Ettumanoor

      12 kms north of Kottayam, is the ancient Shiva Temple, which attracts many devotees. There are exquisite mural paintings and sculptures inside the temple. The Ramayana scenes from Santhana Gopala Krishna Leela and Bhagavatham are beautifully carved round the shrine. The state Archaeological dept. has opened a mural art centre near the temple. The annual festival of the temple is held in February or March and it lasts for 10 days. The ancient Siva Ettumanoor Mahadevar Temple here has brought glory and fame to the place. Myths have it that the Pandavas and the sage Vyasa had worshipped at this temple. The name of the place had its origin from the word 'manoor', which means the home of deer.

      The present temple building, with its gopuram and the fortress around it, was reconstructed in 717 ME (1542 AD). There are Dravidian mural paintings on the walls inside and outside of the main entrance. The fresco of Pradosha Nritham (Dance of Shiva) is one of the finest Wall paintings in India. There is a golden flag staff inside the temple. On the top of it is the idol of a bull surrounded by small bells and metal leaves of the banyan tree. The temple roofs are covered with copper sheets and it has 14 ornamental tops. Bhagavati, Sastha, Ganapathy and Yakshi are installed here as subordinate deities. It is believed that the great philosopher, Sankaracharya wrote the 'Soundaraya Lahari' staying in the temple.          

The famous Ettumanoor Mahadevar Temple hosts the arattu festival celebrated on a grand scale on the Thiruvathira day in February–March every year. Lot of people come to this temple on the 8th and 10th day of the festival when seven and half elephants (in Malayalam: ezharaponnaana) made of gold (nearly 13 kg) will be held in public view.this statue was donated to the temple by a travancore maharaja. The temple, the wealthiest Devaswom in Kerala, has many valuable possessions.

The Thulabharam is one of the important rituals of this temple. People make offerings to God for favours received. On balance, the child or man for whom offerings were promised to God is weighed against offerings ranging from gold to fruits. Ettumanoor is an important pilgrim Centre of Hindus