Les Backwaters sont une serie de lagunes et de lacs d'eau saumatre parallele a la mer d'Oman, paysage typique de l'Etat du Kerala au sud de l'Inde. Le reseau, constitue de quelque 1 500 kilometres de canaux, tant naturels qu'artificiels, inclut plusieurs grands lacs dont l'Ashtamudi et le Vembanad. S'etendant sur pratiquement toute la longueur de la cote du Kerala, il est alimente par une quarantaine de fleuves cotiers descendant des Ghats occidentaux. Les lagunes ont ete constituees par l'action des vagues et des courants cotiers creant une barriere d'iles basses aux embouchures des fleuves cotiers. Le lac Vembanad, le plus grand integre dans le reseau et couvrant une superficie de 200 kilometres carres, est encadre par les districts d'Alappuzha, de Kottayam et d'Ernakulam. Le port de Kochi - l'ancienne Cochin - est situe au debouche du Vembanad avec la mer d'Oman. Le lac Ashtamudi appartient au district de Kollam et la ville de Kollam - l'ancienne Quilon - se trouve a son debouche. Reliees par les canaux creuses par la main de l'homme, les lagunes forment un reseau de transport de marchandises largement utilise par l'economie locale. Les Backwaters sont aussi une importante attraction touristique du Kerala. La culture du riz, aliment de base d'une grande partie de l'humanite, reste dans beaucoup de zones une activite manuelle. The Kerala backwaters are a chain of brackish lagoons and lakes lying parallel to the Arabian Sea coast (known as the Malabar Coast) of Kerala state in southern India. The network includes five large lakes linked by canals, both manmade and natural, fed by 38 rivers, and extending virtually half the length of Kerala state. The backwaters were formed by the action of waves and shore currents creating low barrier islands across the mouths of the many rivers flowing down from the Western Ghats range. The Kerala Backwaters are a network of interconnected canals, rivers, lakes and inlets, a labyrinthine system formed by more than 900 km of waterways, and sometimes compared to the American Bayou. In the midst of this landscape there are a number of towns and cities, which serve as the starting and end points of backwater cruises. National Waterway No. 3 from Kollam to Kottapuram, covers a distance of 205 km and runs almost parallel to the coast line of southern Kerala facilitating both cargo movement and backwater tourism. The backwaters have a unique ecosystem - freshwater from the rivers meets the seawater from the Arabian Sea. In certain areas, such as the Vembanad Kayal, where a barrage has been built near Kumarakom, salt water from the sea is prevented from entering the deep inside, keeping the fresh water intact. Such fresh water is extensively used for irrigation purposes. Many unique species of aquatic life including crabs, frogs and mudskippers, water birds such as terns, kingfishers, darters and cormorants, and animals such as otters and turtles live in and alongside the backwaters. Palm trees, pandanus shrubs, various leafy plants and bushes grow alongside the backwaters, providing a green hue to the surrounding landscape. Vembanad Kayal is the largest of the lakes, covering an area of 200 km?, and bordered by Alappuzha (Alleppey), Kottayam, and Ernakulam districts. The port of Kochi (Cochin) is located at the lake's outlet to the Arabian Sea. Alleppey, "Venice of the East", has a large network of canals that meander through the town. Vembanad is India’s longest lake.

Varanasi is built along the west bank of the Ganges and the Ghats (steps) are central to life in India. As part of their religion Hindus wash regularly – the Indian version of cleanliness is next to godliness. At the Ganges they pray, bath, beat laundry on the rocks, children swim and frolic, while bodies are being burned on the steps of their temple; with the ashes going into river. All this within a few feet of each other. And then there are the tourist who sit in the rented boats and watch, take our photos and are amazed with the Indian life as it scatters around them, all in peace and harmony.