Kumarakom

The backwaters

Women on bridge Kumarakom

Back to nature

 

One of the first things that you notice in Kumarakom is the peace and quiet along with the very laid-back feel of the place.

We travelled the short distance from Allepey, where we spent a day and a night on a rice barge, which was nice, but we sincerely wished we had done our trip from Kumarakom as it is much less crowded and you can picked up by boat from where you are staying.

Vembanad Lake Kumarakom
Palms on the backwaters Kumarakom

The nature reserve

The village of Kumarakom is, in fact a cluster of small islands on Vembanad Lake, joined together by a series of channels.

The bird sanctuary is full of migratory birds and a paradise for wildlife photographers, although it is better to go as early as you can or as the sun is going down to get any sightings of birds.

We walked through the bird sanctuary and apart from the odd monitor lizard, there was not much to see, apart from beautiful views through the thick vegetation to the lake – where we did catch a sighting of some otters fishing.

The quiet of the reserve, however is a welcome breather from the busy cities that we had arrived from and it is a nice, easy walk through the reserve.

You will be pestered by some of the locals in pretty dodgy looking canoes along the way for a boat trip with them, but we would recommend one of the official trips organised by the nature reserve – see below.

What to see

Houseboats Kumarakom

We really recommend taking one of the boat trips organised by the nature reserve – it really is worth it. We took a two-hour boat trip with an official guide with just the two of us and our guide.

Our guide was excellent with a huge knowledge of the flora and fauna in the reserve and knew exactly where to go to get some sightings of birds and animals, as a bonus, he also spoke excellent English and stopped the boat along the way for me to get some good shots of birds.

Getting there

Kumarakom backwaters form the Nature reserve

As it is only about a 30 minute drive from Aleppey, this is another reason to short-circuit the boat trips there and go to Kumarakom – it is much quieter, less commercialised and isn’t full of diesel fumes. The thing is, you travel down almost identical backwaters and not in boat-traffic-jams, it is so quiet here.

The nearest airport is at Kochi, which is only 62 kilometers away, but will take about 1 and a half or more hours by car. The train takes about 3 hours.

Where to stay & eat

We stayed at the excellent Mango Kerala Homestay, which looked absolutely fabulous on the Internet when we booked it – but don’t they all!

This place is actually better than the photos and is one of the best places we stayed in south India. We had a huge air-conditioned room with a view over the backwaters from our balcony, but that is not all.

The food here was fabulous, all of the usual Kerala stuff, (Appam, aloo gobi, butter cauliflower, chai …) and all beautifully home-cooked and the hosts are so nice and friendly.

I would just like to say that we are not paid to write this and have no commercial link whatsoever with the Mango Homestay, but credit where credit is due, it is a fabulous place.

Jungle trail Kumarakon

Drop us a line by email

Start a conversation with us, we are really friendy and would love to hear from you.

contact@twofrogstravel.com

More photos of Kumarakom

The Nilgiri Mountain Railway Tamil Nadu, India

A trip on the Nilgiri Mountain Railway in Tamil Nadu, India from Mettupalayam to Ooty - sometimes called The Ooty Toy Train. Beautiful scenery on this UNESCO World Heritage Site, which is truly unique and the only rack and pinion railway in India. We met some lovely...

South India Highlights 2020

South India Highlights 2020 of our trip to Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in South India in January 2020. From the deserted village destroyed by a tsunami at Rameshwaram, the tea plantations at Munnar and Fort Kochi, in the states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil...

Munnar

Kashmir of South IndiaHigh in The Western Ghats  The best parts of Munnar are on the outskirts of the town and the drive up and down to the hill station. Munnar is a hill station high in the Western Ghat mountains at around 1,600 meters above sea level, which...

Marari Beach

Miles of beach The Chill capital of Kerala?   Marari beach is a short tuk tuk ride from the busy town of Aleppey and if you have a choice, stay at Marari beach and travel in when you need / want to. In terms of culture and sightseeing, well, there is ,not much...

