Kumarakom is a small village 14 km west of Kottayam. It is a part of Kuttanad, a ‘marvelous land’ located below the sea level, made up of several islands and has many backwaters. Kumarakom is an incredibly beautiful paradise of mangrove forests, lush green paddy fields and coconut groves, interspersed with enchanting waterways and canals adorned with white lilies. Located on the Vembanad Lake, this small waterside has an abundance of traditional native boats, crafts and canoes that take us into the heart of picturesque Kerala.
In the last century, an Englishman named Henry Baker, attracted by the beauty of this place, chose Kumarakom as his place of residence and built a bungalow by taking 104 acres of land from the then Maharaja of Travancore. He also built a beautiful garden.
This Victorian two-storey bungalow was built by Alfred George Baker in the year 1881. Built on huge pieces of teak wood dressed in mud on the lake shore, this bungalow of Henry Baker was home to four generations of his family. Mr. Alfred George Baker died at the age of 72 and his son George Alexander Baker continued to live here. His son Robert George Alexander Baker took over the management of the Kumarakom estate in 1946. Due to the implementation of land reform and land ceiling laws by the Kerala government, he had to sell off his estate in small pieces. He left India in 1966 and died in England in the year 1989.(Kerala Tourism)
