Have you ever gone houseboat cruising on the backwaters of Kerala?
If you haven't, Come discover the enchanting backwaters and lively villages of Kerala on a houseboat cruise. Nowhere in the world you will get this kind of experience !
The houseboats of today
- huge, slow moving, exotic barge used for leisure trips - are the reworked
kettuvalloms of olden times. The original kettuvalloms were
used to carry tonnes of rice and spices - a standard kettuvallom can
hold up to 30 tonnes - from Kuttanad to the Kochi port.
A portion of the
kettuvallom was covered with bamboo and coir to serve as a restroom and
kitchen for the crew. Meals would be cooked on board and supplemented with
fresh fish from the backwaters. Today, the tradition is still continued and
the food from the local cuisine is served by the Kuttanad localites, on
board.
Now these are a familiar
sight on the backwaters and in Alleppey alone, there are as many as 120
houseboats.
While converting
kettuvallams into houseboats, care is taken to use only natural
products. Bamboo mats, sticks and wood of the aracanut tree are used for
roofing, coir mats and wooden planks for the flooring and wood of coconut
trees and coir for beds. For lighting though, solar panels are used.
Today, the houseboats
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.
Parts of the curved roof of wood or plaited palm open out to provide shade
and allow uninterrupted views. While most boats are poled by local oarsmen,
some are powered by a 40 HP engine. Boat-trains - formed by joining two or
more houseboats together - are also used by large groups of sight-seers.
What is truly magical
about a houseboat ride is the breathtaking view of the untouched and
otherwise inaccessible rural Kerala that it offers - while you float!
Now, wouldnt that be something?
1) Alleppey round 1 night
Day
1
Pick up from Alleppey
finishing point jetty at 11.30 hours.
Cruise on the
Pallathuruthy river, Pukaitha river, Pullangady till Champakulam.
Sights at Champakulam -
The Champakulam church, which is more than 200 years old, the Kottaram
temple and the famous snake boat the Champakulam Chundan.
Proceed to
Munnattumugham for night stay.
Enroute, can stop at
Nedumudy to visit the local market.
Day
2
Cruise starts after
breakfast and passes through Chennamkery, Kainary, Pallathuruthy and
Kuppapuram, all small villages, to reach Alleppey Finishing Point jetty at
9.30 hours.
(Alleppey
known as the Venice of
the East is a small town south of Cochin. Most of the houseboats are parked
here. The Vembanad Lake, narrow canals, paddy fields and the sleepy villages
all make Alleppey a beautiful place.)
2) Alleppey Round 2
nights
Day
1
Pick up from Alleppey
finishing point jetty at 11.30 hours.
Cruise on the
Pallathuruthy river, Pukaitha river, Pullangady till Champakulam.
Sights at Champakulam -
The Champakulam church, which is more than 200 years old, the Kottaram
temple and the famous snake boat the Champakulam Chundan.
Proceed to
Munnattumugham for night stay.
Enroute, can stop at
Nedumudy to visit the local market.
Day 2
Cruise through Mancompu
Get down for short walk through Mancompu village
Visit to the Bhagavathy Temple at the village
Back to the houseboat
Proceed to Kavalam via
Pulinkunnu and Puthenthodu - a long stretch of a narrow canal.
Rest of the cruise
through big rivers with paddy fields on both sides via Mangalam, E-block,
H-Block and R-Block.
Night stay at Cherukali
Kayal
Day 3 :
Cruise through C-Block,
Kuppapuram and Azhikkal canal
Reach Alleppey Finishing Point Jetty at 9.30 hours.
3)
Alleppey Round 3 nights
Day1:
Pick up from Alleppey
Finishing Point Jetty at 11.30 hours.
Cruise through
Pallathuruthy, Karimpavalavu, Karumady canal - long stretch of narrow canal
- to reach Thottappally for night stay
Enroute can visit
Karumady Kuttan, a statue of Buddha.
Day
2:
Cruise through Thandapara, Pullangady to reach Champakulam
Sights at Champakulam: Champakulam Church, Champakulam Chundan - the famous
snake boat
Continue cruise through Nedumudy and Mancompu.
Stop
for walk through Mancompu village and visit Bhagavathy temple - one of the
oldest temples near backwaters
Night
stay at Onnamkara.
Day 3:
Cruise towards Pulinkunnu
Visit Pulinkunnu Church and local market
Proceed to Kavalam
through Puthen thodu - a long stretch of narrow canal. Cruise through river
flanked by paddy fields via Mangalam, E-block, H-Block, R-Block, D-Block and
so on to reach Cherukali Kayal
Night stay at Cherukali
Kayal
Day 4
Cruise through C-Block,
Kuppapuram and Azhikkal Canal to reach Alleppey at 9.30 hours.
