Vembanad Lake runs 96 kilometres along Kerala’s coast, India’s longest lake and the state’s largest wetland, its backwaters threaded with coconut palms, houseboats and fishing villages that have barely changed in generations. Karma already knows this water well: Karma Chakra has anchored the group’s presence in Kumarakom for years, a 26-room boutique perched by the water with its own thatched houseboat and an Ayurvedic spa where mornings move slowly. From 01 November, Karma Vembanad joins it nearby, a contemporary property featuring a stunning lakefront restaurant, as well as a coffee shop and a well-equipped gym that suit those who want backwater views without giving up their morning espresso or workout. Karma Vembanad leans toward comfort and company, its event spaces welcoming groups and celebrations as much as couples. Evening cruises drift out from both properties as the lake turns amber, one of Kumarakom’s small daily rituals.
There are a myriad of compelling destinations close to Karma Vembanad – Kumarakom bird sanctuary is a mangrove-fringed roost for herons, egrets and cormorants that comes alive each winter migration. Pathiramanal Island, a small, uninhabited island in the middle of the lake, is a nature haven, while the village of Malarikkal turns its flooded paddies violet each October, when native water lilies bloom by the thousand. Further south, Alappuzha, better known abroad as Alleppey, is where Kerala’s houseboat tradition began and remains the easiest place to board one. Seek out the sacred at Vaikom’s Mahadeva Temple, one of the state’s oldest and most revered Shiva shrines.
