HOUSE BOATS

Kerala's backwaters and lagoons stretch over 1900 km. Kerala lives along these backwaters. They snake over the state physique, bestowing paddy fields with good harvests, and provide the whole village with drinking water and other facilities. The backwaters refer to the large inland lakes of Kerala. Today these backwaters act as vital waterways for the transport of people and produce.

Gliding along the calm and serene backwaters flanked by green leaves and palms, seeing a rural Kerala preserved through the ages and completely hidden from the road is an enchanting experience to any visitor, more so while sailing a slow-moving, spacious Kettuvallam

Have you ever gone houseboat cruising on the backwaters of Kerala? If you haven’t, make sure you do. This one’s really an absolutely wonderful, unforgettable experience!

The houseboats of today - huge, slow moving, exotic barge used for leisure trips - are the reworked kettuvalloms of olden times. Kettuvallom (HouseBoat) is a country boat that was used in the early days for the transport of goods from the isolated interior village to the town. With the advent of the roads, bridges and ferry services, gradually the kettuvallom went of the scene. Now this kettuvallom are back again as a major tourist attraction. A ride on a kettuvallom is a fabulous way to explore the fascinating beauty of the backwaters.

Kettuvallom (HouseBoat) is about 80feet in length and has a width of around 13feet. The kettuvallom or ‘boat with knots’- was so called because the entire boat was held together with coir knots only- not even a single nail is used during the construction. The boat is made of planks of jack-wood joined together with coir. This is then coated with a caustic black resin made from boiled cashew kernels. With careful maintenance, a kettuvallom can last for generations.

Today the HouseBoat has all the creature comfort of hotel including furnished single, double and triple rooms. Modern toilet, cozy living room, private balcony with comfortable chairs, parts of the curved roof of wood or plaited palm open out to provide shade and allow uninterrupted views the portion of the kettuvallom. It was also covered with bamboo and coir to serve as a separate rest room for the kitchen and crew.

The cuisine is of traditional kerala flavor along with the local specialties meals would be cooked on board with delicious fish and prawns

Now these are a familiar sight on the backwaters and in Alleppey alone, there are as many as 120 houseboats. While converting kettuvallams into houseboats, care is taken to use only natural products. Bamboo mats sticks and woods of the aracanut tree are used for roofing, coir mats and wooden planks for the flooring and wood of coconut trees and coir for beds. For lighting though, solar panels are used.

What is truly magical about a houseboat ride is the breathtaking view of the untouched and otherwise inaccessible rural Kerala that it offers - while you float! Now, wouldn’t that be something.