Alleppey houseboat cruise

A kettuvallam is a traditional Kerala rice-and-coconut cargo boat, built from planks stitched together with coir rope rather than nails, and roofed with woven palm thatch. Converted for tourism, it now carries one to a few cabins, a crew of two or three (a helmsman and one or two cooking and housekeeping staff), and an open rooftop deck with cane loungers where most of the trip is actually spent.

Cabins range from a simple fan-cooled room with an ensuite bathroom on a standard boat to an air-conditioned private cabin with better fittings on a deluxe boat; the choice is confirmed on your quote once we know your dates and budget.

The boat moves at walking pace through Alleppey's network of canals and out onto the wider water of Vembanad Lake, so the cruise is as much about what passes the deck as the destination.

• Backwater villages built along the canal banks, with houses, temples and churches standing a few feet above the waterline.
• Coir-making — coconut husk fibre twisted into rope by hand, a traditional local trade seen at several points along the route.
• Toddy-tappers climbing coconut palms to collect the sap used for toddy, a mildly alcoholic local drink.
• Paddy fields reclaimed below the lake's water level and drained by pumps, a distinctive feature of the Kuttanad region around Alleppey.
• Egrets, kingfishers and other waterbirds working the shallows, and other houseboats and canoes passing at the same unhurried pace.

Meals are cooked fresh in the boat's galley and are included in the cruise: typically a Kerala-style lunch and dinner of rice, fish or chicken curry, vegetable sides and sambar, plus a simple breakfast before disembarking. Vegetarian and other dietary needs are accommodated when flagged in advance.