Ashtamudi Lake is the starting point for one of Kerala's most rewarding waterway journeys. The lake's palm-fringed shores, where fishermen pull in their nets at dawn and egrets wade through the shallows, are a proper antidote to modern India's bustle.
Short boat trips across the lake can be arranged from the KSWTD ferry terminal near the town centre. Sunset from the water, looking back toward the colonial spire of the old port, is memorable. Longer houseboat cruises of one or two nights allow you to explore the quieter southern channels, where rice paddies come down to the water's edge and the only traffic is narrow country boats loaded with coconuts.