What's on in Alleppey (Alappuzha), India through the year

Peak crowds — Christmas and New Year peak, Winter break in India

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Backwater houseboat season (1 Nov – 28 Feb), Christmas and New Year peak (20 Dec – 5 Jan)

Busy — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Backwater houseboat season (1 Nov – 28 Feb)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in March.

Busy — Summer vacation (Kerala / far south) in India, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in April.

Busy — Summer vacation (north & east) in India

Nothing new starts in May.

Busy — Summer vacation (north & east) in India, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Southwest monsoon

  1 Jun – 15 Sep · usuallyRisk

  The rains hit the Kerala coast first, usually in the opening days of June, and the backwaters run high and brown. Half the houseboats tie up; the ones still sailing cost a third of the winter rate.

Quiet — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Season

  Karkidakam ayurveda season

  16 Jul – 16 Aug · usuallyMonsoon

  The Malayalam month the resorts sell as the right time for a treatment course, on the reasoning that the damp opens the pores. Packages run two weeks or more and are at their cheapest. Source ↗

Still on: Southwest monsoon (1 Jun – 15 Sep (usually))

Peak crowds — Nehru Trophy Boat Race, Onam

• Festival

  Nehru Trophy Boat Race

  5–31 Aug · usuallyMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  Hundred-foot snake boats with a hundred rowers apiece, raced across Punnamada in front of a packed pavilion. The date is set only a few months ahead — long the second Saturday of August, lately later in the month. Source ↗

• Holiday

  Onam

  17–26 AugSchool holidaysClosuresCrowded

  Kerala's ten-day harvest holiday: flower carpets at every doorway, a sadya eaten off a banana leaf, and village boat races in the canals. Shops and offices close for the last four days. Source ↗

Still on: Southwest monsoon (1 Jun – 15 Sep (usually)), Karkidakam ayurveda season (16 Jul – 16 Aug (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Southwest monsoon (1 Jun – 15 Sep (usually)), Onam (17–26 Aug)

Busy — Autumn break (Dussehra / Diwali) in India, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in October.

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

• Season

  Backwater houseboat season

  1 Nov – 28 FebDry seasonBook early

  The canals go calm, the paddy is cut and every kettuvallam on Punnamada is spoken for. The good boats go months ahead and prices roughly double over the turn of the year.

Peak crowds — Christmas and New Year peak, Winter break in India

• Holiday

  Christmas and New Year peak

  20 Dec – 5 JanChristmas & New YearCrowdedBook early

  The fortnight the houseboats, the beach hotels at Marari and the flights into Kochi all cost the most. Book it in October or take the first week of December instead. Source ↗

Still on: Backwater houseboat season (1 Nov – 28 Feb)