The immense advantage of the sightseer, Kerala offers you the opportunity to relish its resplendence comfortably stationed in a houseboat. The houseboats are innovative versions of its ancestor, the ‘kettuvallom’. The kettuvalloms have been popularly used as a means of transport. The construction of these are thoroughly indigenous and eco friendly to the hilt. Wooden planks are tied with ropes made of coconut husk.The houseboats are a technical marvel. Their design incorporates the best of the old and the new. Even while retaining the strong flavour of traditionalism, they are nothing less than the standards of a star residential hotel when it comes to comforts and conveniences. Meticulously furnished and elegantly floored, these houseboats provide you the choice of single, double or triple bedrooms. The houseboats come attached with a neat, flushing WC and kitchenette. Some houseboats offer the luxury of a private balcony and sun decks with comfortable chairs.

To suit the pockets of the paying tourist, houseboats also provide dormitory services. The brilliance of the moonlit night comes alive in a time-honoured lantern, though the houseboats are equipped with modern lighting and fanning amenities by using solar energy. At your assistance would be the crew comprising of the oarsmen and the guide and the chef. The houseboats, with their Houseboats, Kerala Travel Vacationsseparate crew quarters, are powered by a small engine. Kettuvallam, the traditional name of the houseboat, is a boat made by tying together pieces of wood. Believe it or not, Kettuvallam is made without using a single nail.

Jack wood planks are joined together with coir rope and then coated with black resin made from boiled cashew nut shells. Now-a-days, these giant 80-foot long crafts are transformed into luxuriously furnished houseboats accommodations with an open lounge, one or two bath attached bedrooms and a kitchenette, and are extremely eco friendly, merging smoothly into the panorama. A Kettuvallam usually has one or two bath attached rooms, an open lounge, deck, kitchenette and a crew comprising two oarsmen and a cook. Lights are given the shape of traditional lanterns.