Vembanad Lake is also called Vembanad Kayal and this is the longest lake in India and the largest of its kind in Kerala. In various places it is called in different names as Punnamada Lake in Kuttanad and Kochi Lake in Kochi. It is in this lake that the Nehru Trophy Boat Race is conducted.

Vembanad Lake could be said as the heart of the Kerala Backwater tourism and here you can see a number of kettuvallams going along. On the eastern coast of this lake is situated the Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary. The lake is famous for its scenic beauty. The lake with its canals and estuaries and lagoons stretches about 196 kilometers in the north south direction and 29 kilometers in the east west direction.