The backwaters of Kerala have a mystic charm and alluring approach to the naked eyes of any onlooker. The cruise through the serene waters gleaming under the sunlight sways you away and takes you to a different world. The slipping away of the rural life on the banks of the backwaters, the shade from the coconut leaves forming a makeshift canopy adds a dual tone to the brackish water and the sight of men climbing the tall coconut trees without safety strings to collect toddy make the cruise a visual treat.

Sailing away in the pretty houseboats of your choice, hearing the boat slice away the rippling waters, the calms of the surroundings, the flying migratory birds, the rowing of the canoes and whimsical songs of the chirping birds make the cruise a silent and romantic affair with the mysticism of Gods Own country.

With food and beverages served on the board, there is something special in store for different kinds of packages you opt for. Foods served in houseboats are par excellence and maintain authentic traditional taste of Kerala. Fish and vegetable stews were primary on the houseboat menu however with the changing clientele and increase in global visitors the houseboat menu too has undergone changes but without changing the authenticity of the food.

Welcome drink Yes!

You are greeted with a welcome drink – a fresh cut coconut. The refreshing tender coconut water is a lead to the next activity on the boat. With the assistance provided to check in your rooms and once you’ve settled, and the cruise has commenced, you can be rest assured to be treated with natural escapades and scrumptious meals served onboard.

The chef’s cook out

Unlike the restriction in the restaurants and hotels on land, the kitchen entry in the houseboat is not restricted. You can visit the kitchen and watch the chef do his job and impress you with the little games he plays with his spices and serves up a delectable spread for you to relish.

You can find yourself treated with the traditional spread of Kerala meals. Rice, Lentils cooked with vegetables, side dish, fish fry, pappads, sweet, pickles. The food ingredients are freshly purchased from the market right before the cruise commences. Besides enjoying the cruise guests can also engage themselves in fishing. If your skills are fruitful and if you manage to catch a fish, the chef would do the deeds of cooking and serving it. The crabs, shrimp, lobsters sold on the shore can also be picked and be cooked on request.

As the evening sets in, time for some beverage. After a scrumptious meal and rewarding catch around 4:30 to 5:00pm, hot cup of coffee or spice tea can help mellow your heavy meal down. Be rest assured despite the heavy meal the delicious smelling evening snacks will stir up cravings to push down your belly some more grubs. Accompanied with fried tapioca, banana, finger chip and more the evening snacks with the hot beverage is perfect to relax and watch the lights of the sunlight go down.

As the sunsets, the houseboat lights up. You can enjoy a canoe or row a boat on the riverside and watch the village from a proximity. Not only will this add to your on water rural sightseeing but the activity will help with good digestion of all that you’ve eaten lazing off on the houseboat. With the sunset and your return to the houseboat, dinner will be served. Dinner dining in the darkness of the backwaters, the silence of the night and the moonlit sky adds to the unique experience of the houseboat cruise, and the food just completes the experience.

Wake up call!

Early morning Tea and coffee is a habit globally followed. Having it on board your cruise boat is like a topping on your dessert. A cup of hot coffee or tea and the view of refreshing sunrise is a lovely medley that goes hand in hand. You can opt for a continental breakfast comprising of bread, eggs and jam or go for south Indian breakfast with steamed pancakes, sour lentils and chutney (Idly Sāmbhar, chutney)

The houseboat menus have been made flexible to suit the taste buds of tourists from across India and Abroad. Hence the North Indian food, Continental food and South Indian food have been comfortably accommodated.

The houseboats also hire licensed chefs and cooks to ensure that the quality of food served is good, meets the required taste maintaining the authenticity of the dish, hygienically prepared and understand the requirements of the guest and cater accordingly. The chef and cooks are trained to render hospitality and be flexible towards customization of the meals and snacks if requested by the guests.

Cookery Classes

Some houseboats even offer cooking classes by reputed chefs. The cruise and class medley and the dishes to be learnt are unique and true to Kerala’s natural form. The cookery classes on the cruise teach authentic Kerala dishes and if you are lucky you chef might just give you an insight on how to prepare the famous Kerala moilee and Stews that have earned famed for being delectable and simply tasteful.

Candle light Dinners

The houseboat menu for newly married couples is slightly different. BE it on sharing or private boat cruise, the honeymooners are in for a gala treat. Right from the welcome drink to the entry into their cabins every arrangement involves an element of romanticism. The newlyweds are greeted and treated with a wedding cake and served special main course and desserts. Candle light dinner completes the romantic ambience set to make the occasion special for the newlyweds. Any special request made by the newlyweds with regards to modifications in the menu doesn’t even call for additional charges.

Kerala dishes comprise of coconut and coconut milk dominantly. String hoppers served with coconut milk and sweetened coconut, string hoppers and egg hoppers served with crab curry or shrimp curry, Beef pepper fry, Crab fry, Kerala chicken curry and more all make it to the houseboat menu. Prior intimation is mandatory for those seeking pure vegetarian food, North Indian Food, Jain Dishes or less spicy food for European tourists and accordingly the houseboat chef is arranged.

