A Saturday in August

Nehru Trophy Boat Race on Punnamada Lake, Alappuzha

A hundred oars strike the lake as one, to the beat of a boat song

The Nehru Trophy Boat Race is Kerala's best-known snake-boat race: more than twenty chundan vallams, each over 100 feet long with 100 to 150 oarsmen, race on Punnamada Lake at Alappuzha (Alleppey) in front of over two lakh spectators. It is held on a Saturday in August chosen each year by the Nehru Trophy Boat Race Society, usually announced by June, and the date can move. Seats in the pavilions are sold only through the official channels; the open banks are free.

The Nehru Trophy Boat Race Society in Alappuzha picks the Saturday with state approval and announces it by June.

The legend

🚣

In December 1952 Prime Minister Nehru visits Alleppey, and the villages of Kuttanad greet him on the water with a fleet of snake boats.

🏁

An impromptu race of nine boats is rowed in his honour. Nadubhagam Chundan wins, and Nehru climbs aboard and rides it into Alleppey.

🏆

Back in Delhi he sends a silver trophy shaped like a snake boat, bearing his signature and a dedication to the winners of the race.

🛶

First called the Prime Minister's Trophy, it later became the Nehru Trophy, and crews still race for the silver boat today.

Meaning

The village boat

Each snake boat belongs to a village, which honours it like a deity. The village carpenter repairs it every year.

Master carpenter

A new boat takes months to build under a master carpenter, the moothashari. The planks are joined so the long hull can flex without cracking.

Customs

The beat

About 25 singers sit in a row mid-boat, and the paddles keep time with their song and the beat of a wooden pounder.

The crew

Under the helmsman, four steersmen with 12-foot oars guide the boat, and 64 paddlers sit two to a row, sometimes 128.

Picked crews

Each village picks its best oarsmen, usually about 150, and senior rowers guide their training.

Lanes

The 1.4 km course on the lake is split into lanes by bamboo poles, and the snake boats race several abreast.

Other classes

Besides the chundans, other classes race on the lake: churulan, iruttukuthy, odi, veppu and the small kochu vallam.

Words of the festival

വള്ളംകളി

vallam kali

boat racing; literally "boat game"

ചുണ്ടൻ വള്ളം

chundan vallam

"snake boat": its high stern looks like a snake's raised hood

വഞ്ചിപ്പാട്ട്

vanchipattu

"boat song", a form of Malayalam verse that sets the rowing beat

ആഞ്ഞിലി

anjili

wild jackfruit, a timber that resists rot in water, used to build the boats

True or myth

Snake boats were first built for war.

✅ True. Tradition has it that King Devanarayana of Chembakassery ordered a war boat, the chundan, for his war with Kayamkulam.

The Nehru Trophy is always raced on the second Saturday of August.

❌ Myth. That was the tradition, but the date can move: in 2024 the race was held on 28 September.

The Nehru Trophy has been raced on Punnamada Lake from the start.

❌ Myth. The first race for the trophy was held in 1954 at Kainakary, and only later did it move to Punnamada.

Where to celebrate

Alleppey

Worth the trip

More than twenty hundred-foot snake boats race four abreast on Punnamada Lake, two lakh people watch from the banks, and the chundan final comes in the late afternoon.

Kochi

From Kochi the Nehru Trophy is a long day out: about 60 km to Alappuzha, seated by 11:00, and back after the chundan final in the late afternoon.

When the race is held

There is no fixed calendar rule. The race used to fall on the second Saturday of August, and many guides still say so, but the Nehru Trophy Boat Race Society now picks the Saturday each year with the state's approval and announces it by June. After the Wayanad landslides it was once postponed to late September, and in 2020 and 2021 it was not held at all.

In practice that means: plan around August, but do not book anything non-refundable until the date is on the official website, nehrutrophy.nic.in. August is monsoon season in Kerala, so rain on race day is normal and the race goes ahead in it.

Kerala Tourism points out that the Nehru Trophy is not linked to any ritual: it is a sporting event. It falls in the same season as Onam, and since 2019 it has been part of the Champions Boat League, the season-long series of Kerala boat races.

