Alleppey has a network of lakes and lagoons and also rivers like the Manimala, Pamba, Achankovil and lakes like the Vembanad and Kayamkulam.  It has a lot of marine life like prawns, lobsters, turtles and fishes. In the backwaters and lagoons, one finds a lot of birds like the teal ducks and cormorants.

The Nehru Trophy Boat race is another attraction since it began in 1952. It is held on the second Saturday of August and snake boat race against each other in the Punnamada Backwaters. It is so named after the first Prime Minister of India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru who visited this area. This race is held in August every year and snake boats are made by each village in the vicinity. Everyone takes it very seriously and village boys train for it. The boats are beautifully decorated. They move in a synchronized way and huge crowds come to watch the race.

A large number of foreign and domestic tourists come to watch this race. The snake boats are called chundanvallams locally. The villagers also use smaller boats, take out processions and floats. This is planned like a modern-day regatta.