4)Alleppey
Kumarakom 1 night
Day1 :
Pick up from Alleppey Finishing Point Jetty at 11.30 hours.
Cruise through Azhikkal
Canal, Kuppapuram, Pallathuruthy, Swamy Canal,Meenapally Kayal,Muttael
Canal, Kainakary Church Canal, Vatta Kayal, Venattukadu Canal, Aakkathara
Canal, Paddy fields ( Managalam 4000, Rajapuram, E-Block 14,000 and
R-Block). Night stay near Chithira Kayal.
Day 2:
Cruise through Vembanad Lake to reach Kumarakom at 9.30 hours.
(The
lovely Kumarakom has a number of popular resorts like the Coconut Lagoon and
the Taj Garden Retreat. Most tourists who visit Kumarakom board the
houseboats from their resorts.
Those
who wish to go to the Thekkady wild life sanctuary ( you can see many wild
elephants here and also trek to the rain forests of the Western Ghats) can
disembark at Alleppey.
Those
who wish to go on to the capital city of Thiruvananthapuram and Kovalam -
the famous beach nearby can get down at Alinkadavu, a place near Quilon.
From here, some other means of transport must be arranged for the one-hour
journey to Thiruvananthapuram.)
5) Alleppey-Kumarakom 2 nights
Day
1:
Pick
up from Alleppey Finishing Point Jetty at 11.30 hours.
Cruise through Pallathuruthy, Karimpavalavu and Pullangady to reach
Champakulam.
Visit
Champakulam Church and the famous snake boat Champakulam Chundan.
Cruise through Nedumudy to reach Munnattumugham for night stay.
Day 2:
Cruise to Mancompu.
Walk through village and
visit to the Bhagavathy temple.
Back to boat to proceed
to Pulinkunnu
Visit to local church
and market.
Cruise towards Kavalam
through Puthen Thodu (a good stretch of narrow canal).
Further cruise will be
through big rivers with paddy fields on both sides via Rajapuram, 6000,
H-Block, R-Block and so on.
Day 3:
Cruise through Vembanadu Lake to reach Kumarakom at 9.30 hours.
6) Alleppey
Kumarakom 3 nights
Day 1:
Pick up from Alleppey
Finishing Point Jetty at 11.30 hours.
Cruise through
Pallathuruthy, Karimpavalavu, Kanjippadam and Karumday canal (long stretch
of narrow canal).
Visit Karumady Kuttan
the statue of Buddha
Proceed to Thottappally
for night stay.
Day
2:
Cruise through Thotappally, Thandapara, Thakazhy, Pullangady to reach
Champakulam.
Visit
Champakulam Church and the famous snake boat Chamapkulam Chundan.
Continue through Nedumudy and Munnattumugham to reach Mancompu. Visit
Mancompu temple.
Night
stay at Onnamkara.
Day 3: Cruise through
Onnamkara till Pulinkunnu
Visit Pulinkunnu Church
and local market.
Continue cruise through
Puthenthodu (narrow canal), Kavalam, Liziu, 6000, Managalam, D-Block, 4000,
C-Block, Marthandam, R-Block to reach Chithira Kayal for night stay.
Day 4:
Cruise through Vembanad Lake to reach Kumarakom at 9.30 hours.
7)
Allepppey (or Kumarakom) Alinkadavu 2 nights.
Day 1:
Pick up from Alleppey
Finishing point Jetty at 11.30 hours.
Cruise through
Kuppapuram, Pallathuruthy, Kainakary, Pally Canal, Venattukadu Canal,
Moonnattumugham and Nedumudy till Champakulam.
Alight to visit
Champakulam Church, Champakulam Chundan.
Night stay at
Pullangady.
Day
2:
Cruise through Pullangady, Karumady
Alight at Karumady to visit Karumady Kuttan ( Buddha statue).
Continue through Thottappally, Kumarakody and Pallana to Thrikunnapuzha.
Alight for walk through Thrikunnapuzha village and visit local coir
manufacturing unit. Night stay at Kayamkulam lake.
Day
3:
Cruise through Kayamkulam Lake and Vallikkavu to reach Alinkadavu at 9.30
hours.
Meals served will
be of typical Kerala cuisine
Evening: Tea / coffee with snacks.
Dinner: Rice, chapathy, vegetable curries and chicken.
Breakfast: Bread, butter, jam, and eggs to order.
On request, we serve
dosa or idli and other Kerala dishes for breakfast.
Soft drinks, beer and wine to cost extra.
Hard liquor will not be available on board due to government restrictions.
Tariffs
1 bedroom houseboat - 125 US$ ( Rs. 5000) Per Night with all meals for two persons
2 bedroom houseboat - 175 US$ ( Rs. 8000) per night with all meals for 04 persons
Reservation: travelplan@asianetindia.com