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In those days the main mode of water transprotaion in Kerala had been these Kettuvallams; especially in the Kuttanad regions. In moderntimes however, as a result of the improved means of transprotation, these Kettuvallams almost faced a slow death. Thanks to the modern tourism industy; these kettuvallams have resurfaced in a more suphosticated and luxurious form by the name HOUSEBOATS.These houseboats of the present age are huge slow moving exotic barges used for leisure trips. They have become a major sourse of attraction both for natioanl as well as internbatioanla tourists visiting Kerala. These Kettuvallams / houseboats have played a great role in the economic growth of Kerala. The fact that half a century ago there were more than 5000 kettuvalloms / houseboats in Kerala proves the economic importance of these boats.

A tour in the house boat will really take you to the height of enjoyment and ecstasy. It will be an unforgettable experience in your life. The slow movement of the house boats, the gentle touch of the sweet breeze from the cool backwaters all but mesmerizes you to an unmentionable excitement and happiness. It is an exotic feeling, so romantic, so thrilling, and so pulsating an experience it would be that you cannot but permit it never to be faded from your memory. The greenery, scenes of the villages, the boat jetties and passengers, the farmers and paddy fields, the coconut palms on either sides of the banks, all together make your trip most beautiful. On the whole you feel relaxed, calm and gentle as the backwaters.

Construction of House boats

Etymologically, kettuvallam is a compound word in Malayalam, namely, ‘kettu’ means ‘tied with’ and vallam means ‘boat’. Thus kettuvallam literally means two or more vallams tied up together. The present Kerala houseboats are in differernt sizes according to the rooms and salons (salone / large hall) it covers. Mostly, they are 95 feet to 107 feet in length and 13 to 19 feet width at the middle. All the raw materials needed for the construction of the houseboats are Eco-friendly. The hull is made of wooden planks tied together by ropes of coconut fiber. The common wood used in the making of it is locally called ‘Anjili’. The roof is made up of bamboo poles and thatched with palm leaves. To prevent the wood from deterioration, cashew nut oil which works as an Eco friendly protective varnish, is used to pain the exterior of the boat.

Each house boat is manned by minimum three (3) crews-boat Driver, Chef and cabin assistant. The menus served in houseboats are mainly traditional Kerala items. Traditional food cooked according to the taste of tourists whether it be vegetarian or non vegetarian.

These house boats are categorized into single bedroom, double bedrooms, and 3 and 5 bedrooms. Single bedroom means it can accommodate a couple or two persons. Double is meant for 4 persons and 3-bed can be shared by 6 persons. Besides big house boats with sundeck, private gallery with comfortable chairs, kitchen and toilet, there are also more luxurious houseboats with A/c facilities also available. Most of the houseboats have separate rest rooms.

A cruise in a houseboat is unique experience in itself. It will give you an opportunity to enjoy and contain a leisurely and pace of life. Here, you are balancing along the cool relaxing water experience and the remarkable demonstration of Kerala life. This cruise is an environmental friendly transport system which is best suited for clean trip. Houseboats in Kerala are not only economical but also non-polluting and environment friendly. It thus becames essential, that this mode of transportation be developed further and encouraged.

Today, the luxury houseboats are the most enchanting holiday experience in India. In this world of simple pleasures, you will glide past the earliest Chinese fishing nets, water lilies, lush paddy fields, coir villages, rustic homes, temples and coconut groves as you cruise through the backwaters of Kerala. A guided tour along the backwaters would offer you with a complete and most captivating experience and will also expose to you some interesting data about the life of local villagers.

The new generation-Houseboats are renovated forms of original Kettuvalloms. The modern type Houseboats have all the imaginative comforts like a Hotel, well-furnished bedrooms, modern hygienic toilets, precious living rooms, dining area, attractive kitchen and in some cases even a balcony for angling. Most of the houseboats are powered by inconspicuous inboard diesel engines and use solar energy for power requirements.

Types of Boats/Valloms

1. Chundans (Snake boats) : The present state of Kerala was once ruled by many Kings and it was divided over more than 5 regions. The Chempakasseri King, ruler of the Kayamkulam area was using the CHUNDAN VALLOM as his war ship in many a battles. He was the one who had for the first time constructed the Chundan vallom and used it for war purposes. He won many wars with these. To support this Chundan vallom (warship) in the battles, he had started building other types of valloms/boats too. Details of these other valloms / boats are follows as belows.

2. Veppu valloms: Which was used to support the chundan vallams. It was also known as Parunth Vallam (Kite-tail). All the items and food required for the soldiers in the Chundan vallom were carried by Veppu vallons.

3. Iruttukutty: It is also known as Vadakkan Oddy and they were much faster and the pirates started using it in the lakes. It did not make much noise while moving over the waters. The comparatively high speed and the low noise soon made it one of the most attractive ones for the pirates in the ancient times.

4. Thekkan Oddy (Company boats): This is a very beautiful boat with its nose like Churulan and its stern like Chundan. It is called Thekkan Oddy. In most of the boat races; especially in the famous Nehru Trophy Snake Boat Race at Aleppy these are used. The Thekkan Oddy boats are primarily reserved for the boat race of women.

5. Churulans: These are very unique type of boats that are pushed through the water with the help of poles, instead of the traditional oars. These are used by rich people while travelling. Long and thin bamboo poles used to move the churulans in the water. The oars men use these bamboo poles and they push it down and move from front to back and again.

6. Palliyodams: This type of boats have huge sterns than Chundan. The nose of the Palliyodams is much higher and helps it in moving much faster.

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