Kumarakom

Kumarakom is a group of small islands and villages on the eastern shore of Vembanad Lake, the longest lake in India, in Kottayam district. Coconut groves, paddy fields and mangroves line the canals, and the lake opens out to the west.

The Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary covers about 14 acres of the lakeshore. It was once a rubber plantation laid out by the English planter Alfred George Baker, and it is still sometimes called Baker's Estate. Cormorants, herons, egrets, darters and kingfishers live here year-round, and migratory birds arrive in the winter months.

Kumarakom was one of the first places in Kerala to adopt Responsible Tourism, which links hotels and visitors with local farmers, fishermen and craftspeople. Village life experiences take visitors to toddy tapping, coir making, fishing with traditional nets and cooking with local families.

Houseboats and shikara-style boats cruise from Kumarakom across Vembanad Lake, and Pathiramanal, a small island in the middle of the lake, can be reached by boat.