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Alappuzha district (Malayalam: [ɐːlɐpːuɻɐ] (listen)), is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala. It was formed as Alleppey district on 17 August 1957, the name of the district being changed to Alappuzha in 1990, and is the smallest district of Kerala. Alleppey town, the district headquarters, was renamed Alappuzha in 2012, even though the anglicised name is still commonly used to describe the town as well as the district. A town with canals, backwaters, beaches, and lagoons, Alappuzha was described by George Curzon, the British Governor-General of India in the beginning of the 20th century CE, as the "Venice of the Eastern world." The district is best known for its picturesque Kerala Backwaters, by which it is well connected to other parts of Kerala, including the tourist destination of Kumarakom, the district being a well known tourist destination in India. It is also known for its coir factories, as most of Kerala's coir industries are situated in and around the Alappuzha town. The Vembanad lake, which lies below the sea level, is the longest lake in the Indian peninsula, and the district of Alappuzha lies between this lake and the Arabian Sea. Kuttanad region of the Alappuzha district, which lies below the sea level, is the point of least elevation in the entire India. Kuttanad, also known as The Rice Bowl of Kerala, has the lowest altitude in India, and is also one of the few places in the world where cultivation takes place below the sea level. The district was home to the Communist-led Punnapra-Vayalar uprising against the Divan of the British Princely state of Travancore in the 1940s.
