The south Indian state of Kerala is rightly called as “the God’s Own Capital” because of its immense beauty nestled in almost all the districts of Kerala. So, the district of Kollam is one of the examples of nature’s beauty which is gifted with sea, forests, mountains, lakes, backwaters, plains, rivers, tropical crops, vast green fields etc. credited with “next to paradise for nature’s lovers”. The district of Kollam is surrounded by the Arabian Sea on one side, and lakes and lagoons and verdant tropical forests on the other.

Location:

The district of Kollam is situated on the south west coast of India surrounded by the districts of Alappuzha to its northern side, district of Thiruvananthapuram to the southern side, district of Pathanamthitta to its north eastern side, district of Thirunelveli to its eastern side and the Arabian Sea to its western side that combinedly make a beautiful maritime district of south India. Geographically, the district of Kollam extends from latitude 9° 28' N to 8° 45' and longitude 76° 28' to 77° 17' N.

Access:

Air: nearest airport thiruvananthapural (71 km).
Rail: kollam is an important railhead of the southern railways.
Road: an excellent roat network links kollam to all major towns & cities.

History:

The name of Kollam is believed to be derived from the Sanskrit word “Kollam” which means “pepper” and was built by Sapir Iso a Syrian merchant, during the period of 9th century A.D. Kollam is an old sea port town on the Arabian coast that drawn the attention of the international tourists since the ancient time. One of the first foreign settlements made in this district of Kollam by the Chinese who developed their trade relations as early as in 14th century AD. After that, influx of European travelers began from Portuguese, followed by Dutch and then British and all they had established their palaces and sometimes called as the “City of Palaces”. It also served as the gateway to backwaters and maritime commercial relations about which Ibn Batuta remarked as one of the five ports, which he had seen in the course of his travels in the 14th century AD.

Climate:

The tourism of Kollam is evergreen because the climatic condition remained pleasant throughout the year. Nevertheless, the climate of Kollam remained hot and humid during the summer from March to May with the average temperature of 25° Celsius to 32° Celsius. Then the climate changes with coming of monsoon from June to September. During winter from December to February, the temperature ranges from 18° Celsius to 25° Celsius.

Wildlife Sancturies:

The Indian state of Kerala has mesmerized the tourists coming from all parts of the world for its 14 wildlife sanctuaries which are nestled in the lush green forest of Kerala. Kollam Wildlife Sanctuaries is one of the destinations of Kerala for the nature lovers’. The wildlife sanctuaries of Kollam are located at a distance of 66 Kms from the city of Kollam which is easily accessed by the Thiruvananthapuram Airport, Thenmala railway station and the well connected roadways.

Pilgrimage Centres :

The culture and heritage of Kollam district is rich which are being retained by the local people by organizing different fairs of festivals celebrated through out the whole year. Some of the important festivals of Kollam are Craft’s Festival celebrated during the month of December-January; Ashtami Rohini is celebrated for five days during the months of August-September; Kerala Tourism Boat Races is the most important festival of Kerala held on 17-20 January every year; Kollam Puram is a colorful ten days festival celebrated in the month of April; Oachirakali festival is celebrated in the month of June.

Places to visit :

Kollam district is famous in the world for its various tourists attractions of Adventure Park which delights the children, an ideal for family tourism; Kottarakkara once the capital of Elayadathu Swarupam; Kottukal Rock Cut Cave Temple is a magnificent masterpiece of Sculptures; Jatayupara is a huge rock at Chadayamangalam; Palaruvi Waterfalls is 5 Kms from Ariankavu; Ashtamudi Lake is one of the biggest Backwaters of Kerala; Shendurni Wildlife Sanctuary is situated on the banks of the River Shenduny; Sasthamkotta is famous for Kerala's largest freshwater lake; Thangassery is famous for fort and lighthouse; Thirumullavaram Beach is an ideal for swimming or bathing in the sun.

Excursions :

The famous excursions from Kollam are Sasthamkotta which is located at the distance of 29 Km from Kollam famous for hills and water lake; Ochira is 34 Km from Kollam which is famous for pilgrim centre; Kulathupuzha is 64 km from Kollam known for the Sastha temple; Thenmala is 66 Km from Kollam famous for eco-tourism; Ariankavu is 70 Km from Kollam famous for the shrine; Palaruvi Waterfalls is 75 Km from Kollam known for its beautiful picnic spot.

Beaches :