The Kumarakom Lakes Area, and a Visit To a Unique Driftwood Museum in Kerala, India
The Kumarakom Lakes Area, and a Visit To a Unique Driftwood Museum in Kerala, India The taxi ride from Varkala Beach northeast to the Kumarakom lakes area took about four hours. Kumarakom is a backwater, a fertile, green area with large lakes. We are staying on the shores of Vembanad Lake, which is a Great Lake. It is so large that it has its own internal wave patterns, and the other shores are barely visible from our shore. There are a few passengers ferries crossing the waterways, but vehicles must drive around the lakes, using bridges to cross between them. Technically, it is not a lake, although it is surrounded by land. At its northernmost point, it opens to the Arabian Sea, which makes it technically a huge bay or a harbor. The Great Vembanad Lake is famous for its beautiful houseboats, which are made traditionally from wood and bamboo and are roofed by coir (woven coconut fronds). Village life along the lake and its many tributary canals, which has the feel of islan...
