The city hugged the shores of the Ashtamudi Lake Kollam, the coconut groves fringed the lake on either side as if embracing it with love. The picture-postcard beauty of the Ashtamudi lake Kollam and the beautiful city of Kollam, known earlier as Quilon, endears itself instantly. We fell in love with Kollam and its lake, the gateway to the romantic backwaters of Kerala, at first sight.

After immersing ourselves in the serene beauty of Kovalam beach, it was time for us to lose ourselves in another facet of God’s own country, the mystical and fathomless beauty of the Ashtamudi Lake Kollam.

Ashtamudi Lake Kollam – Gateway To The Backwaters

The Ashtamudi Lake is the gateway to the famed backwaters of Kerala. The silky waters of the lake have been washing the shores of Kollam since time immemorial. The city of Kollam finds mention in the chronicles of many famed ancient explorers of the world, including Marco Polo and Ibn Batuta. The importance of Kollam and as a corollary, that of the Ashtamudi Lake Kollam is highlighted in these accounts.

Kollam was a very important port and a centre of the spice trade. Spices including Pepper, Cardamom, and Ginger, are left from here on barges and ships to different parts of the world. There was also a strong Jewish and Chinese presence in the region.

The Ashtamudi Lake Kollam is a freshwater lake and is so named because of its eight channels, that meander across the hinterland. The wetland ecosystem formed by Ashtamudi Lake is second only to the one formed by the Vembanad Lake.

An Unforgettable Sunset cruise on Ashtamudi Lake in Kollam, Kerala

Tantalizing glimpses of the Ashtamudi Lake, peeping shyly from behind the swaying palms, from our 5th-floor room in The Raviz Ashtamudi set the tone for what promised to be an exhilarating sunset cruise onboard a luxury boat of the hotel.

The sun shone with a brilliant orange hue and cast a golden band on the silvery waters of the lake as our boat slowly eased into it. It had been a humid, summer day and the cool wind that blew across the lake uplifted our moods, as we set sail across the Ashtamudi Lake Kollam. The waters of the lake had once been part of the historic spice route that linked India with ancient Egypt, Babylon, and other countries.

As we moved away from the shore, we could see the beautiful skyline of Kollam, ornamented with emerald coconut groves. Church steeples seemed to brush shoulders with temple gopurams on the horizon, as we slowly glided away from the shore.

As the sun slowly sank into a brilliant haze of kaleidoscopic colours, the friendly banter in the boat too slowly subsided, as the soulful beauty of the moment hypnotized everyone. The boat took a turn around a house that seemed to emerge out of the waters of the lake. A tall statue of a naked woman holding a torch stood as a silent sentinel in the house.

The statue erected by the owner of the house has many local stories attached to it. It is their own version of the Statue of Liberty. Some believe that the statue of the naked woman is a reminder to the fishermen going out to sea, that their womenfolk await their return home.

The beauty of the moment, when the transition of day into night happens is truly magical, and experiencing that moment on the silvery waters of the Ashtamudi Lake was an intoxicating experience. A small canoe sailing straight into the sunset provided a perfect setting for the scene that unfolded before us. It was a euphoric moment as we seemed to become one with time and the very elements of nature.

But magic does not last forever, and the spell was broken as the sun disappeared for the day, leaving behind it an eerie hush, and the promise of another day. Our boat too turned homewards, its trip done for the day, carrying with it a bunch of excited passengers, who felt blessed to have been part of a surreal experience on the now still and dark waters of the Ashtamudi Lake Kollam.

We carried with us memories of the lake and the spell that it had cast on us, memories that would be treasured for a long, long time.

How To Get To Ashtamudi Lake Kollam

Do you want to experience the sunset cruise on Ashtamudi Lake Kollam? Here are the coordinates, that shall help you plan your own trip to the quaint town of Kollam.

• Ashtamudi Lake nestles beside the city of Kollam (Old Name Quilon)
• Kollam is about 65 kilometres from Thiruvananthapuram
• Kochi is at a distance of about 139 kilometres from Kollam
• Allepey to Kollam distance is about 86 kilometres

Kollam is well connected by rail and road to other places in Kerala and India. The nearest airport is the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, from where you can travel by road to Kollam.

Cruise packages are offered at Kollam by Kerala Tourism as well as private resorts for their guests. You can choose from different options including full-day cruise, sunset cruise, short cruise, etc.

Here are some haunting images of the sunset cruise on Ashtamudi Lake in Kollam Kerala.

We hope you liked reading about our experience of the sunset cruise at the Ashtamudi Lake in Kollam. Do subscribe to our blog for more informative and interesting posts. Check out our Instagram and Twitter accounts to stay updated about our content.

We were on an 8-day South Kerala tour that was organized by KTM. The views and opinions expressed in this blog post are our own. #ktm #keralatourism #kerala

 

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