The houseboats of Kerala are almost like a real home incorporated in a big boat. The boat is huge in width and length. This idea struck the youth of Alleppey and four young men actually brought this idea into the limelight. The emergence of houseboat has changed the tourism scenario in Alleppey. It is estimated that there are more than 1500 houseboats in Alleppey and another five hundred in Kumarakom.
These huge boats were initially huge rice barges. They were used to transport goods to the local port or the market. Literally they were huge trucks on water. When roads became more convenient, the "kuttuvallams" slowly started diminishing until the concept of the houseboat emerged. From one bedroom boat to an eight bedroom boat, these houseboats can occupy any number of people, depending on its size. Some boats even have a conference hall besides the bedrooms and these boats are intended for residential conferences and parties. With almost all household amenities, houseboats are real homes with bedrooms, attached bathrooms, kitchen, common sofas, dining space and furniture. These boats normally run on used trucks engine installed in the hull at the backend of the boat. The engine room is just above the kitchen neatly sealed with maximum sound reduction. The electricity and the water system relies completely on the inverters. The air conditioning is operated with generators. That's the reason why air conditioning is operating only during nights.
The boats are made of "anjilly" - the wood of jackfruit tree and the centre of the hull is teakwood. These factors vary with boat manufacturers. The roofing and other body parts are more of coir made products. This is the common practice but there are also other materials used to make the boat more luxurious. Once the structure is done, then it is almost like the interior designing of a home. It depends on what category would the boat be placed in. The boats are categorized as standard and deluxe and the pricing of the boat would also depend on this.
The common Check in time is 12:00 and the check out time is 09:00AM. On arrival the boat crew meets you and serves you a welcome drink. This is normally tender coconut. Then the luggage is shifted to your rooms and the cruise starts. The boats are normally parked on the bank of the canal which is normally accessible by road. You need to enter the boat with a ladder or detachable steps, just like what you see in airplanes. Once the cruise starts you will be sailing through the canals and the backwaters. There would be a 1 hour break then for lunch. Again the cruise starts after the lunch, by evening you will be served with snacks and tea.
And by evening the boat halts in a safe place in the banks of the canal which would normally be a private space owned by the houseboat operator. On request by evening you can board on to a smaller boat and you can go for a village trip where the small boat takes you to more interior places of Alleppey villages. This would definitely be an exciting trip as you would see a lot of lushing greenery and beautiful landscapes where the houseboat cant take you. This would be charged extra. Other options would be, you can go to the fish market on the bank of the water body and buy some fish and make a dinner for yourself, its all a bundle of experiences that you own during this. By evening you will be served with dinner and the air conditioning will be on and you can go to bed. In normal course it is suggested that you be in the room by 10 in the night.
Next day the cruise starts by morning 7 and it starts going back. Breakfast is also served in the meanwhile. All the meals are served according to what you have mentioned before the cruise. Even though there is a fully fledged kitchen in the houseboat, the vegetables and meat are bought on a daily basis. So you will need to mention it in advance so that you will get what you want during the cruise.
By morning you would have almost finish the cruised with one of the best experiences that you could have ever have in your life. You would have seen a lot of local people with their lives dependent on the backwaters, sand miners, shell miners, fishermen, and people at the fish market. It you have two days in a houseboat then that would definitely be the best option. You can go for church visits, coir factory visits, toddy parlors, and many more because you get to have more time if you are in the boat for two days and you can cover most of the parts of the backwater spots in Kerala connected via the Alleppey backwaters.
These huge boats were initially huge rice barges. They were used to transport goods to the local port or the market. Literally they were huge trucks on water. When roads became more convenient, the "kuttuvallams" slowly started diminishing until the concept of the houseboat emerged. From one bedroom boat to an eight bedroom boat, these houseboats can occupy any number of people, depending on its size. Some boats even have a conference hall besides the bedrooms and these boats are intended for residential conferences and parties. With almost all household amenities, houseboats are real homes with bedrooms, attached bathrooms, kitchen, common sofas, dining space and furniture. These boats normally run on used trucks engine installed in the hull at the backend of the boat. The engine room is just above the kitchen neatly sealed with maximum sound reduction. The electricity and the water system relies completely on the inverters. The air conditioning is operated with generators. That's the reason why air conditioning is operating only during nights.
The boats are made of "anjilly" - the wood of jackfruit tree and the centre of the hull is teakwood. These factors vary with boat manufacturers. The roofing and other body parts are more of coir made products. This is the common practice but there are also other materials used to make the boat more luxurious. Once the structure is done, then it is almost like the interior designing of a home. It depends on what category would the boat be placed in. The boats are categorized as standard and deluxe and the pricing of the boat would also depend on this.
The common Check in time is 12:00 and the check out time is 09:00AM. On arrival the boat crew meets you and serves you a welcome drink. This is normally tender coconut. Then the luggage is shifted to your rooms and the cruise starts. The boats are normally parked on the bank of the canal which is normally accessible by road. You need to enter the boat with a ladder or detachable steps, just like what you see in airplanes. Once the cruise starts you will be sailing through the canals and the backwaters. There would be a 1 hour break then for lunch. Again the cruise starts after the lunch, by evening you will be served with snacks and tea.
And by evening the boat halts in a safe place in the banks of the canal which would normally be a private space owned by the houseboat operator. On request by evening you can board on to a smaller boat and you can go for a village trip where the small boat takes you to more interior places of Alleppey villages. This would definitely be an exciting trip as you would see a lot of lushing greenery and beautiful landscapes where the houseboat cant take you. This would be charged extra. Other options would be, you can go to the fish market on the bank of the water body and buy some fish and make a dinner for yourself, its all a bundle of experiences that you own during this. By evening you will be served with dinner and the air conditioning will be on and you can go to bed. In normal course it is suggested that you be in the room by 10 in the night.
Next day the cruise starts by morning 7 and it starts going back. Breakfast is also served in the meanwhile. All the meals are served according to what you have mentioned before the cruise. Even though there is a fully fledged kitchen in the houseboat, the vegetables and meat are bought on a daily basis. So you will need to mention it in advance so that you will get what you want during the cruise.
By morning you would have almost finish the cruised with one of the best experiences that you could have ever have in your life. You would have seen a lot of local people with their lives dependent on the backwaters, sand miners, shell miners, fishermen, and people at the fish market. It you have two days in a houseboat then that would definitely be the best option. You can go for church visits, coir factory visits, toddy parlors, and many more because you get to have more time if you are in the boat for two days and you can cover most of the parts of the backwater spots in Kerala connected via the Alleppey backwaters.
