river. The smaller canals are often lined by hibiscus plants which lean partly over the canals to form a green canopy, from which hang the lovely hibiscus flowers. In the olden days, when the bund separating the backwaters from the sea was not yet built, the water in the canals moved in and out with the sea tide and it was salty. After the Thanneermukkam bund was constructed, the connection to the open sea was not free anymore, and so the tidal movement of the water in the canals stopped. It stagnated and then plenty of water hyacinths started growing densely in the canals, forming lovely green carpets with pale lilac flowers carpets. Religion Main religions are Hinduism and Christianity, More than 70% of people belong to Ezhava caste under four SNDP of Sree Kumaramangalam Temple, and the rest of the people belong to Christian religion The famous church in Kumarakom is Attamangalam St John the Baptist church. The 1000-year-old Thazhathangady Juma Masjid, a mosque, is located nearby Kumarakom, almost away. The people of Kumarakom celebrate both the festivals of Temples and Churches equally without the discrimination of caste and religions. Fishing Fishing is mainly done using the small boats (vallams) and gill nets (gear). The main catches are black clam (Villorita cyprinoides), Karimeen (Pearl spot also known as Etroplus suratensis) and shrimp (Metapenaeus dobsonii). Boat race Kumarakom has a wide variety of houseboats and is well known throughout the world for houseboat experience. They are used only for tourists these days. A separate boat known as kettuvallam is used by the people to go fishing or to transport goods. Apart from these, there are elegant special boats like Kochu-odi Vallam, Odi-Vallam, Iruttukutthi Vallam, Churulan Vallam and Chundan Vallam, which take part in the boat races around Onam time, including the Nehru Trophy boat race Alappuzha. There is a private sailing club in Kumarakom, located on the shore of the Vembanad lake. Modes of access One can access Kumarakom by many means: By air: via Cochin International Airport approximately . By rail: via Kottayam By road:KSRTC(10 kilometres) Buses and taxis are easily available at all times of the day from Kottayam. By boat: Public ferry by SWTD (Govt. of Kerala) to and from Muhamma (near Alappuzha) to Kumarakom Jetty. Public ferry is also available from Cheepunkal jetty located apart. Once can avail a public ferry and return to same spot