My houseboat cruise and vacation at Kumarakom

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Kumarakom started getting attention in the tourism map of Kerala just a few years ago, after the visit by some of the national leaders to this place including the prime minister of the country. Even though this place is less than 2 hours drive from my home, I couldn't visit this place until recently.

About Kumarakom

Kumarakom is a lake town, surrounded by water bodies all over and is famous for backwater tourism. "Vembanattu kayal", the largest lake in Kerala occupies a major portion of this region. There are many small rivers finding its way through this small village to the lake. Kottayam is the nearest town. The major attractions here include Pathiramanal island, Kumarakom bird sanctuary and house boat cruises through the backwaters.

Our trip to Kumarakom

This time it wasn't a family trip. I went along with 2 other friends for a business cum leisure trip. My friend drove us in his car. We started from Kochi at around 7:30 in the morning and drove to Kumarakom via Cherthala. On the way, we stopped the car at Thanneermukkam bund, which is made to prevent the salt water from entering into the low lying areas of Kuttanadu. We continued our journey after spending a few minutes watching the "bund" (dam) and taking few photos.

A few kilometers after passing the Thanneermukkam bund, we could feel the cool breeze from the backwaters. The lush greenery and calm backwaters of Kumarakom were awaiting us.

Houseboat cruise

The first item in our Kumarakom itinerary was a day cruise in the houseboat. Most people prefer overnight stay in the houseboats but we chose to stay in a resort and spend only a few hours in the boat. Most of the houseboat operators in Kumarakom offer day cruises as well as night trips. The day cruises usually start at 11~11:30am and offer a lavish Kerala style lunch in the houseboat. The day cruise finish by about 4pm with a coffee and snacks.

Houseboat cruise - Alappuzha vs Kumarakom

All of us in the group have gone for houseboats several times in the past but those were in Alappuzha. It was our first time experience in Kumarakom. Even though both Alappuzha and Kumarakom offer the cruises into the Vembanad lake, both have its own advantages and disadvantages. Alappuzha is a lot more commercial area but Kumarakom is very calm and quite. There are more than 1,000 house boats in Alappuzha and you can choose from a wide variety of boats. There are several types of small and large boats. But in Kumarakom, there are far less number of boats and you don't have much choices. But if you are keen on relaxing in a calm and quite place, I would recommend Kumarakom for houseboat cruises. I've written in detail on Kumarakom vs Alappuzha for houseboat cruise in my blog.

We booked a customized cruise for us which starts at 11am and end by 2:30 since we wanted to cover a couple of other places on the same day. We weren't expecting a lunch in the boat due to our short trip but they were very nice to prepare a good Kerala style lunch with Karimeen (pearlspot fish) fry.

We went during the peak of monsoon in Kerala and we were expecting some rains. The mother nature didn't disappoint us. It started raining heavily by the time they started serving lunch. Our boat driver told us that it is safe to cruise during the rains but heavy wind could cause problems. To be on the safe side, our driver pulled the boat to a canal were we won't feel much of the wind. We saw another boat which could not pull to the canal was pulled by the wind to far away and they were struggling to get back to the canals. Houseboat cruise during heavy rains in the monsoon was a great unforgettable experience.

Check-in to Kerala Backwater Retreat

When we asked the houseboat staff for the route to our resort, he gave detailed, step by step directions. Later we came to know that both the houseboat and resort were owned by the same owner and that's why the driver was able to give such detailed directions. The agent who booked the boat and resort didn't tell us that both are owned by the same owner, but that didn't matter to us. It was about an hour drive from that place to the resort. Our original booking was to take a country boat ride to the resort through the Vembanad lake and some canals, which would have been a memorable journey. The lake route to the resort had low bridges in the canals and unfortunately, the water level in the canals had gone up due to the heavy rains and that made the routes to be closed for the boats since the top of the boat will hit the bridges when the water level raises. So, we decided to drive through the roads to the resort. Luckily, the resort was accessible through road as well as water.

Kerala Backwater Retreat is a heritage style resort-cum-homestay and is facing a river. It is in an excellent location with calm and quite surroundings. The only thing that will interrupt your view from the resort is the small small country boats rowing around, collecting soil and catching fish. We reached the resort in the evening, stayed overnight and enjoyed the hot dinner served by the resort staff.

Somehow, I could not sleep much in that night. It was not because of any uncomfortness in the room but because of the feeling in that serene place. The view of river from the veranda of my room was amazing. The cool breeze from the river made me relax and meditate and I felt like I am in the lap of mother nature. It was drizzling occasionally and that added to the special feeling that made my heart and mind full. Even though my wife warned me against vising Kumarakom during monsoon, I felt the weather was perfect for a vacation.

I don't know when I fell asleep but I am sure it was after midnight. We woke up early in the morning listening to the chirping sounds of birds. There was a bird feeder behind the property and some bird, which I could not identify, was enjoying it's early breakfast!

The next item in our itinerary was a visit to Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary which I will cover in the next post.

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Photos

Vembanad Lake at Kumarakom
Vembanad Lake at Kumarakom

Enjoying house boat cruise
Vembanad Lake at Kumarakom

Comments

[JK]

Other attractions at kumarakom
the tourist who visit kumarakom enjoy the fantastic backwater and a beautiful paddy fields. they can also enjoy ayurvedic treatments and dental tourism services. visit alps family dental clinic, for quality dental care. it gives a great value proportion,