KUMARAKOM

Kumarakom, a small hamlet carved out of the backwaters way back in the 19th century. A cluster of islets today, Kumarakom was created literally during the colonial era. It is said that in 1878, George Baker, a British missionary had arrived in Kottayam, which is just 14 kilometers away from Kumarakom. He cleared the marshy mangrove forests on the banks of the Vembanad Lake and decided to settle down there. He planted coconut trees on the banks of the lake and Kumarakom, the island was born. Today Baker’s bungalow is a five star resort in this idyllic paradise.

Kumarakom, known as the “Rice Bowl of India” is a seamless montage of mangrove forests, paddy fields, green meadows and coconut trees interrupted by canals and lakes. The famous backwaters of Kerala locally called kayals are an endless flow of brackish lagoons and inland lakes which curl and furl around the state .The Vembanad Lake, which is the largest of them borders the districts – Alleppey, Kottayam and Ernakulam or Cochin. Kumarakom is a huddle of small islands located on the banks of this lake and we were in one of the jetties, looking out into the vast expanse of waters which fills up nearly 200 square kilometers of space.