Kottayam Tours, Kerala

On the shores of the enchanting Vembanad lake, 14 km from Kottayam, lies Kumarakom a small-town. A boat ride into the countryside offers a close look into an engaging rustic life. Skiff-fishermen launching their cockleshell boats. Large flotillas of ducks waddling down to the water from thatched houses on the banks. Women, neck-deep in water, with their waist-length hair heaped in a crown, searching for fish with their feet.

At Kumarakom, you could sail the backwaters in rented houseboats, which are poled by local oarsmen and are simply furnished with a living room, a bedroom and bath, together with a raised central platform creating a private sit-out for the passengers. Sections of the curved roof of wood or plaited palm open out to provide shade and allow uninterrupted views. Boat trains formed by joining two or more houseboats together-make for a convenient mode of sightseeing when the company is large.

You could even take a canoe out into the quiet lagoons and spend time angling. Make sure you sample Karimeen and fresh Toddy - the favorite fresh-water food and the local wine. This is an ideal place for backwater cruises. A beautiful backwater spot accessible from Kumarakom is Alleppey.

Kumarakom Bird Sanctury :
A 14 acre bird sanctuary is situated on the eastern banks of the Vembanad lake. The sanctuary adds to the natural beauty of Kumarakom. Birds (waterfowl, water ducks, cuckoos, wild ducks etc.) nest and spend happy summers here. Birds like Siberian storks migrate here every year. The sanctuary is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The temple is situated at Kottayam and is built in the indigenous Kerala style of architecture. The main festival 'Phalguna Utsave’ is celebrated during March. The Koothambalam here is one of the best in the state and has a wealth of paintings on it's walls.

The St. Mary's Church, located 2 km from Kottayam was built as early as 1550 AD. The church is famous for it's Persian stone cross engraved with ancient inscriptions.

The church was built by the descendants of the Syrian Kanaya Christians who migrated to India in 345 A.D., from Jerusalem and near-by places under the leadership of Kana Thoma.

The Valiyapalli Church is famous for it's two granite crosses known as Persian Crosses, which were brought to their present location from a much older church near Crangannore, built by the forefathers of the builders of this church.

On each of the stone slabs there is a cross with an inscription in the Pahalavi language, which was the official language of the Sassanian dynasty in Persia.

The smaller slab is placed on the northern altar while the bigger slab lies on the southern altar of the church.