In 825 CE, the Malayalam calendar, or Kollavarsham, was created in Kollam at meetings held in the city.

Even though it is a competition between two land sides of the river, many boat clubs from various places, even beyond the district participate in the event.

Plains, mountains, lakes, lagoons, and backwaters, forests, farmland and rivers make up the topography of the district.

[6] According to the 2011 census Kollam district has a population of 2,635,375,[10] roughly equal to the nation of Kuwait[11] or the US state of Nevada.

[3] The metropolitan area of Kollam includes Adichanalloor, Adinad, Ayanivelikulangara, Chavara, Elampalloor, Eravipuram (part), Karunagappally, Kollam, Kundara, Kulasekharapuram, Mayyanad, Meenad, Nedumpana, Neendakara, Oachira, Panayam, Panmana, Paravur, Perinad, Poothakkulam, Thazhuthala, Thodiyoor, Thrikkadavoor, Thrikkaruva, Thrikkovilvattom, and Vadakkumthala.

[14] Hinduism (64.42%) is practised by majority of the people in Kollam district of which Nair (32%) and Ezhava (30.5%) are the largest sub groups.

Despite this Kollam has a significant Christian population too (16%) among this the Latin Catholics (38.5%), Malankara Orthodox (36.1) and Marthoma Church (15.8%) form the majority.

The history of the district's administration can be traced back to 1835, when the Travancore state consisted of two revenue divisions with headquarters at Kollam and Kottayam.

Both heads report to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Thiruvananthapuram Range (Kerala).

They include the Chavara, Kundara, Eravipuram, Kollam, Chathannoor, Chadayamangalam and Punalur assembly constituencies.

A most modern MEMU maintenance shed is working in the railway station premises of Kollam city.

In addition to that, there are some other major railway stations in the district namely Punalur (PUU), Karunagappalli (KPY), Paravur (PVU), Sasthamkotta (STKT), Kottarakara (KKZ) and Kundara (KUV).

[24] Trains from here connect the city of Kollam to major cities of India, including New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Indore, Bhopal, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Mumbai, Madurai, Vizag, Jammu, Howrah, Guwahati, Madgaon, Itarsi, Hubli, Ahmedabad, Kanyakumari, Gwalior, Nagpur, Pune, Kota, Bhubaneswar, Gorakhpur, Kochi, Kozhikode, Amritsar, Vijayawada, Coimbatore, Chandigarh and Mangalore.

The State Water Transport Department operates boat services to West Kallada, Munroe Island and Alappuzha.

The west coast canal system, which starts from Thiruvananthapuram in the south and ends at Kanhangad in the north, passes through Paravur, the city of Kollam and Karunagappally taluk.

The Thiruvananthapuram-Shornur canal, which forms a part of the Thiruvananthapuram-Hosdurg system, runs a distance of about 62 km.

The Kerala State Water Transport Department (KSWTD) has an operating centre near the KSRTC bus stand.

[30][31] Tourists may hire motorised country boats and houseboats with amenities (Kettavulam in Malayalam) to cruise along the waterways.

The Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary, 66 kilometres (41 mi) from Kollam, is situated on the southern part of the Western Ghats (8°50' and 8°55'N; 77°5'and 77°15'E) in the Punalur taluk of the district.

An artificial lake of about 26 square kilometres (10 sq mi) has developed following the construction of a dam across the Kallada River.

Remnants of Stone Age culture from a large cave situated at the northwestern part of the Shenduruny River were excavated from this sanctuary.

This tropical rain forest has a wide variety of wildlife, and some endangered species are found here.

Cheriazheekkal, Alappad, Pandarathuruthu, Puthenthura, Neendakara, Thangasseri, Eravipuram and Paravoor are among the prominent fishing villages.

[36] Jadayu earth centre, Palaruvi Falls, Thenmala (forests and reservoir), the Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve, Ashtamudi (backwater) and beaches at Kollam, Thirumullavaram and Thangassery are scenic areas.

The Asramam Maidan (Ashramam ground), adjacent to the tourist village, is the largest open space within a Kerala municipal corporation.

[34] Alappad village, located on the seashore, was impacted by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.

The Sakthikulangara Dharma Sastha Temple-Sree Ayyappa Swamy Temple is known for its Utsavam in the month of Makaram (between mid-January and mid-February).

[40] Jetayu Para, a large boulder, is located in Chadayamangalam; it is named for a mythical character in the Ramayana.