Our next stop was Coconut Lagoon -- a resort that can only be reach by boat -- located on the eastern shore of Lake Vembanad, Kumarakom, at the mouth of the Kavanar River. The resort is set on an abandoned coconut plantation in the heart of the Kerala backwaters.
The resort was beautiful -- the cottages we stayed in are called "Tharavads" -- the traditional wooden house of Kerala. Most of the cottages are well over a century old and a few actually date back to the early 1700s. The houses were dismantled and brought to their new site from various villages and plantations in the surrounding countryside. They were then reassembled in accordance with the tenets of "thachu shasthra" (ancient science of architecture). The cottages are furnished in alyny and jack woods with thick solid doors, intricate window carvings and terra cotta tile floors. Traditionally, Keralites bathed in the rivers, but the cottages have been modified with wonderful open-air bathrooms -- allowing you to shower al fresco in complete privacy (just you and your banana tree).
The reception building is a "nalukettu", a design that features a four-cornered open-roof courtyard within its basic structure. Originally located in the village of Vaikom not far from Coconut Lagoon, it was known as Kalapakasseril Illom and was contructed in 1860. The illom was purchased in 1993, at which time a team led by Bhaskaran Ashari, one of Kerala's few master craftsmen familiar with the traditional thachu shasthra style of carpentry went about the task of reconstructing the mansion as the resort's reception building.
We didn't have much time at Coconut Lagoon -- after the boat ride to the resort, we ate a late lunch and then went off to the Ayurvedic Center for massages and facials (see next post). It was dark by the time we finished at the Ayurvedic Center -- so off to the bar for some refreshing cocktails and then dinner. The next morning we were off at 9:30 am to catch our flight to Lakshadweep.
Click here to see all of my pictures from Coconut Lagoon.
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