Kumarakom Hotels

Kumarakom is a tourist village in Kottayam district, Kerala, India. It is a cluster of little islands on the "Vembanad backwaters". It houses the popular "Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary". The history of this exotic backwater village revolves around the "Baker House" (also known as the "History House"), which was built by the British missionary Alfred George Baker, whom the locals called "Kari Saipu" (possibly an elision from "Baker Sahib"). Four generations of Bakers lived in the house until 1962. It is reported that they spoke Malayalam, the local language, and even wore the "mundu", which is the traditional formal wear of the people of [Kerala] (a plain white "dhoti", with golden silk lining). The Baker Memorial School in Kottayam, was started around 1825, by members of the same family. The Baker House itself was in ruins, until it was taken over by the Taj Group and restored into a luxury heritage hotel. Kumarakom is home to a wide variety of tropical flora and fauna. An important point of interest is the Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary, where a significant number of bird species are known to make migratory visits. The park area covers around 15 acres and functions under the aegis of the government of Kerala. Originally, developed as a rubber estate by the English colonial enterpreneurs, it was formerly known as the Baker estate. One of the important migratory species is the Siberian crane. Other tropical species such as the egret, heron, waterfoul, ducks, moorhens and kingfisher are commonly found. The Vembanad Lake, is home to many marine and freshwater fish. Varieties of shrimp, prawn and fresh water fish are boutiful. The "Pearl spot" fish is found in relatively lower numbers, and is a local delicacy