There are many facets to the Coconut Lagoon experience. The heritage of the old feudal villages of Malabar, the vast Vembanad Lake by which it is located, the shimmering waters of the canals that criss cross the property. This is an ideal place to spend some time, to relax and to learn about the local way of life. The resort has an impressive record for sustainable tourism and offers a variety of activities in a beautifully peaceful setting.
Fittingly, Coconut Lagoon can be reached only over water. The great Vembanad Lake, an inland sea that stretches clear across central Kerala, forms a breeze-laden watery highway. Guests arrive in a generously clunky wooden boat with a little inboard motor (so as not to disturn the fish), travelling sedately through a narrow canal, its banks covered with flowers. The lobby turns out to be a reconstructed 19th century mansion with a stone jetty attached.
It is an ideal place for starting or ending a cruise on the backwaters, offering the chance to watch the many communities of fishermen in the shallow waters of the lake. The resort is adjacent to a small backwater fishing village and tours to the local community are arranged by the resort staff. A sizeable area of the resort is a dedicated butterfly garden, attracting a wide variety of species, while a fish sanctuary is home to numerous species of fish and turtles, as well as resident kingfishers. A Vecchor Cow keeps the grass from growing too tall. Just over the channel from the resort is Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary, and tours led by the local naturalists allow you to watch the many species that nest here, including cormorants, egrets, herons and Siberian storks, as well as the native flying foxes, the largest species of bat in the world.
Managed by cgh earth experience hotels, the same local company as Spice Village in Periyar, the resort is leading the way for sustainable tourism in Kerala. Its organic gardens provide food for the restaurant, with compost produced on site. There is a water treatment and recycling plant and even a biogas plant producing gas for cooking.
