Our visit to Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary

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Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary

A visit to the bird sanctuary was not in our itinerary but the owner of the resort where we stayed insisted we should visit the place. So, we made some changes to our travel plans and headed towards the bird sanctuary. The bird sanctuary is located along the side of Vembanad lake and is spread across about 14 acres of land, which used to be a rubber plantation in the past. This place is operated by Kerala Tourist Development Corporation (KTDC) and they run a resort called "Water Scapes Resort" within the premises of the bird sanctuary. The resort is located well within the woods and you need to go about 300 meters from the entrance to reach the resort. We didn't go to the resort but took the entry tickets for the bird sanctuary and started our 2 km walk through the paved and unpaved trails. There were lot of narrow, country-style bridges, puddles and fallen trees everywhere. The staff had warned us that there will be no shelters in case of any rains. We took the risk of going all the way in the monsoon without any umbrellas!

Somehow the staff sound scaring us and were discouraging us from going. May be they didn't mean that but the way they were giving warnings about potential rains sounded like they didn't want us to go. I wish they had built some rest area inside the jungle but for taking rest after the long walk to reach the bird watch place.

The first attraction in the bird sanctuary was a Butterfly Garden. We saw a few butterflies but I think that's quite normal anywhere with flowers. I don't think they had any rare species of butterflies in that park. May be I am not a good at "butteryfly watching"!

We continued our walk through the trails, crossing the puddles and jumping over the fallen trees but couldn't spot any birds yet. At some point we even thought about returning without completing our walk but my friend pushed us to go all the way till the end. After walking about 2 km, we reached the end of the sanctuary and there were 2 watch towers there. We climbed the watch towers with no hope but what was waiting there for us was a big treat for our eyes. There were hundreds of white and black birds with nests on top of the trees. Until that moment, there were no signs of any birds but the last point in the bird sanctuary had them all. The staff should warn the visitors in advance that the birds are located only at the end and should not return without seeing them.

Even if we hadn't seen the birds, the visit to the Kumarakom bird sanctuary was really worth. The 2km walk through the shady woods is a great experience. Remember that 2 km is just one-way and we have to walk the same distance back to reach the main gate to exit. It may be difficult for elderly people to walk this 4 km distance through the trails but unfortunately, there are no alternatively. There is no wheelchair access and no roads suitable for vehicles since they have preserved the natural beauty to the best they can.

If you are visiting Kumarakom, don't miss the bird sanctuary. It's worth the visit. Even though hundreds of birds we saw belonged to pretty much 4 to 5 types, the manager of the resort where we stayed told us that only the people with the real interest in bird watch can spot variety of birds. He once told a German tourist that only 4-5 species of birds are there but his guest came back with photos of more than 15 types of birds!

So, if you are going to the bird sanctuary, carry your camera. Plan to stay many hours and find out all those birds you can.

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