Kumarakom Houseboat Packages
Kumarakom is an enchanting backwater destination in Kerala, near Kottayam. This sleepy, laidback town ambles along at a leisurely pace, with nobody in an apparent rush to do anything – the perfect ambience for holiday makers! The town is served by narrow roads that alternately dip and rise steeply, with the ethereal vista of lush paddy fields and shimmering water bodies on either side.
The Vembanad lake is the major water body here, and the most popular location for houseboats in Kumarakom. A major attraction of Kumarakom is the bird sanctuary, spread over 14 acres; the best way to traverse this sanctuary is in a hhouseboat, as it cruises sedately on the waters. Nature lovers can espy several endangered bird species like herons and egrets, and the Siberian stork, the famous migratory visitor from Russia, in the season.
The houseboats in Kerala is also known as Kettuvallams, which was a used to carry high loads from the isolated villages of Kerala backwater regions to the merchant towns like Kollam, Alleppey, Kottayam and Cochin areas. Even now many people in Kerala depend on these Kettuvalloms for transportation purposes. Kettuvalloms play a major role in Kerala’s economic growth too.
As your houseboat floats down the brackish backwaters, you can get glimpses of scintillating beauty – both natural and manmade. You will pass age old monuments, places of worship, and homes built on the water’s edge, most with their own boat jetties and boats tied up; traditional snake boats, ferries and fishing boats; birds flying high in formation, lofty coconut palms doing a gentle dance in the balmy breeze; exotic aquatic animals and plants; tiny islands spread all along… a houseboat cruise in Kumarakom is an exquisite experience that will remain with you for life.
