District 02 · Kerala

Kollam

Gateway to the backwaters

The lie of the land

The old spice port of Quilon opens onto Ashtamudi, the eight-armed lake where Kerala's backwaters properly begin. From its jetties the classic day-long cruise to Alappuzha departs, while inland the district climbs through cashew country to waterfalls and forested hills.

Best season: October – February
Getting there: Trivandrum Intl (TRV) · Kollam Junction rail
Known for: Backwaters, lakes, cashew country

Eight arms of one lake, and every one of them an invitation.

The essentials

Three reasons to come

01Backwaters

Ashtamudi Lake

Eight palm-lined arms give this lake its name and its endlessly folding shoreline. Kerala's second-largest wetland is the district's living room — houseboats, canoes and Chinese fishing nets all share its glassy water.

02Backwaters

Kollam–Alappuzha backwater cruise

The classic eight-hour passage north through lakes, canals and village waterfronts, the longest scheduled cruise on the backwaters. It remains the slow, definitive way to read this amphibious landscape.

03Fort

Thangassery Lighthouse & fort

A 44-metre striped lighthouse stands over the remnants of a Portuguese-then-Dutch fort on a headland once traded between empires. Climb at dusk for the long view down the fishing coast.

Go deeper

6 more places that define Kollam

Waterfall

Palaruvi Waterfalls

The 'stream of milk' drops some 90 metres in a single white plume through forest near the Tamil Nadu border. Fullest just after the monsoon, it is one of Kerala's tallest falls.

Culture

Jatayu Earth's Center (Jatayupara)

Atop a bare rock hill rests the world's largest bird sculpture — the eagle Jatayu of the Ramayana, fallen where legend says he battled Ravana. A cable car rises to the sculpture, its museum and hilltop walkways.

Island

Munroe Island

A cluster of islets where Ashtamudi meets the Kallada river, threaded by canals narrow enough to touch both banks. Canoe tours drift past coir spinners, prawn filtration farms and kingfishers at close range.

Nature

Thenmala eco-tourism

India's first planned ecotourism destination sits amid forest around the Shenduruney sanctuary and Parappar dam. Canopy walkways, boating and mountain-bike trails are arranged in leisure, culture and adventure zones.

Beach

Mahatma Gandhi Beach

Kollam's town beach at Kochupilamoodu, with an adjoining park, promenade and evening crowds. The fishing harbour to the south keeps the shore busy with real working colour.

Lake

Sasthamcotta Lake

Kerala's largest freshwater lake, ringed by low hills and a hilltop Sastha temple, supplies drinking water to the whole district. Its still, potable water sets it apart from the brackish backwaters nearby.

Continue the journey

Pathanamthitta

Land of forests and pilgrimage