Kumarakom, a tiny village located between the shores of Vembanad Lake the largest of Kerala’s backwaters and a vast 200-square-kilometre lagoon provides an idyllic setting for relaxing with its calm waters and horizon merges imperceptibly with the milky tropical sky. Houseboats gliding across the glassy surface of the lake appear to be floating on thin air, and flocks of birds on the wing are pursued by perfect mirror images of themselves on the water below.

The eastern shore of the lake lies the Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary, 14 acres of prime nesting territory and a particular haven for birdlife. Local fishermen punt visitors on canoes through the shallow water each morning and evening to admire the flocks of birds that congregate on the water’s edge and surrounding trees. Among the migratory species who descend on these wetlands each winter are a small number of rare Siberian cranes, renowned for their high-altitude flights across the Himalayas.

With some beautiful hotels overlooking the backwaters like the Coconut Lagoon, Kumarakom Lake Resort and Phillip Kutty's Farm, Transindus rates this as one of the most attractive locations to unwind, relax and recharge the batteries