Temperature
: Maximum : 33 C, Minimum : 15.5 C
Clothing : Winter:
Woolen Summer: Cotton
Altitude : 800 to1200 meters above
Sea Level
Area : 2204 square kilometers
Rainfall :
2200 mm
Kottayam, among the state’s more mountainous
districts, provides some of Kerala’s finest natural scenes,
sandwiched as it is between serene palm-fringed backwaters on the west
and the Western ghats on the east. Much of this beauty is laid out in
all its glory along the road which winds from Kottayam to the Periyar
Wildlife Sanctuary in Thekkady through plantations of rubber, tea,
coffee and pepper. Kottayam is a land of unique characteristics,
bordered by the lofty Western Chats on the east, the Vembanad Lake and
the paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. Panoramic backwater stretches,
lush paddy fields, highlands, extensive rubber plantations and a totally
literate people have given this district the title: the land of letters,
latex and lakes.
Kottayam
is equally known for its cultural achievements. It was the first town in
India to attain total literacy, an event which triggered a mass movement
to make Kerala the country’s first totally literate state. Kottayam
is also the mecca of Kerala’s publishing scene, home to dozens of
Malayalam newspapers and magazines, including the state’s earliest,
The Deepika (founded in 1887) as well as the country’s largest
selling daily and weekly from the Malayala Manoram group.
Kottayam
is also the birthplace of a unique institution, the Sahitya Pravarthaka
Sahakarana Sangham, perhaps the first-ever co-operative of writers.
Kottayam is also an important commercial centre, thanks to its strength
as a producer of cash crops. Most of India’s natural rubber
originates from the acres of well-kept plantations of Kottayam, also
home to the Rubber Board, one of the country’s primary commodities
board. As the headquarters of several ecclesiastical heads of Christian
churches like those of the Syrian Christian community, Kottayam is proof
of the cultural and religious plurality of Kerala.
Today, as
reminders of this facet can be found ancient churches like the Valia
Palli, the Cheria Palli (1579) and the St. Mary’s Church at
Manarcad (1585).
How to reach
- Rail
Kottayam Railway Station, 2 km from the town
centre, is linked to most major Indian cities.
- Road
Motorable roads connect Kottayam to important
south India cities. There are two bus stations– the central
KSRTC station which operates most long-distance services, and the
private bus station near the railway station.
- Ferry
The main ferry station is about 3 km from the
railway station and offers ferry services that pass through the
scenic backwaters to the following places: Alleppey, Mannar,
Champakulam, Kavalam, Mankombu and Ambalapuzha.
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Backwaters
of Kottayam