy - the August race at Alappuzha, the best known.
• The bank crowds - villages lining the water for their own boats.

When to go

July to September, when the races run; the Nehru Trophy falls in August and Aranmula's on the Pampa around Onam. Dates shift each year and should be checked.

Honest expectations

Free bank viewing is very crowded with limited sightlines; grandstand tickets are needed for a proper view and sell ahead. Monsoon rain during races is normal. Alappuzha accommodation fills.

Nearby

Alappuzha backwaters surround the venue; Kumarakom is east.