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Avian paradise of Kumarakom

India tours will be invigorated by Kumarakom, a town featuring lush rice paddies, breathtaking mangroves and more varieties of birds than most travelers could ever dream up.

Spread over a cluster of islands, the journey between Kumarakom hot spots is often just as thrilling as the destinations. A maze of tropical waterways create a unique new way for most travelers to get around. However, for those who find the non-paved "roads" a little cumbersome, the payoff by way of sites is worth any discomfort along the way.

Spanning 14 acres, the Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary sits on the banks of Vembanad Lake. Several migratory behemoths make their temporary home here, with species including the darter, Siberian stork and a variety of herons. Bird inhabitants come from Siberia and the Himalayas, so guests who visit the sanctuary at different times of year will find the species completely different from one season to the next. Located amid woodlands, the sanctuary also lets travelers experience more of the flora/fauna attractions of the region. Many hikers cannot help but pause to watch the birds in this ecosystem. Colorful kingfishers will zoom past trekkers as they walk along the trail, while fly-catchers will delight guests with their mid-canopy acrobatics.

Because of its lakeside location, guests can additionally partake on bird-watching outings aboard a houseboat or motorboat. Often providing a unique glimpse of very different species, true ornithology lovers will want to see all the sanctuary has to offer by both land and by sea.

Guests who simply can't get enough of avian species can visit a very interesting museum dedicated in part to them: Bay Island Driftwood Museum.

Started by a local schoolteacher named Raji Punnoose, the collection was created through Punnoose's beachside travels, where she would collect pieces of driftwood that were shaped like birds, other animals and humans. Many pieces were collected after cyclones that often hit the Bay of Bengal, leaving behind a number of roots, stumps and tree trunks scattered across the beaches there.

After collecting the usable wood chunks, Punnoose would then bring all pieces back to Kumarakom where they were chiseled, sanded and polished until they truly had an uncanny resemblance to a creature. Encompassing an astonishing number of well-worked pieces, sculptors will delight in wooden carvings of alligators, monkey-filled trees and beautiful women that fill the shelves of Bay Island's exhibits. 

Posted: February 13, 2012

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