About Kumarakom Houseboats
A family operation working out of Cheeppunkal Jetty since 2009. 4 licensed kettuvallams, 18 crew, one lake.
How the boats are built
A kettuvallam — literally a "tied boat" — is built from anjili planks stitched together with coconut coir rope and sealed with cashew-nut resin. The traditional hull uses no nails at all. Ours are built and repaired at the yards in Alappuzha and Kumarakom by the families who have always done it.
What has changed is everything above the waterline: a diesel engine, a generator, en-suite bathrooms with bio-digester tanks, and a galley that can turn out a sadya for twelve.
Licensing and safety
- Every hull is registered with the Kerala Maritime Board and surveyed annually.
- Life jackets in adult and child sizes, life buoys, fire extinguishers and a first-aid kit on board.
- Captains hold inland vessel licences; the crew is briefed on man-overboard and fire drill each season.
- All movement stops at 5:30 PM under the Inland Vessels rules, as it does for every operator.
On the lake
- Bio-digester sewage tanks, emptied ashore. Nothing goes into Vembanad.
- No single-use plastic bottles — filtered drinking water is refilled from a tank on board.
- Fish and vegetables are bought at Kumarakom market the morning you board, not trucked in.
- Engines idle at the mooring rather than running through the night, generator excepted.
Booking and cancellation
30% advance holds the boat. The balance is settled on board at check-in by cash, UPI or bank transfer. There is no card machine on the boat.
- More than 30 days before check-in: Nothing is charged; the advance is refunded in full.
- 30 to 17 days before: 15% of the total booking amount is charged.
- 16 to 10 days before: 30% of the total booking amount is charged — the advance, in other words.
- 9 days or less before: 100% of the advance is charged.
- No-show: 100% of the advance is charged.
If we cancel for weather or a mechanical fault, you are refunded in full or moved to another date, whichever you prefer.
Rates are inclusive of all taxes and full board for the party on the booking.
Find us
Cheeppunkal Jetty — Near St. Antony's Church Cheeppunkal, Under Cheeppunkal Bridge, Kumarakom, 686563, Kerala, India. Boarding at 12:00 PM, check-out at 09:30 AM.
Booking desk open 24 hours, all seven days.