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Houseboats, Alleppey Overview
Kerala is popularly known as God’s Own Country, owing to its exquisite scenic beauty, whereas the city of Alleppey or Allapuzha is called the Venice Of The East due to the popularity of houseboats. If you want to take a look at the city’s captivating natural beauty, then a houseboat can make you feel great by letting you experience the vibe and nature while sailing on the water. The structure and construction of the city are such that you can explore the whole area just by being in a houseboat. The canals that are laid in a criss cross manner let you sit back and relax.
The houseboats can be luxurious or traditional. If you want to have a ride in those 120-ft long luxurious houseboats gliding through the backwaters of Alleppey, then it’s worth spending your money on to get a mesmerizing view of those dancing paddy fields and moving slowly under the canopy of those long and fluttering coconut trees. It is truly an amazing experience to enjoy and experience the picturesque nature around you over an invigorating cup of coffee. You can mostly find three people in the boat to manage and provide service throughout your stay. The orsman sails the boat and gives you the best sailing experience; an in-house cook can make some delicious local meals while you are enjoying the beauty outside. And most importantly, the guide will educate you about the landmarks and other interesting details.
More on Houseboats
Alleppey Houseboat Packages
You can board your houseboat at the Punnamada Lake. This is the place where the popular Nehru Boat snake Race is held. Depending on your budget, you can either go for a budget-friendly, or deluxe or luxury boat. Considering your budget and timing, you can either opt for a 1 Night/2 Days package or a 2 Nights/3 Days package.
In 1 Night/2 Days package, you will get a circle trip around Alleppey. This houseboat trip starts from the Punnamada Lake and ends at the jetty by going through SNDP Canal, Kuppapuram, and VilakkumaramThodu. But in 2 Nights/3 Days package, apart from showing you around Alleppey, they will show you around the beautiful towns, Kumarakom and Kottayam as well. Apart from these two packages, you can also hire a houseboat to see and go to places of your interest and choice. The price for these customised special tours may depend on how many places and area you want to cover.
These houseboats offer you three types of bedroom suites– one-bedroom suites, two-bedroom suites and three-bedroom suites. The price of these suits may vary depending on what type of houseboat you are opting for. We have mentioned a detailed info about the price for different types of suites.
1 Night/2 Days
One Bedroom Suite 2 pax (Three meals included): INR 7000 – INR 12000
Two Bedroom Suite 4 pax (Three meals included): INR 9500 – INR 14000
Three Bedroom Suite 6 pax (Three meals included): INR 12000 – INR 18000
2 Nights/3 Days
One Bedroom Suite 2 pax (Three meals included): INR 8000 – INR 13000
Two Bedroom Suite 4 pax (Three meals included): INR 10500 – INR 15000
Three Bedroom Suite 6 pax (Three meals included): INR 13000 – INR 19000
Special Cruise (More than 1 Night)
One Bedroom Suite 2 pax (Three meals included): INR 14000 – INR 24000
Two Bedroom Suite 4 pax (Three meals included): INR 19000 – INR 28000
Alleppey Houseboats Route
There are many routes for going around the Alleppey through the backwaters to see different places and enjoy the surrounding picturesque. You can have your breakfast, lunch and dinner in the houseboat and can enjoy the night sky and sleep peacefully inside the beautifully designed bedroom.
Alleppey round trip
The round trip will give you an all around experience around the lake Punnamada. If you haven’t been in a boat before and especially in a lake through backwaters with lots of mesmerizing sightseeing, then a round trip is what you must go for. The paddy fields, tall and leaned coconut trees and small cottage from both sides will give you a wonderful experience. At night, you will be at Lake Vattakayal, where you can spend your night. If you are looking for a place for your honeymoon, then this place can make your day romantic and super pleasing.
Alleppey to Kottayam
The houseboat trip is one of the most unique and memorable experiences out of many other activities and recreations. The trip, as mentioned above, starts from Alleppey and takes you into that backwaters surrounded by coconut trees and lush green paddy fields. While you will be experiencing the picturesques around you, you can feel the ultimate relaxation and pleasantness you might not have experienced before. You can see people living in their small cottages and working on the land masses lie below sea level.
Alleppey to Mankotta
The trip to Mankotta will go through those villages where people are earning their livelihood by coir making, which is the most important small industry of Kerala. It is truly interesting and educating.
Alleppey to Thottapally
The trip from Alleppey to Thottapally will take you back in time to the colonial era. Apart from enjoying the surrounding beauty, you can get a chance to visit a 400-year old Champakhulam Church. It is one of the seven churches built by St. Thomas in Kerala. This trip also takes you to the famous Hindu temple, Ambalappuzha of Lord Sri Krishna.
Alleppey to Kumarakom
You should keep your camera ready while being in the route of Alleppey to Kumarakom. This route is famous for bird watching and looking at those local villagers fishing from their small houseboats. You can see lots of migratory birds making their living ground in the salty waters of Alleppey.
Alleppey to Kidangra
As a tourist, the trip from Alleppey to Kidangra will be quite fascinating for you due to experiencing through the Vembanad Lake and Pathiramanal Island.
Alleppey to Alumkadavu
This trip will take you to the place where this houseboating was considered to be originated. In earlier days, these houseboats or Kettuvallams, as they say in Malayalam, were manufactured by some people living in Alumkadavu. You can get a chance to visit their and will get to know more stories from local people and your guide.
Nehru Trophy Boat Race
One of the most popular events in Kerala on the occasion of Onam festival is the Nehru Trophy Boat Race. It has been named so when India’s First Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru came to Alleppey in 1952 and got so impressed by the boat racing. This event is organised on the second Saturday of August every year. It’s not an event only enjoyed by the local people of Kerala, but it attracts the attention of lots of people around India and outside of India. Snake boats of Kerala are the special attraction in which rowers are applied all their strength to win against other participants. People from different villages and districts come to participate in this race. It will boggle your mind when you see hundreds of rowers rowing a boat in sync. People standing around the lake will cheer the participants, and it is truly amazing.
Best Time To Visit Houseboats
The best time to visit Alleppey is around August at the time of Nehru Trophy Boat Race. However, if you can’t make it around that time, you can consider going there in winter. You will get pleasant weather which will make it great for visiting all the places at any time. But in summer, it will be a bit hot and humid to visit around. In the rainy season, you should avoid visiting Alleppey because the houseboating is restricted at that time due to the rise in water level.
How to Reach Houseboats You can reach Alleppey using the railway route which is well connected to the city. You can either hire a taxi or auto rickshaw from the station to reach the houseboating place. You can use the bus service from Alappuzha KSRTC Bus Stand to go anywhere around the city.