Houseboats In Kerala
A Cruise along the palm
fringed waterways of Kerala in a luxury houseboat or ketuvallom is the
most enchanting holiday experience in India today. In this world of simple
pleasures, you'll skim past ancient chinese fishing nets, water lillies,
lush paddy fields, coir villages, rustic homes, temples and coconut
groves. Innumerable lagoons, lakes, canals, estuaries, and te deltas of
forty-four rivers make up the 900 km backwater network of Kerala. The
backwatrs mainly covers the four districts of the state - Kollam, Alleppey
(alappuzha), Kottayam and Kochi ( Cochin ). The largest backwater body,
the Vembanad lake flows through Alleppey (Alappuzha) and Kottayam
districts and opens out into the sea at the Kochi (Cochin) Port. The
Ashtamudi Lake, the second largest backwater stretch, offers the longest
ride and is considered the gateway to the backwaters.The Houseboats or
Kettuvalloms of Kerala are giant country crafts, measuring up to 80 foot
in length, retrieved from being lost to the State altogether.Once these
Rice Barges ruled the backwaters, poled along by one or two men, heavily
loaded with rice, coconut and other commodities. But in the recent times,
the ketuvalloms or houseboats have been replaced by more and modern modes
of transport, relegating them to neglect and decay
