Welcome to Kollam the district situated on the banks of Lake Ashtamudi. The name Kollam is derived from a Sanskrit word ‘Kollam’, which means pepper.  Earlier, this place was an important part of Travancore Kingdom. Velu Thampi Dalawa, the then prime minister of Travancore Kingdom, was the man behind the early development of this region.  It was he, who built markets and trading places in the city and invited traders from all over the country. Chinese, Romans, and Arabs built trade relationships with Kollam since ancient times. Today this district is a major centre for cashew processing and trading, Pencil slat manufacturing, sea food export, dairy farming and minerals and metal trading. About 30% of Kollam is surrounded by Ashtamudi lake which is considered as the southern gateway to the backwaters. This unique geographical feature makes this land “THE” gateway for the spectacular backwaters of Kerala. Presence of famous historic remnants and architectural structures makes this place, one of the major tourist destinations in Kerala. Follow this tour to explore 9 major tourist attractions in Kollam and refer below for more tourist destinations in Kollam district.  Religious placesKottarakkara Ganapathi TempleBeaches & Light houseThirumullavaram BeachThangassery LighthouseCulture & HeritageMunore IslandNeedakara PortAryankavu villageHanging Bridge Punalur         Nature & wildSasthamkotta lakeReferences:Acknowledgements:We express our sincere gratitude to the Director of Kerala Tourism, for the support and to grant permission for using Kerala Tourism content and photographs for the production of this audio tour.We also give due credit to the photographers in Wikimedia for using the photographs listed under Wikimedia commons collection for some of the attractions with appropriate citation.Content Provider Details:Content Author         : Ms. Ambili Prabhakaran, KannurEditing & Scripting    : Mr. Ummer Sahib, PalakkadVoice Over Artist       : Ms. Bharaty Menon, KottayamDisclaimer:The content and photographs used in the audio tour are aggregated from Kerala Tourism website and from various other published sources, written, edited and scripted by the respective authors and does not reflect Kerala Tourism's official position in any way. Informap and its authors disclaim any direct or indirect harm, loss or injury caused by using this audio tour.