Experience With Ashtamudi Lake

The most popular tourist attraction of Kerala is backwaters cruise. Its really a wonderful and unforgettable experience!. The palm-fringed, tranquil backwaters were once the state's trade highways. With 41 west-flowing rivers, the backwaters stretch to almost 1,900 kilometers. The backwater routes date back over the centuries and have been long used for all transportation needs, in particular trade in coconut, rubber, rice and spices. The Ashtamudi lake, surrounded by red cliffs and swaying coconut palms, still bears traces of its former links with China. On a backwater cruise from Kollam to Alappuzha all along the waterline you can see the famous Chinese fishing nets gracefully hanging over the lake, as covered country boats ply the backwaters.

House boats provide an opportunity for exhilarating watersports. With a gentle breeze to aid, one may sail around the Ashtamudi Lake.The 9 hour boat ride from Kollam to Alappuzha along these backwaters can be an unforgettable experience. Located in Kollam district, Ashtamudi is famed for its panoramic and magnificent views.The Ashtamudi Lake is so named because of its eight 'arms' or channels is the gateway to the backwaters. 

Best Season: August to March
To Reach:  Nearest Railway Station: Kollam is connected to most Indian cities and is on the railway routes.
Nearest Airport: Thiruvananthapuram International and Domestic Airport 76 km away from the city.

the source: mathrubhumi

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Kumarakom

Kumarakom, 16 km away from Kottayam town, Central Kerala is a cluster of little islands on the Vembanad Lake, and is part of the Kuttanad region. The bird sanctuary here, which is spread across 14 acres is a favourite haunt of migratory birds and an ornithologist's paradise. Egrets, darters, herons, teals, waterfowls, cuckoo, wild duck and migratory birds like the Siberian Stork visit here in flocks and are a fascinate the visitors.

An enchanting backwater destination, Kumarakom offers visitors many other leisure options. Boating and fishing facilities are available at the Taj Garden Retreat, a sprawling old bungalow-turned-resort.

Waterscapes, the backwater resort of the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation has independent cottages built on stilts, set amidst coconut groves and panoramic view of the backwaters. Holiday packages involving houseboats, traditional Kettuvalloms (rice barges) offer great experiences.

Getting there:

Nearest railway station: Kottayam, about 16 km.
Nearest airport: Cochin International Airport, about 76 km from Kottayam town.

The source
keralatourism.org
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Kerala Backwater Cruise

Cruise through Kerala in a houseboat!

Have you ever gone cruising in a houseboat on the backwaters of Kerala? If you haven't, make sure you do. This one is really a wonderful and unforgettable experience!

Present day houseboats are huge, slow moving exotic barges used for leisure trips, and are in fact reworked version of kettuvallams of olden times. The original kettuvallams were used to carry tons of rice and spices. A standard kettuvallam can hold up to 30 tons from Kuttanad to the Kochi port.

The kettuvallam is held together with coir knots. Not even a single nail is used during the construction of the boat.. The boat is made of planks of jack-wood joined together with coir. This is then coated with a caustic black resin made from boiled cashew kernels. With careful maintenance, a kettuvallam can last for generations.

A portion of the kettuvallam was covered with bamboo and coir to serve as a restroom and kitchen for the crew. Meals would be cooked onboard and supplemented with freshly cooked fish from the backwaters.

When the modern trucks replaced this system of transport, some one found a new way that would keep these boats, almost all of which were more than 100 years old, in the market. By constructing special rooms to accommodate travelers, these boats cruised forward from near-extinction to enjoy their present great popularity.

Now these are a familiar sight on the backwaters and in Alappuzha alone, there are as many as 500 houseboats.

While converting kettuvallams into houseboats, care is taken to use only natural products. Bamboo mats, sticks and wood of the areca nut tree are used for roofing, coir mats and wooden planks for the flooring and wood of coconut trees and coir for beds. For lighting though, solar panels are used.

Today, the houseboats have all the creature comforts of a good hotel including furnished bedrooms, modern toilets, cozy living rooms, a kitchen and even a balcony for angling. Parts of the curved roof of wood or plaited palm open out to provide shade and allow uninterrupted views. While most boats are poled by local oarsmen, some are powered by a 40 HP engine. Boat-trains - formed by joining two or more houseboats together are also used by large groups of sightseers.

source:keralatourism.org

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