Kumarakom: Queen of Vembanad

When former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee chose to holiday here at the turn of the century, he surprised the nation with his Musings from Kumarakom, saying time was now ripe to “resolve problems of the past” and “move towards a better future”. It’s not difficult to imagine him sitting in the backwater village of Kumarakom, and getting inspired to write. This placid resort village set in the Kuttanad backwaters, is ideal for stirring even the most poetically challenged. Arguably the most beautiful acres along the Kuttanad backwaters, the village is idyllic, with palm-fringed canals, clumps of coir retting in water, fishing boats returning with the day’s catch, and boats laden with wares making the rounds of waterfront houses.

Kumarakom is distinctively a ‘resort’ destination. This tiny village on the edge of Vembanad Lake was practically unknown till Henry Baker purchased the land from the erstwhile Raja of Travancore to build himself a grand home. When the last of the Bakers left India, the Taj Hotels stepped in to turn it into a fancy resort, changing the fortunes of the once quiet fishing hamlet.

ORIENTATION

Kumarakom today is a maze of modern resorts and heritage homes and hotels. The road from Kottayam ends at Kumarakom’s jetty, next to Market Junction and the Bay Island Driftwood Museum. The Bird Sanctuary is north of the jetty, where the Meenachil river meets Vembanad Lake.

THINGS TO SEE AND DO

It is best to explore the Vembanad backwaters in a leisurely and languid manner. The most comfortable way to do this is to hire a kettuvallom, the traditional rice-boat-turned-houseboat. These floating hotels range from tiny canoes to houseboats capped by elaborate superstructures of bamboo and rosewood, paneled with mats of screwpine.

KTDC (Tel: 0481-2525861) offers motorboat, speedboat and pontoon boat rides, with fares ranging from ₹550 to ₹1,500 per hour. There are also scores of private operators at the boat jetty who will guide visitors through the waterways, past paddy and coconut groves, along freshwater canals and rivers that debouch into the Vembanad Lake. Pathiramanal Island, a 10-acre isle about an hour from the bird sanctuary by boat, is ideal for a backwater picnic.

Around Onam, the waters of Vembanad at Kumarakom come alive with a number of boat races, including the Kumarakom Arpookara Vanitha Jalmela and the Kavanthikara Boat Race. It is possible to fish in these waters and some of the resorts offer water-skiing and windsailing facilities as well.

Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary

Spread across 14 acres on the eastern banks of Vembanad Lake, this sanctuary is best experienced on foot along the 1.5-km walking track, which affords sightings of herons, darters, storks, teals and common egrets. Boat rides bring birders closer to waders such as waterfowl and ducks, as well as parrots, larks and flycatchers. It is best to visit between November and February, when the Sanctuary attracts a large number of migratory birds.

Entry Indians ₹5; Foreigners ₹45 Guide Fees ₹100–200 Timings 6.00am–6.30pm

A flock of birds at Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary

Bay Island Driftwood Museum

This museum, set in a distinctive building with pillared verandahs and a sloping tiled roof, invites further inspection. Located at Market Junction, the Bay Island Driftwood Museum displays ‘the art of the sea’, chiselled on driftwood gathered from the beaches of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal, which give it its name. The driftwood pieces were chiselled by curator Raji Punnoose, a retired teacher, into various shapes, from a crocodile found off Port Blair’s Wandoor Beach to a sculpture of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose addressing an audience from wood collected off Mayabunder Beach in Middle Andaman. One can purchase some of these driftwood sculptures as well.

Entry ₹25 Timings 10.00am–5.00pm, Sundays 11.30am–5.00pm Closed Monday
Cell 09447464296 W bay-island-museum.com

WHERE TO STAY

Kumarakom has many expensive resorts as well as quite a few inexpensive homestays. Most offer Ayurvedic treatment and backwater cruises.

Kumarakom Lake Resort’s (Tel: 0481-2524501/ 900; Tariff: ₹13,000–58,000, houseboats ₹24,500–39,500) cleverly designed pool appears to merge with the waters of Vembanad Lake. The resort has an Ayurvedic centre and offers backwater cruises, bicycles, cooking classes, fishing, a gift shop, health club, sightseeing, speed boats, swimming pool, with a Jacuzzi, and water sports.

CGH Earth’s Coconut Lagoon (Tel: 2525834-36, 2523572-74; Tariff: ₹19,800–37,400) has heritage mansions and bungalows, which were traditional tharavads. Each was brought here from different parts of Kerala and carefully reassembled. It offers a pool, rice boat cruises, country boat rides and Ayurveda and is near the Bird Sanctuary gate. Vivanta by Taj (Tel: 2525711; Tariff: On request) is a beautiful property with 28 rooms. The resort boasts the Currymen and Open restaurants and the Easy retro lounge bar, a swimming pool, gym, Ayurvedic treatments and a souvenir shop and offers boating and watersports, sightseeing, cruises on the backwaters and fishing. The Zuri Kumarakom (Tel: 2527272; Tariff: ₹9,000–42,000) offers 62 rooms and 10 pool villas, on the banks of the lake. They have a spa, a fitness centre and a couple of restaurants here. Backwater Ripples (Tel: 2523300/ 600; Tariff: ₹7,500–20,500) has 34 rooms, a restaurant, a swimming pool, watersports and an Ayurvedic spa.

Vivanta by Taj

Courtesy Taj Hotels, Resorts & Palaces

At Club Mahindra Kumarakom (Tel: 2525826-27; Tariff: ₹6,500– 8,750), formerly Golden Waters, an intricate lacework of canals intersects the 17-acre waterfront property. The 28 cottages are all constructed on the banks of the canals, each accessible by boat or by foot over cobbled pathways and rustic bridges.

Kerala Tourism’s Waterscapes (Tel: 2524258; Tariff: ₹4,643–7,061) has 40 cottages facing Vembanad Lake. Apart from offering a pool, an Ayurveda centre, boating, birdwatching at the sanctuary and angling, the staff will take you to Pathiramanal Island, and to watch toddy-tapping in paddy fields. Abad Whispering Palms Lake Resort (Tel: 2523821-25; Tariff: ₹6,500–11,500) is another good place with restaurants, swimming pool and Ayurveda.

Among the homestays, Tharavadu Heritage Home (Tel: 2525230; Tariff: ₹1,693–3,023), connected to the Bay Island Driftwood Museum, is among the nicest. GK’s River View Home Stay (Tel: 2597527; Tariff: ₹3,600, with two meals) is right on the banks of the Meenachil river in Pulikkuttyserry. It offers five rooms, Ayurveda, boating, taxis and sightseeing. Philipkutty’s Farm (Cell: 09895075130; Tariff: ₹17,000, with meals) is in Vechoor, north of Kumarakom, and has six waterfront villas.

 WHERE TO EAT

Delicious Kuttanad food is offered at all hotels and homestays, some of which require prior reservations. Kumarakom Lake Resort’s Vembanad Seafood Bar is known for its grilled lobster, karimeen polichattu and creamy prawn curry, which are all the more enjoyable due to the beautiful view of the lake that this resort offers. The resort also has the Ettukettu and Thattukada restaurants. Vivanta by Taj boasts the Currymen and Open restaurants and the Easy retro lounge bar. Other resort restaurants, such as the Coconut Lagoon’s Aymanam restaurant also offers seafood but Waterscapes’ Pearlspot Restaurant has delicious Kuttanad style preparations of duck.