Kottayam

Overview

Kottayam is a central-Kerala district of 1,974,551 residents (Census 2011) known as the "Land of Letters" — India's first fully literate district (1989), home of the Malayala Manorama daily and gateway to Vembanad Lake and Kumarakom backwaters.

Kottayam district lies in central Kerala, bordered by Idukki to the east, Ernakulam to the north, Alappuzha to the west and Pathanamthitta to the south. The district covers 2,208 km² with a population of 1,974,551 (Census 2011) at a density of 894 persons per km². Kottayam has 5 municipalities, 71 gram panchayats and 5 taluks: Changanassery, Kanjirapally, Kottayam, Meenachil, Vaikom. On 25 June 1989 Kottayam became the first district in India (and second in Asia) to achieve 100% literacy under the National Literacy Mission. The district is home to the Malayala Manorama newspaper (founded 1888), Mahatma Gandhi University (est. 1983), and the Malayalam publishing industry — hence its epithet Aksharanagari, "City of Letters". Rubber plantations dominate the eastern uplands; Kottayam is India's largest rubber-marketing centre.

Source: Indias.com · Kottayam

History

Kerala's recorded history stretches from Sangam-era Chera kingdoms and 2nd-century BCE Muziris trade with Rome, through Portuguese, Dutch and British colonial phases, to a 1956 States Reorganisation that merged Malabar, Kochi and Travancore into today's state.

Kerala's history begins in the Sangam period (roughly 3rd century BCE to 3rd century CE), when the Cheras ruled much of the region alongside the Cholas and Pandyas. The ancient port of Muziris (near modern Kodungallur) was the principal Malabar port on the Indo-Roman spice route; Pliny and the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea record active trade in pepper, ivory and pearls by the 1st century CE. Christianity arrived, according to tradition, with the apostle Thomas at Kodungallur in 52 CE, and Jewish and Arab-Muslim mercantile communities were established at Kochi and along the coast well before European contact. The medieval period saw the rise of the second Chera dynasty (Kulasekhara, c. 800–1102 CE) and later the Zamorin of Kozhikode. Vasco da Gama landed at Kappad near Kozhikode on 20 May 1498, opening a Portuguese, Dutch (from 1663) and finally British colonial phase. The princely states of Travancore and Cochin negotiated separate accords with the British while the northern Malabar district was directly administered from Madras. On 1 November 1956 the States Reorganisation Act merged Malabar with Travancore–Cochin to form Kerala; the four northern taluks of Travancore were transferred to Tamil Nadu the same day.

• Sangam-era Chera kingdom
• Muziris — principal port on the Indo-Roman spice route
• Portuguese landing at Kappad, 1498
• Kerala formed on 1 November 1956

Sangam period

3rd c. BCE – 3rd c. CE

Sangam literature

Muziris trade with Rome

from 1st c. CE

Periplus of the Erythraean Sea

Vasco da Gama at Kappad

20 May 1498

Portuguese colonial records · 1498

State of Kerala formed

1 November 1956

States Reorganisation Act · 1956

Key facts last verified by Indias.com editors on 2026-09-14

Source: Indias.com · Kerala state guide

Geography

Kottayam stretches from Vembanad Lake in the west to the Western Ghats in the east, with three ecological belts — lakes and paddies (Kumarakom–Vaikom), midland rubber and spice country, and highland forests toward Idukki.

Kottayam district lies between 9°15′ and 10°21′N and 76°22′ and 77°25′E. The Meenachil River (85 km) drains the district into Vembanad Lake, which forms most of the western boundary and includes Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary (14 acres, Ramsar-designated as part of Vembanad-Kol wetland 2002). The eastern parts of the district rise into the Western Ghats through Elaveezha Poonchira (900 m), a highland plateau at Melukavu. Kottayam receives about 3,000 mm of annual rainfall.

Source: Indias.com · Kottayam

Climate

Kerala has a tropical monsoon climate with two rainy seasons: the south-west monsoon (June–September) delivers about 2,000–3,000 mm of rain, followed by a lighter north-east monsoon (October–November); coastal temperatures stay between 22–36°C year-round.

Kerala's climate is classified Am (tropical monsoon) under the Köppen system, with high humidity and heavy monsoon rainfall shaped by the Western Ghats acting as an orographic barrier. Mean annual rainfall is around 3,055 mm (India Meteorological Department normals, 1991–2020), of which roughly 68% falls during the south-west monsoon (June to September) and another 16% during the north-east monsoon (October to November). Coastal Kerala averages 27–32°C through the year; high hills (Munnar, Ponmudi) drop to 5–10°C on winter nights. Kerala was severely flooded during the 2018 south-west monsoon — the worst flood since 1924 — causing 483 deaths and displacing 1.4 million people (Government of Kerala Post-Disaster Needs Assessment 2018).

