Converted to accommodate tourists, the houseboats have become floating cottages having a sleeping area with western-style toilets, a dining area and a sit out on the deck. Most tourists spend the night on a house boat. Food is cooked on board by the accompanying staff –  having a flavour of Kerala.

Houseboat cruises through Kerala are a delightful experience for the tourists. The Kerala backwater is a chain of canals, rivers and lakes linked each other and stretching across a length of approximately 1500 km. The tourists cruising through the backwaters can experience the scenic beauty of the state, and get a feel of the lifestyle, food habits and customs of the local people. Backwater cruises in Kerala are carried out in traditional boats with modern amenities, known as "Kettuvallams".

One of the best destinations in Kerala backwaters is Alleppey, otherwise known as " Venice of the East", which has a large number of canals that meander through the town. Vembanad Lake is the largest of the lakes, covering an area of 200 km and bordered by Alappuzha, Kottayam and Ernakulam districts. Other backwater attractions are Kasaragod, Kollam, Kozhikode , Kumarakom, Kuttanad and Thiruvananthapuram.

Ancient Rice boats
 
Traditionally, the houseboat was called kettuvallam and pathemari, which means a boat made by tying together pieces of wood. Unbelievable as it may sound, not a single nail is used in the making of a kettuvallam. Jackwood planks are joined together with coir rope and then coated with black resin made from boiled cashew nut shells. The materials that go into the making are all local and eco friendly bamboo poles, coconut fibre ropes, bamboo mats, coir carpets, etc.
These traditional country boats were giant-sized 80 feet-long crafts which were used as the only available mode of water transport in the early times from the isolated interior villages to the towns. They were referred to as rice barges.
In the olden times, the crew cooked on board, and most often, their meals included delicious pearl spot fish caught straight from the water. A portion of the House Boat had bamboo roofing, and that was where the crew would rest. Traditional lanterns were used for lights.

Developed at a time when railways were unknown and roads were expensive to build, the traditional houseboats used to be the main mode of inland transportation with the prime purpose of ferrying paddy harvest. These boat services have been laid off with the developments taking place in the transport services in the recent past.

Modern Houseboats

Today, the giant 80-feet long barges called kettuvallams have been adapted into luxuriously furnished houseboats. A modern kettuvallam usually has one to five bath attached rooms, an open lounge, deck, kitchenette and a crew comprising two oarsmen and a cook. Your holiday in this tranquil world, in the comfort of modern furnished houseboats, is bound to be an out-of-the-ordinary experience.

The modern House Boats have all the creature comforts of a good hotel but none of those hassles - well-furnished bedrooms, modern hygienic toilets, cosy living rooms, a  kitchen and in some cases even a balcony for angling and swimming pool on upper deck. Most modern ouse Boats are powered by remarkably unobtrusive outboard engines; some others are poled by experienced oarsmen. Today’s houseboats or kettuvallams include air conditioned rooms, a magnificent itinerary and a chef to pamper you with the full range of deliciously hot and spicy Kerala cuisine.

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