Do you like to imagine immersing yourself into the emerald green backwaters for a whole day? Would you like to swim with the ducks, bloom with the lilies, catch fishes only to release them again in the water - or, just stay put in the wooden canoes, navigate the narrowest possible canal and observe the slow life going by on the other side of the canal? If your mind says a Yes to any of these, a full day canoe cruise in the placid Kumarakom Backwaters is all that you want for your next vacation. 

Here are the things to expect in a Full Day Canoe Cruise in the Kumarakom Backwaters: 

1. Your day starts with a majestic sunrise over the Backwaters: 

On a full day cruise, you can expect a splendid start of your day by observing the majestic sunrise over the Backwaters. As an early bird, you can expect very few people around and the sun playing with the colors in the sky becomes an amazing vista to watch at. You can make yourself at one with the changing sky and the changing views around. 

2. Bird Watching: 

The early morning as the sun rises, the birds set out from their nests in search of food for themselves and their little ones. It becomes the best time to observe the birds in their natural habitat setting out for their daily job. You can experience watching plenty of water birds and tropical birds as the canoe glides by slowly. During the winter months, you can get to see a number of migratory birds as well as Siberian Cranes as the Kumarakom Backwaters become their favorite habitat during the winter months. 

3. Observing Toddy Tapping in the early morning: 

The toddy tapping activity occurs only during the wee hours of the morning. To know more about the toddy tapping activity please read about our courageous local men in this blog. It is a spectacular show of bravery, courage, grit, skill and determination as the toddy tappers climb around 70 odd feet of coconut trees every day to collect the sap from the tree. The sap is sweet but starts to ferment quickly when it comes in contact with the air. Tasting the cool drink straight from the tree is an experience of a lifetime for sure. 

4. Exploring the burst of flavors while having Kerala Traditional Breakfast: 

We offer traditional Kerala Breakfast in a full day cruise in which you can experience a plethora of flavors along with the varied dishes from our part of the land. The best thing is our breakfast menu is not pre-decided. We cook with whatever freshest ingredients we can collect in the morning from our local farms and kitchen gardens in our backyards. We believe in the traditional proverb that one should have breakfast like a king and we serve kingly breakfasts here with Puttu or Cylindrical Rice Cakes flavored with desiccated coconut, Chick Pea Curry, Idiyappams with Egg Curry, Salads and Local Chutneys, and most, most, most quintessential local bananas. 

5. Mingling with Local Life around while having tea from the local tea shop: 

Our local tea shops are our traditional conversation points. Our local people meet each other in the tea shops, sit together and join in conversations with each other over cups of teas.The conversation topics have a wide range - starting from world affairs to sports to movies to environmental affairs - you can never get tired. Would you like to join in those conversations? 

6. Visiting Local Toddy Shops: 

Like the local tea shops, the local toddy shops, too, are interesting centers where the local people come and sit together. In the toddy shops, you can get to sample the local wine toddy along with spicy side dishes like vegetarian and non-vegetarian snacks, boiled and mashed tapioca, fried fishes and chips. The food served in the local toddy shops have a truly local flavor and each of them speaks a volume about the food culture of the Kumarakom Backwaters. 

7. Sampling Kerala traditional lunch: 

You can get to experience the richness of Kerala’s traditional food when we serve you the lunch platter made freshly from the freshest ingredients available here. Like breakfast, the lunch menu is also not pre-decided because our menu stays true to the freshest finds and catches of the day. The spices are also freshly ground that can impart layers of flavors in different dishes. The lunch consists of locally grown red rice or Kerala Matta Rice, Curries made from locally available fresh vegetables, Daals, Fish Curries or Meat Curries depending upon your preferences. 

8. Observing Fishing Activity or Doing the Fishing yourself: 

In the evening, you can get to watch our local fishermen and fisherwomen in action as they catch fishes in ingenious ways - some with nets, some with anglers, some even with bare hands - can you believe it? Fishing happens to be one of the most important activities here in the Backwaters and happens to be an important livelihood along with coir making and farming. The Kumarakom Backwaters is blessed with a bounty of varied fishes that keep on multiplying taste for our palates. On the full day cruise, if you feel like, you can also try a hand at fishing. You can learn fishing from our local expert fisherfolks themselves and have a great time at the backwaters! 

9. Try a hand at canoeing: 

Canoes are locally made narrow wooden boats that are rowed with the help of oars. There can be one or two oars. The wooden canoes can navigate the narrowest of canals and can be really helpful to observe the life at the Backwaters up close. Would you like to try a hand at canoeing? Our expert canoe men can help you with this. Canoeing over the wide backwaters can be a soothing soulful experience for what’s more magical than gliding waters beneath with soft winds swaying by as you move up? 

10. Learn local handicrafts like coir making and coconut leaf weaving from our experts: 

If you look for learning handicrafts made from sustainable resources, your search might end with our local art of coir making and coconut leaf weaving. Our local community at the Kumarakom Village and the surroundings are deft artisans with profound knowledge in coir making and coconut leaf weaving. Coir is a natural fibre extracted from the coconut husks and are used to make products like ropes, floor mats, brushes, mattresses and intricate showpieces depicting the traditional culture of Kerala. Coir is made by hand as well as using simple machines. You can learn both the craft styled from the expert coir makers of our place. 

Coconut leaves are used to make fences, roof shades and showpieces. The art of weaving coconut leaves into beautiful and sturdy designed fences is a true delight to watch and learn from our expert womenfolk - our dear chechis. 

11. Winding up the day with conversations and snacks: 

After an eventful day, you can wind your day up with crispy and tasty local snacks, piping hot tea and warm conversations with us. Having food in the canoe is an amazing experience itself!

The Full Day Canoe Cruise provides you with the chance to live a full day over the Kerala Backwaters. As the vehicle is a canoe, you don’t miss any sight that you might miss if you are riding on a half closed houseboat. The canoe ride experience becomes a truly local and fantastic memory that you might keep cherishing for the rest of your life.