R Block & Q Block — Below-Sea-Level Paddy Fields.
Kuttanad's rice fields lie 1.5-2.5 metres below sea level — among only three regions in the world where rice is grown below sea level (the other two are the Netherlands polders and the Pampanga delta in the Philippines). Tourists know the houseboat backwaters but rarely see the polder farms behind the bunds. R Block (130 hectares) and Q Block (95 hectares) are reclaimed paddy polders built in the 1940s by the Kuttanadan Maharaja, still farmed by the original families.WHY NOBODY KNOWS
UN-FAO listed Kuttanad as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) in 2013. R Block and Q Block are the most visit-able polders — embankment walkable, sluice gates operated by hand-cranked wheels, pump houses still using 1940s-era Petter diesel engines (some still working). Punja crop sown Nov-Apr (dry season after the bunds are pumped out); Virippu crop Jun-Sep (monsoon season). Best walk: 7-9am after the night pump-out, when the polder floor is dry-ish. Kerala Responsible Tourism Mission runs a "Kuttanad farm walk" (₹600/person, 3 hours) from Pulinkunnu — book through their Alappuzha office.
