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Kumarakom Tourism

God’s Own Country
State : Kerala
District: Kottayam
Type of Tourism : Backwaters, Beaches, Ayurveda
Altitude : 1600 meters
Best Tourist Season : September to March
Telephone Code : India (0481), International (+91)
Pin Code : 686563
Languages spoken : Kannada, Hindi and English
What to buy : Handicrafts, Souvenirs Made from Coconut Shells like Lamps, Showpieces, Lamp Shades, Ashtrays and Clothes.
Food Specialties :Rice, Fish, Idli, Dosa, Vada, Sambhar, Uthapam, Appam, Kappa, Karimeen Pollichathu, other Sea Food such as Prawn, Shrimp, Crab and Squid, Pickles, Coconut Water, Kallu
Fauna : Ducks, Egrets, Herons, Moorhens, Kingfisher, Other Waterfowls, Shrimp, Prawn and other Freshwater Fish
Harvest : Rice, Coconut, Banana, Jackfruit, Tapioca, Mango, Pineapple, Ambazhanga, Chaambenga, Puli, Peraycka, Aathaycka, Cocoa, Coffee, Yam, Colocasia.
Local transportation : Bus, Taxi, Boats, Steamers,
Attractions : Ayurvedic Massage, Backwater Cruise, Houseboats, Boat Race, Fishing
Nearby Tourist Destinations : Aleppey, Kochi, Kottayam, Thiruvalla, Thekkady, Munnar, Kovalam, Ponmudi.


About Kumarakom

Kumarakom; an aureate bouquet of dainty little island villages gracefully arranged around the ‘Vembanad Kayal’ is a popular tourist destination in the Kottayam District of Kerala where the symphony of backwaters promises an enrapturing encounter with nature at its best. Vembanad Kayal that provides the most fascinating backdrop to Kumarakom is a celebrated backwater body and the largest freshwater lake of the state. This exotic backwater hamlet endowed with thick lush greenery, verdant and spanking fresh shrubs and bushes, paddy fields, coconut groves and mangrove forests overwhelmingly covering the every vacant inch of land and water lilies and algae embroidering the fringes offer a flabbergasting treat to the thirsty eyes. The morning dew and smoky mist that wraps the surface with ethereal veil adds more than a glint to the milieu.
The most precious jewel in the casket of ‘God’s Own Country’ and the incarnation of pristine seraphic beauty renders Kumarakom a utopian spot to spend holidays with your loved ones. Be it medley of pigments illuminating the azure at twilight, or the sweet chirping and twittering of migratory birds, the horizons burnished with rockweed and celestial water lilies in their virility of cajoling colors of backwaters, Kumarakom proposes the most sensational experience in its tropical fabric. Cruising around the interconnected waterways in your snail paced houseboat and savoring the mesmerizing beauty of the ambience is a picture came to life right from your dreams.

History Of Kumarakom

This tiny village loaded with infinite natural pulchritude derives its name from two words ‘Kumaran’ and ‘Akam’. Kumaran is the name of the deity worshipped here since ages and Akam means the domicile. Thus, Kumarakom is the resident of the Lord Kumaran. Kumarakom is established on the man made land that was reclaimed from the cosmic Vembanad Lake. Kumarakom village earlier came under the territory of Vadakkancore kingdom but in the year 1750, the King of Travancore Kingdom: Maharaja Marthanda Varma conquered it and annexed it to the Travancore Empire. The first Christian Church ever built on this paradise personified was set up on the piece of land gifted by the King of Travancore in the year 1769.
The modern history of Kumarakom marked its onset with the disembarkation of an English farmer named Alfred George Baker in the year 1847 who fell in love with this Arcadia at first sight. He salvaged about 500 acres of land from the Vembanad Lake and cultivated huge pastures of paddy fields and gardens there. In addition to that, Alfred George Baker established here a ‘Baker House’, which is also nicknamed as the ‘History House’. Gradually he grew famous with the natives and came to be known as Kari Saipu (Baker Sahib) amongst the locals. Four generations of Baker Sahib lived in the Baker House till 1962. They so got mingled up with the locals that they even spoke Malayalam and wore the traditional Kerala outfit ‘Mundu’. The Baker Memorial School was commissioned in Kottayam approximately in 1925 AD and Bakers also introduced a number of reforms to this vicinity.
Kumarakom was officially declared a division of the newly formed state of Kerala in the year 1956. Presently, Kumarakom is a part of the Special Preservation Effort of the Government of India and the Baker House is taken over by the Taj Group of Hotels converting it to a luxury heritage hotel.