Ettumanoor Festival

Ettumanoor is located 12 km north-east of kottayam town.The ancient siva temple here has brought glory and fame to the place.The name of the place had its origin from the word manoor which means the home of deer.Myths have it that the pandavas and the sage Vyasa had worshipped at this temple.
The present temple building ,with its gopuram and the fortress around it,was reconstructed in 1542A.D.The mural paintings on the walls inside and outside the gopuram are quite famous.The images of balagopalam and other devas are painted with high artistic ingenuity.The golden flag staff inside the temple is a beautiful sight.On the top of it is the image of a bull surrounded by small bells and leaves of the banyan tree.The temple roofs are covered with copper sheets and it has 14 ornamental tops.
The arattu festival of this temple is celebrated on a grand scale on the Thiruvathira day in Kumbham(february-march) every year.Large number of people floak to this templeon the 8th and 10th day of the festival when seven and a half elephants made of gold (nearly 13 kilograms) will be held in public view.