Kumarakom: Canals and Birds
A place where lagoons, canals and villages unite amidst the beautiful Vembanadu lake.
Day 1: From Chittoor to Kumarakom. After that, to get inside the resort, you had to go by boat which was organized by the resort since the property is completely surrounded by water. On arriving, the reception was an outdoor one and coconut water was given as a welcome drink. I spotted a lovely magpie sitting on the branch. There were many small canals running through the resort. I also got many lovely pictures of cattle egrets (males have some yellow feathers on the neck and head). The room was opposite to the Vembanadu Lake and there was a lot of duckweed scattered on its surface. The skies offered some real beauty and contrast from the blue of the day to the cloudy nights.
Just a little away from the room was a small butterfly park where I was able to get a click to a black and white butterfly. Spotted more birds later and a small cute turtle too in the nearby pond. It was a really beautiful and immersed property, definitely recommend two nights. We went a little further into the lake by ferry to watch sunset panoramas across the lake, we returned, and watched a splendid classical Indian dance performance to be followed by dinner.
Day 2: I rose up early next morning for a bird-watching session with a naturalist. We spotted a good amount of birds (including cattle egrets obviously!), the Bulbul, some Magpies, a female Paradise Flycatcher (rare summer sight), and some Mynas. It was before breakfast and we also learned that this property was in close proximity to a bird reserve (that wasn't open to anyone, not even us) and that allowed many sightings. The naturalist was an amazing person and he explained to us the working of some birds based on what we saw like the way some species mated and the way some species built nests. We followed by breakfast.
Day 3: After breakfast, we had a canoe ride through canals and villages over the backwaters of Vembanadu lake. We spotted a ton of birds including a snake bird, a heron and a couple of ducks. We also found a snake swimming and a ton of water lilies. The local villages gave a gist of the culture. We stopped once midway for a fresh coconut, straight from the tree and it was delicious. The rest of the day was about winding up, relaxing and having some chilled out time.
