Kerala · 1 days
Vembanad Lake: An Inland Voyage
A full day by boat through Lower Kuttanad's reclaimed polders and forgotten waterways
Most people have crossed the Vembanad — Kerala's largest inland lake — through the Kochi backwaters, Vaikom, Punnamada or out to Kumarakom and Pathiramanal. Far fewer have gone the other way: south from Kottayam through the reclaimed polders of Lower Kuttanad, seeing the everyday life of the waterlands up close.
Away from the open, mid-lake crossings most backwater trips follow, this full-day journey run by Roots & Roads is as much a field study as an outing — tracing how the Vembanad was formed, and how its lake-beds were reclaimed and turned into paddy fields, from the water itself. A curator travels with the group throughout, discussing the history and cultural significance of each site, along with the biodiversity, ecological pressures and farming practices of the waterlands.
The first departure (5 July) is already full, with 22 registrations. The next trip runs on 30 July. To register, contact Manish Kuzhiveli on 90374 70750.
Highlights
- ◆A full-day inland route through Lower Kuttanad's reclaimed polders — a route few travel by water
- ◆The 1876 Munro Light and the story of Kottayam's lost lake port
- ◆Waterbirds, riverside village life, and (July–November) red water-lily blooms along the Kodoor
- ◆The Perumparayan memorial and other Kuttanad-region folklore
- ◆Lakeside lunch of fresh Vembanad fish at Kayapuram
- ◆Curator-led commentary on the ecology, history and reclamation of the Vembanad polders
Itinerary
- 01
Kodimatha to Pazhukkanila and back
8:30 am — depart Kodimatha boat jetty, Kottayam, down the Kodoor river past Travancore Cements and Kottayam port to its wide bend near Nettayam, watching for purple moorhens, watercocks and cormorants among the riverside fisherfolk's homes. Onward past Malarikkal, where the Meenachil joins the Kodoor, and Muttam jetty — the 1695 Dutch-mapped site of Muttathippara fort and the tribal shrine of Muthanum Muthiyum Nada — through the Nattakam–Pallam and Thiruvaykkari paddy fields, flowering with invasive red water lilies if travelling between July and November. At the confluence of the Kodoor and Meenachil rivers, the boat enters triangular Pazhukkanila lake, passing the 1876 Munro Light (raised in memory of British Resident Col. John Munro) and the Valiyaveettil temple. South through the reclaimed polders — E-Block, Cherukara, Pallithanam and Rajapuram, where the Manimala's eastern branch joins — to Vattakayal and Kayapuram, near CUSAT. A short auto-rickshaw detour visits the Perumparayan memorial before lunch of lake fish at Kayapuram's Aradhana restaurant, around 1 pm. The return runs via Chithirakayal, past the abandoned Chithirapalli church and Metrankayal, through Appukayal and the Puthentode canal — watch for baya weaver nests — back to Kodimatha by 5:30 pm.
Included
- + Full-day boat travel (Kodimatha ⇄ Kodimatha)
- + Lunch at Kayapuram
- + Auto-rickshaw detour to the Perumparayan memorial
- + Curator-led commentary throughout
Not Included
- − Personal expenses
- − Anything not specifically listed as included