Kerala House Boats

The Houseboats of Kerala are giant country crafts, measuring up to 80 feet in length is the perfect way to experience the beauty of Kerala's backwaters.

Traditionally, the houseboat was called Kettuvallam (boat with knots), because the entire boat was made by tying together pieces of wood. Not even a single nail is used during the construction of a Kettuvallam. Jack wood planks are joined together with coir rope and then coated with black resin made from boiled cashew nut shells.

The materials that are used in making these crafts are all local and Eco friendly bamboo poles, coconut fiber ropes, bamboo mats, coir carpets etc. The Kettuvallam of Kerala were the historic method for transporting rice and other trade.

In the last twenty years, the boats have been converted to take visitors through the small canals and villages that still inhabit this road-less and car-less world. But these boat services have been laid off with the developments taken place in the transport services in the recent past.

Today the Kettuvallam have been adapted into luxuriously furnished houseboats that have all the creature comforts of a good hotel including furnished bedrooms, modern toilets, cozy living rooms, a kitchen and even a balcony for angling.

To complement the traditional way of rowing using large poles, outboard engines are also provided. The boats are designed to facilitate a most eco-friendly functioning.