Ashtamudi Lake stands as the second largest lake in the God’s own country renders the city a panoramic view. The lake is sprawled over a length of 16kms, sharing 30% of Kollam town. Ashtamudi the Lake has been given this name for the reason it has eight channels and in the local dialect, it is provided with a name “Ashtamudi” which literally means eight branches (Ashta = eight; mudi = hair or branch).
The convergence of these channels is from a single outlet at a point called Neendakara, which is an estuary to enter the Arabian Sea. The main riverwhich discharges from the Ashtamudi Lake is the Kallada River, formed by the convergence of the three rivers, namely Kulathupuzha, Chenduruni and Kalthuruthy and the source of these three rivers is from the Western Ghats.
The lake is encircled with an array of coconut groves and palm trees that can be speckled in the lakeside, adding to its picturesque beauty. The lake has also a specialty of the famous Chinese fishing nets which are rested on its waters rendering the lake an oriental look.
The lake is also the means of earning the bread for the people residing in the nearby areas through fishing, coconut husk retting for coir production and inland navigation services.
