Kollam, the erstwhile Desinganadu, had earned a commercial reputation from the days of Phoenicians and Romans. Chinese trade was flourished here. So it was regarded by Ibn Batutta as one of the five ports he had visited on his travels during a period of 24 years in the 14th century. Merchant Sulaiman of Siraf in Persia, in 9th century, found Kollam to be the only port in India touched by huge Chinese junks on his way from carton of Persian Gulf. Marco Polo, the great Venician traveler, was in Chinese service under Kublahan in 1275. At that time, he visited Kollam and other towns on the west coast in his capacity as Chinese Mandarin. The first Europeans to establish a trading center at Kollam in 1502 AD were the Portuguese. Then came the Dutch followed by the British in 1795 AD. A British garrison was stationed at Kollam following a treaty between Travancore and the British.

It was during the time of Velu Thampi Dalawa of Travancore, Kollam town had received a facelift. As a part of improvements of Kollam town, he built new bazaars and invited merchants from Madras and Thirunelveli to settle at Kollam. Later, Kollam became the capital of the enlightened and literal rulers of Desinganad.

Kollam was once a city of Palaces and known to outside world through a time honored proverb, which ran as “Once you have seen Kollam, you will no more need your illam (Home)”.

The history of Kollam as an administrative unit can be traced back to 1835. At that time, the Travancore state consisted of only 2 revenue divisions, with headquarters at Kollam and Kottayam. At the time of integration of Travancore and Cochin in 1949, Kollam was one of the 3 revenue divisions of the state. These three revenue divisions were converted into districts.

At the time of formation of Alappuzha district in 1957, Cherthala, Ambalapuzha, Mavelikkara, Karthikappally, Chengannur and Thiruvalla taluks were merged into a new district. When Pathanamthitta district was formed on 1st July 1983, the entire Pathanamthitta taluks and nine villages of Kunnathur taluk of the district were also removed. Now the district is having a single revenue division with headquarters at Kollam. Pathanapuram, Kunnathur, Kottarakara, Karunagappally and Kollam are the five taluks in the districts.

The quadrangular clock tower located at Chinnakada and standing high in the heart of the town is the landmark of Kollam city. Close to railway station, this clock tower was constructed in the year 1944 by the natives as a tribute to Unichakam Veedu K.G. Parameshwaran Pillai, the former chairman of Kollam Municipality. Though this being the first clock tower, which belonged to erstwhile Travancore state, it has now attained the status of some sort of non-official emblem of Kollam district. There are four big clocks placed inside this tower and its origin can be traced to Britain. 

Ashtamudi Lake is the second largest lake in Kerala stretching a length of 16 kms. and sharing 30% of Kollam town. It is a world famous sightseeing spot for its most enchanting backwaters and breathtaking panoramic beauty, because of countless coconut groves and palm trees bordering the lake sides. This lake is called “Ashtamudi” because of its eight channels. “Ashta” means eight and “mudi” means hair or branch. These eight channels or branches converge into a single outlet at Neendakara estuary and enter the Arabian Sea. The major river joining Ashtamudi is the Kallada river. Kallada river is formed by the confluence of 3 rivers, named Kulathupuzha, Chendurni and Kalthurthy. All these rivers originate from the Western Ghats.

The Chinese fishing nets laid on its backwaters lends the landscape a more enchanting oriental look.

This tourist village at Ashramam along the backwater front is located in the sprawling 200 years old guest house campus. This is the main centre for recreational activities. The place has a boat club, and Adventure Park and a children’s park. There is also a museum here showcasing the paintings from different parts of the country.

This Ashram is situated at Amritapuri in Vallikavu, a small fishing village, 30kms away from Kollam town. More than 2,500 disciples and householders as full-time residents are housed in this Ashram, situated at the birth place and childhood home of Matha Amrithanandamayi, also known as Amma or Ammichi. Thousands of people from different parts of the world come to visit her for a darshan. She holds each devotee in her arms during darshan like a mother embracing a child.

The Ashram can be reached by buses from Kochi and Thiruvanathapuram.

Thangassery, 5 kms away from Kollam town, was once a favorite settlement place for the Portuguese, the Dutch and the English. ‘Thangassery’ literally means as ‘Gold Village’. This seaside village occupies an area of 99 acres and has the ruins of an Old Portuguese Fort and churches belonging to the 18th century. The Portuguese Fort is believed to have been built in 1517 and presently only one wall of this Fort remains at the site. The major attraction of Thangassery is the light house built in the year 1902. It is a huge light house measuring 144 ft and standing as a sentinel warning seamen of the treacherous reefs of Thangassery. Tourists are allowed to visit the light house between 3.30 pm and 5.30 pm and from this light house, a picturesque view of the sea can be enjoyed by a tourist.

February to November is the best time for a visit to Thangassery. Kollam railway station is the nearest station to Thangassery village. This place is well connected to town by road also.

These are 2 secluded beaches but most preferred and beautiful picnic spots and ideal for watching sunset. Swimming is impossible in Kollam beach due to big waves. Thirumullavaram beach is suitable for swimming, but half a kilometer walk into the sea is necessary.

