Punnamada Lake

Punnamada Lake (also called Punnamada Kayal) is a part of the Vembanad Lake, which is the biggest lake in Kerala. Vembanad Lake spans to a number of districts in Kerala. Hence, it is called by different names at different parts of Kerala. When the lake reaches Kuttanad, it is called Punnamada Lake or Punnamada Kayal. The Port of Kochi is located around two islands the Willingdon Island and Vallarpadam which lie in this lake. The lake is called Kochi Lake in this part of Kerala. The famous Annual Nehru Trophy Race of Kerala is also conducted on parts of Punnamada Lake. The Kochi Lake is a portion of the Vembanad Lake, which is located in and around the Kochi Mainland.

Kochi Lake forms home for several groups of small islands, which include Vypin, Mulavukad, Vallarpadam and Willingdon Island. Kochi Lake is home for the Kochi Port, which has been built around the Willingdon Island, as well as the Vallarpadam Island. Punnamada wetland system has a wide spanning area of over 2033.02sqkm hence making it the largest wetland system in India. The major part which interests the modern scholars and tourists alike is the Barrier Island which separates the fresh water lake from the saline marine water. The canals link the lake to the other fresh water resources and lakes which keep the inflow of the fresh water into this water body.

Punnamada Lake surrounds three main islands of Kerala, which are Pathiramanal, Perumbalam and Pallippuram. The islands are located on the widest part of the lake where the width of the lake is widest in breadth, approximately 14km. The lake is an extension of Vembanad Kayal, which spans from Alappuzha in the south to Azheekkode in the north. The total area which is drained by the lake is 15,770sqkm, which is almost 40% of the total area of Kerala state. The area of the surface runoff is 21,900km which is 30% of the total surface water resource of Kerala. Hence, Punnamada Lake is the largest surface water ecosystem of India. The place has thus become a major tourist attraction in Kerala.