Tickets: official website only

Pavilion seats along the finishing stretch are the only paid part of the race. Buy them through the organisers: online at nehrutrophy.nic.in or at the government offices across Kerala that sell them in the weeks before the race. The categories and prices are set again each year and published under Ticket Rates on the official website.

Wait for the official sale
Online booking opens on the official site in the weeks before the race and closes before race day. Treat tickets offered elsewhere, especially on social media, with caution: only the organisers' channels are listed on the official site.
Pick a category
Recent official rates ran from about ₹100 for the lawn and about ₹200 for Lake View Gold, through Victory Lane, Rose Corner, Tourist Silver and Tourist Gold (about ₹3,000), up to Platinum Corner (about ₹10,000 per person) and corporate boxes for five. Tourist Gold and Silver are the categories meant for visitors.
Check the gate on your ticket
Each category has its own entrance. Most pavilions are reached on foot via the District Court Bridge and Finishing Point Road, through numbered gates; Rose Corner ticket holders board boats at the SWTD boat jetty.

Getting to Punnamada Lake on race day

The organisers' instruction is simple: be in Alappuzha and in your seat by 11:00. Boats to the pavilions run from about 10:00 to noon and stop after that, and the town's roads fill from mid-morning.

From Kochi — Alappuzha is about 60 km south of Kochi, roughly an hour's drive in normal traffic, and about 80 km from Cochin International Airport. Trains and buses leave from Ernakulam; see how to get to Kochi.
From the station or bus stand — Alappuzha railway station is about 5 km from the venue. The KSRTC bus station is within walking distance of the lake.
By car — Traffic restrictions start early on race day. Cars from Ernakulam, Kottayam and Thiruvananthapuram are directed to parking at the Municipal Stadium and the north bank of the canal.
Stay the night before — Alappuzha's hotels and houseboats fill months ahead, so book as soon as the date is announced; Kochi (Ernakulam) and Kumarakom are the fallbacks.

How race day runs

The day opens with a procession on the lake: snake boats decked with silk umbrellas, and smaller boats rowing in formation, to drums and vanchipattu, the boat songs that set the stroke. Then come the heats. The course is 1.4 km, split into tracks marked with bamboo poles, and the snake boats race four abreast at 100 to 120 strokes a minute. Other boat classes race between the chundan heats, and the chundan final, the race for the silver trophy, comes in the late afternoon.

For the villages of Kuttanad a win is celebrated for months. The official winners list goes back to Nadubhagam in 1952; the Karichal chundan has taken the trophy more often than any other boat, 16 times.

Crowds, rain and safety

The race draws more than two lakh people to one lakefront. The UK Foreign Office notes that stampedes have happened at large Indian gatherings, including sporting events, and advises following local authorities' instructions; see also is India safe.

Free banks, long day — The open banks along the course are free but far from the finish and full from late morning. August is monsoon season, so bring rain gear and something to sit on.
Keep valuables close — Phones and wallets go in a front pocket in crowds, and agree a meeting point away from the gates.
A long lens helps — The boats pass fast and far out on the lake; from the banks a zoom lens shows far more than a phone.

FAQ

When is the Nehru Trophy Boat Race?

On a Saturday in August chosen each year by the Nehru Trophy Boat Race Society and announced by June; it has been postponed before, once to late September. The official date is posted on nehrutrophy.nic.in.

Where can I buy Nehru Trophy tickets?

Only through the organisers: online on nehrutrophy.nic.in when sales open in the weeks before the race, or at the government offices that sell them across Kerala. Rates are set each year and published on the official ticket rates page.

How much do tickets cost?

Recent official rates ran from about ₹100 for the lawn to about ₹3,000 for Tourist Gold, with Platinum Corner and corporate boxes above that. Check the current year's rates on the official site.

In which year did the Nehru Trophy Boat Race start?

In 1952, when an impromptu race was rowed for Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru at Alappuzha; he later sent the silver trophy. The first formal race for it was held in 1954 at Kainakary, before it moved to Punnamada Lake.

Which boat has won the Nehru Trophy most often?

The Karichal chundan, 16 times. The full list of winners is on the official website.

Can I watch for free?

Yes, from the open banks of Punnamada Lake along the course. They are far from the finish and crowded from late morning.

Sources (10)

Facts checked: 21 October 2026. Prices and hours are approximate; check locally.

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