This island is formed by the backwaters of Ashtamudi Lake and Kallada river. It is named after colonel Munroe, the British resident of erstwhile Travancore state. He had integrated several backwater regions by digging canals. The discovery of Stone Age tools and megaliths bear testimony to antiquity of this islet. This islet shelters a small village, which is surrounded by Ashtamudi Lake and Kallada river. This village is also having number of canals running criss-cross. Coir making is a home industry to most of the people of this village.

Bhoothakulam panchayat in Kollam District is very famous for the largest number of captive elephants in Kerala. Most of them, roughly estimated around 50 elephants, are from Puthenkulam village. More than 10,000 tourists visit this place every year from different parts of the world. The main activities here are elephant riding – trekking, elephant feeding and bathing. Elephant rides are available here everyday from 9 am to 5 pm. The tuskers are sent from here for festivals all over south Kerala. Most of the tourists are coming here to spend a day with an elephant and its mahout. They also come to see collection of elephant ornaments like gold plated caparisons, umbrellas, alavattom, venchamaram, necklace etc. One can see strong bond of attachment and love between the elephants and their trainers/mahouts.

Sasthamkotta Lake is a typical lake, only one of its kinds in Kerala.  It is a fresh water lake, spread over an area of 375 hectares. It is a unique lake for it does not get frozen either in winter season or dried up in summer season. More than 10 million people depend upon this lake for clean drinking water throughout the year.

Tourists come in large number to enjoy the tranquility of this lake more than anything else. Sasthamkotta Lake is also known as an important tourist location, because an ancient Sastha temple is situated on its shore, attracting large number of pilgrims to Kerala. The tall trees in the vicinity of the temple in Sasthamkotta are homes to monkeys. The monkeys here are considered to be the loyal followers of the Dharma Sastha, the main deity installed in this temple.

No mechanized boating cruise is permitted in Sasthamkotta Lake for fear of pollution.

The hanging bridge of Punalur is a major attraction for the tourists and being one of its only kind in Kerala. This 400 ft long suspension bridge is known for its archeological marvel. It was built in 1877 by Albert Henry across the Kallada River. It is remaining suspended by three spans and being used for vehicular movement.

‘Then’ means honey and ‘Mala’ means hills in Malayalam language. Thus the name ‘Thenmala’ is formed. It is situated about 65 kms from Kollam.

Thenmala has the reputation of being India’s first planned eco-tourism destination. It has also earned so much popularity considering its unique vistas, bio-diversity and functioning. Thenmala Eco-tourism shares its resources with the famous Shenduruney Wildlife sanctuary at the foothills of Western Ghats.

With a view to make this region as a tourist destination it has been divided into 3 zones, the culture zone, the leisure zone and the adventure zone.

The main attractions in the culture zone are musical dancing fountain along with amphitheatre, shop court and restaurant etc.

In the leisure zone, sculpture garden, Sway Bridge and broad walk etc. offer amazing view and leisure. Also in the sculpture garden, the sculpture of father and son, the characters of Indian myths such as Ekalavya, Vikramadithya and Vethalam etc. can be seen.  

Adventure zone consists of elevated walk way, mountain biking, rock climbing, river crossing, nature trails, resting spots and lotus ponds etc.

Apart from above, Thenmala Eco-tourism also provides the tourists visits to Shendurney wildlife sanctuary, deer rehabilitation centre. In rehabilitation centre, visitors can see spotted deer, the sambar deer and the barking deer etc. There is also Children’s eco-park, butterfly park and facilities for trekking etc. 

Known as semi-evergreen forest of Kerala. Natural inhibits here are elephants, tigers, leopards, bison, samba, wild boar, lion tailed macaques, languor, deer and other wild animals. 

This semi-evergreen forest was declared as wildlife sanctuary in 1984. Some recent studies have revealed that Shendurney was once the cradle of one of the oldest river valley civilizations of India dating from 4400 BC to 3700 BC, older than the Indus Valley Civilization…!!

75kms away from Kollam town this waterfalls is a beautiful and most preferred picnic spot.

Palaruvi means milky stream and its cascades down the rocky slopes height of 300 ft. There are frequent buses operating to Ariankavu from Kollam. The place also has facilities of accommodation.

Jatayupara, 30 kms away from Kollam, is a huge rock hillrock and situated at Chadayamangalam. According to legend, the name ‘Jatayupara’ is derived from the mythical bird Jatayu mentioned in the epic of Ramayana. The bird, Jatayu, is believed to have collapsed on the rock after failing in the attempts to prevent Ravana from kidnapping Sita. There is a small temple atop of the hill that can be reached only by climbing steep steps.

Ochira is 34 kms north of Kollam Town. This is a unique pilgrim centre because there is no deity or idol installed at the renowned Parabrahma Temple here. This temple is dedicated to universal consciousness. Two main annual festivals are held here one is Ochira kali in the mid of June and the other a 12 day long Panthrandu Vilakku in November/December. Ochira Kali is a typical mock fight enacted between groups of men dressed as warriors on the padanilam. They perform marital dance standing in the knee-deep water, brandishing swords and shields and splashing water in all directions.

The place can be reached by bus from Kollam and Alappuzha.

This temple has inscriptions in tamil dating from the 12th century to the 16th century. The style of this temple shows Pandyan influence in its architectural design. The Vyala monster sculptures in this temple work, will give an impression to the onlooker/visitor that the carved creatures are real and climbing upstairs with their outstretched paws…!!