• Two distinct monsoons
• Kerala first landfall of Indian SW monsoon each year
• 2018 floods — worst since 1924
• Mean annual rainfall

Mean annual rainfall

~3,055 mm

IMD Rainfall Normals 1991–2020 · 2022

SW monsoon share

~68%

IMD · 2022

2018 flood deaths

483

Government of Kerala PDNA · 2018

2018 flood displaced

1.4 million

Government of Kerala PDNA · 2018

Key facts last verified by Indias.com editors on 2026-09-14

Source: Indias.com · Kerala state guide

People

Kerala's 33.4 million people live at the highest population density in south India, achieve the country's highest literacy rate, and speak Malayalam alongside significant Tamil, Kannada and Tulu minorities.

Kerala had 33,406,061 residents at the 2011 Census of India — the 12th most populous state — living at 860 persons per km², well above the national average of 382. Malayalam is the official language and the mother tongue of about 97 percent of residents; smaller communities speak Tamil (in the border districts), Kannada, Tulu, Konkani and Marathi. Religious composition per the 2011 Census: Hindus 54.7%, Muslims 26.6% and Christians 18.4% — the most religiously balanced state in India. Kerala reports the highest overall literacy rate in India (94.0%, Census 2011; 96.2% per the 2017–18 NSO Household Survey) and the highest female literacy (91.9%). Life expectancy at birth is 75 years — the highest in India — and infant mortality is the lowest at 6 per 1,000 live births (SRS 2020). Kerala's Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.782 (UNDP 2021) is the highest among Indian states. About 47.7% of the population is urban.

• Highest literacy of any Indian state
• Lowest infant mortality in India
• Highest HDI in India
• Balanced religious composition

Population

33,406,061

Census of India · 2011

Density

860 /km²

Census of India · 2011

Literacy

94.0% (highest in India)

Census of India · 2011

Female literacy

91.9%

Census of India · 2011

Life expectancy

75 years

SRS Life Tables · 2020

Infant mortality

6 per 1,000 live births

SRS · 2020

HDI

0.782

UNDP Human Development Report · 2021

Key facts last verified by Indias.com editors on 2026-09-14

Source: Indias.com · Kerala state guide

Culture

Kerala's cultural identity is shaped by classical Kathakali and Mohiniyattam dance, the vernacular Malayalam literary tradition led by writers from Ezhuthachan to O. V. Vijayan, and syncretic temple, church and mosque festivals that punctuate the year.

Kerala's cultural corpus rests on classical performing arts recognised by the Sangeet Natak Akademi: Kathakali, a highly stylised dance-drama; Mohiniyattam, a solo female classical form; Koodiyattam, the world's oldest surviving Sanskrit theatre (UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, 2001); and Ottamthullal, the satirical performance form of Kunchan Nambiar. Traditional martial art Kalaripayattu, referenced in Sangam texts, is regarded as one of the world's oldest fighting systems. Malayalam literature stretches from Thunchath Ramanujan Ezhuthachan (16th c., considered the father of the language) through Kumaran Asan, Vallathol and Ulloor — the modern "triumvirate" — to contemporary figures O. V. Vijayan and M. T. Vasudevan Nair; six Jnanpith Awards have been won by Malayalam writers. Landmark festivals include Onam (10-day harvest festival, statewide) and Vishu (Malayalam New Year). Kerala's cinema industry (Malayalam cinema, based largely at Kochi) is one of the four principal southern Indian film industries and has produced 3 Best Feature Film National Awards in recent years.

• Koodiyattam — UNESCO Intangible Heritage
• Kalaripayattu — among the world's oldest martial arts
• 10-day Onam harvest festival
• Six Jnanpith Awards for Malayalam writers

Koodiyattam

UNESCO Intangible Heritage

UNESCO · 2001

Malayalam literature Jnanpith laureates

6

Bharatiya Jnanpith

Onam

10-day harvest festival

Government of Kerala

Classical dance forms recognised

Kathakali, Mohiniyattam, Koodiyattam, Ottamthullal

Sangeet Natak Akademi

Key facts last verified by Indias.com editors on 2026-09-14

Source: Indias.com · Kerala state guide

Economy

Kottayam runs India's largest natural-rubber marketing centre, hosts the Rubber Board headquarters, and has a diversified economy of rubber, spices (cardamom, pepper), tourism (Kumarakom) and the Malayala Manorama publishing group.

Kottayam is the marketing hub for Kerala's 554,000-tonne annual rubber output. The Rubber Board of India — India's statutory rubber-industry regulator — has been headquartered at Kottayam since 1947. Rubber cultivation covers about 1,15,000 ha in the district. Other significant activities include cardamom trading at Kumily (Idukki border), tourism (Kumarakom houseboats), higher education (MG University and multiple engineering & medical colleges), and publishing (Malayala Manorama Company, one of India's largest media houses).

Source: Indias.com · Kottayam

Did you know?

Kottayam is known as the 'Land of Letters', as it is home to a significant number of educational institutions and has a high literacy rate in India.

The district is famous for the Vembanad Lake, the largest lake in Kerala and a key component of the backwaters tourism industry.

Source: Indias.com · Kottayam

Towns & villages in Kottayam

Source: CivicPulse