Kottayam district contains some attractive tourist spots, like Kumarakom. Kottayam town is famous as the citadel of publishers of newspapers and books. It is also a center for higher education having one university near the town and several colleges in and around it. It is a comparatively small town but is experiencing increasing urbanization. An air of progress and prosperity envelops this wealthy town. People are ready to pay the price demanded by the sellers. People are so affluent here. New constructions do show the progress this town is currently experiencing.

Travel facilities from the town include so many bus services, trains and also water transport. The western boundary of Kottayam district is through the middle of the Vembanad Lake, the other side being Alappuzha district. The backwaters in the western region are favorite destination of Indian and foreign tourists.

• Kumarakom & Vembanad Lake
  The picturesque and serene backwaters in the western region of Kottayam district have already become a favorite destination of many tourists from outside Kerala and India in recent years. Hotel and restaurant facilities here have been expanding to accommodate tourists of various capacities. Houseboats and regular motorboats take tourists through the calm bluish or greenish waterways. The whole place has an enchanting beauty.
  
  
• Bird Sanctuary
  There is a place at Kumarakom where migratory birds from Siberia and other place arrive following weather conditions suitable for their survival. Several exotic species of birds are seen coining to this place year after year making the area an ornithologists’ paradise on the shores of the lake. In season such birds can be watched. There are resident birds also here.