A cluster of little islands on the Vembanad Lake in the area of Kuttanad, the village of Kumarakom is situated 14 km away from the town of Kottayam. Lined by several strings of palm trees, the region is home to luxuriant paddy fields, blue lagoons, deep backwaters, and dense mangroves that are the quarters of several diverse species of vegetation and wildlife.

Kumarakom was actually developed into a Bird Sanctuary from the original old rubber plantation. Today Kumarakom is a vacation retreat widely preferred by the Indians and foreigners alike. The bird sanctuary in Kumarakom that covers over 14 acres of land is a much loved destination of migratory birds and is in turn the bird lovers’ paradise.

A bird watcher would ideally love his tour to Kumarakom as he will have the opportunity to see an array of these winged creatures, like cuckoo, egrets, darters, waterfowl, herons, teal, wild duck and migratory birds like the Siberian stork.

Among the most amusing activities for the tourists visiting this place are boating and angling. Apart from the Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary that is one of the key tourist attractions in the state of Kerala, the Vembanad Lake which is supposed to be the largest backwater lake in Kerala, provides a host of interesting adventurous opportunities.

It is actually the breeding ground for a number of marine and freshwater fish including ‘Karimeen’ (Pearl Spotted Fish), shrimp (chemmeen in the local language) and prawns.