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Pakistan Karakoram Highway Expedition
Pakistan
House Boats are huge, slow moving, exotic barges adapted for sheer leisure trips. For centuries, Kerala's remote backwater communities used kettuvallam boats to transport rice from the paddy fields to market towns between Kuttanad and Kochi port. In Malayalam language Kettu refers to ‘dwelling structures’ ‘Vallam’ means boat. These boats made of bamboo, rattan, coir and wood with a thatched roof cover over wooden hulls are now favourite with tourists.
Usually measuring about 24 meters in length, Kerala's houseboats have been refashioned into stylishly furnished floating cottages. Depending on budget, options include houseboats with two floors, balconies, living rooms and even four or five bedrooms. It's possible to spend an afternoon to a few days on a backwaters houseboat, though two-day trips are the most popular. This allows travellers to lounge on deck and watch the local wildlife, scenery and world go by.
In the evening, houseboats moor, mostly in a secluded spot where you can enjoy an evening drink and traditional meal, cooked with fresh local ingredients and fish caught from the river. During the day, the main rivers are like a watery highway, so the journey won't always be peaceful. The days of being only the houseboat on the water are long gone. But the journey does provide the chance to see children playing in the water, fishermen with his daily catch and women washing clothes.
Amenities
Bar/PubConciergeCribs/Infant Beds AvailableMultilingual StaffRestaurantSafety Deposit BoxesLocation Journey round Kerala's beautiful backwaters which consist of a complex network of brackish lagoons, lovely lakes and canals.
Getting there Fly to Cochin International Airport. Cochin is the nearest airport to Houseboat, the drive from there takes around 1-hour 30-minutes.
When to go Isolated from much of India by the Western Ghats, the climate of Kerala & Karnataka is tropical. The best time to visit is from January through to April. Summer is hot and humid; the monsoon season arrives in early June and lasts till August. While September can be dry and humid. There can be a little rain in October and November, cooling off around December and lasting until February.
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