These houseboats were traditionally called as Kettuvallams (boat with knots), which means a boat made by tying of wood pieces together. Not a single nail is used in the making of these traditional huge rice boats. Each jack wood plank was joined to the next with coir ropes and then coated with a caustic black resin made from boiled cashew nut shells. The materials used in the boathouse are all local and Eco friendly bamboo poles, coconut fiber ropes, bamboo mats, coir carpets etc. With careful maintenance, these rice boats lasted for generations and formed an integral part of the ethos of this land. These traditional country boats were used as the mode of transport in the early times from the isolated interior villages to the towns. But these boat services have been laid off with the developments taken place in the road transport services in the recent past.

Today, these giant 80 ft. long goods carriers of a past era, have been adapted to make the most exciting tourism product in India – the luxuriously furnished houseboat. But recently there are lots of new developments adopted for making the new generation luxury Houseboats (not so traditional).

Kerala Travel Agent & Tour Operators offer house boat cruises as integral part of their Kerala Tour Packages. Houseboat vacation in Kerala is considered to be the highlight of Kerala visit. Honeymoon in Houseboat is also an interesting trend. There are many Houseboat honeymoon packages are available. Stay in a Kerala houseboat (rice boat) during your vacation for a memorable backwater cruise experience in Kerala. Houseboats of all the leading Houseboat operators in Kerala are provided. Best Houseboat cruise operators are selected from Kumarakom and Alappuzha.