Menal Shiva temple complex

Ancient TemplesMahanaleshvara temple  Menal was a huge surprise for us - our driver mentioned, on the way to Bundi that he knew of an interesting temple that we could visit. We expected it to be crowded as usual, but the surprise was that it was completely...

Madurai the jasmin city

The city of TemplesThe Meenakshi Ammanahanaleshvara temple  The city is centred around the spectacular Meenakshi Amman Temple, with, amongst other sights, the 100 pillared Mandapa Nayaka Mandapam, a pillared corridor with different animal sculptures at the top of...

What to do and see in Haryana, India Podcast

In this podcast episode, I speak to a local from Hisar, Haryana about Haryana : Things to do Places to see What to eat & drink Things to be aware of All the best advice given by a local for travellers to Haryana. [powerpress...

What to do and see in Calicut, Kerala, India for two days Podcast

In this podcast episode, I speak to a local from Calicut (Kozhikode), Kerala about Kozhikode : Things to do Places to see What to eat & drink Things to be aware of All the best advice given by a local for travellers to Calicut (Kozhikode). [powerpress...

What to do and see in Kasargod, Kerala, India for two days Podcast

In this podcast episode, I speak to a local from Kasargod, Kerala about Kasargod : Things to do Places to see What to eat & drink Things to be aware of All the best advice given by a local for travellers to Kasargod. [powerpress...

Kumarakom

The backwaters Back to nature   One of the first things that you notice in Kumarakom is the peace and quiet along with the very laid-back feel of the place. We travelled the short distance from Allepey, where we spent a day and a night on a rice barge, which was...
Lovely restaurant with fresh fish and stunning views

Lovely restaurant with fresh fish and stunning views ...

4 2
Maspalomas - chacun son truc

Maspalomas - chacun son truc ...

4 0
Meloneras beach to Maspalomas #canaries #CanaryIslands #grancanaria

Meloneras beach to Maspalomas #canaries #CanaryIslands #grancanaria ...

3 0
Gran Canaria in the mountains

Gran Canaria in the mountains ...

4 3
Bahia Feliz Gran Canaria #canaries #canaryislands

Bahia Feliz Gran Canaria #canaries #canaryislands ...

2 0
Famara - Surfing 🏄 paradise Lanzarote

Famara - Surfing 🏄 paradise Lanzarote ...

7 0
Kraków old town #krakow #poland #polska🇵🇱 #travelphotography #travel

Kraków old town #krakow #poland #polska🇵🇱 #travelphotography #travel ...

6 0
Place du Capitole #toulouse #france #occitanie #mycity #home

Place du Capitole #toulouse #france #occitanie #mycity #home ...

10 0
Krakow old town, #poland #polska #krakow

Krakow old town, #poland #polska #krakow ...

8 0
Moving along …

Moving along … ...

1 0
C’est ça la vie

C’est ça la vie ...

1 0
Puerto del Carmen #sunset #lanzarote

Puerto del Carmen #sunset #lanzarote ...

5 1
Last good evening from of 2023 Lanzarote

Last good evening from of 2023 Lanzarote ...

0 0
Last good evening from of 2023 Lanzarote

Last good evening from of 2023 Lanzarote ...

1 0
Oh yussss ~ #rugby time #stadetoulousain v #Toulon Leila Creed

Oh yussss ~ #rugby time #stadetoulousain v #Toulon Leila Creed ...

27 0
Rugby time and a victory for Stade Toulousain #ST #Rugby 🏉

Rugby time and a victory for Stade Toulousain #ST #Rugby 🏉 ...

4 0
Morocco day 6 - Marrakesh - souks a go-go

Morocco day 6 - Marrakesh - souks a go-go ...

2 0
Place Jemaa el Fna Marrakesh Morocco

Place Jemaa el Fna Marrakesh Morocco ...

9 0
Click to rate this post!
[Total: 0 Average: 0]

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This