Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary, Kottayam - Kumarakom  is an breathtakingly beautiful paradise stocked with divine mangroves and coconut groves, lush green paddy fields, gushing waters snaking through the dense forests and the magnificent delicate fluttering blossoms. This fabulous bird sanctuary is on the banks of the Vembanad lake house. An ornithologist's delight, this place is the favourite haunt of the migratory birds like the Siberian stork, egret, darter, heron and teal. Among the other species are the woodpecker, skylark, crane, water hen and parrots. To get the right feel of the place, once should cruise along the lake. Take a look at Pathiramanal too, which is a delightful island on the lake and can be accessed by boat from here.

The Vaikom Mahadeva Temple, Vaikom - Located 33 km south of Kochi is one of the most celebrated Shiva temples in South India. Vaikom Mahadevan is also referred to as Annadaana Prabhu. Legend has it that Khara (of the Khara Dhooshana demon duo) of Ramayana worshipped Shiva at Chidambaram and obtained from him three Shivalingams and journeyed holding one shivalingam on each hand and one in his mouth. He sojourned at Vaikom, and set the shivalingam on the ground and to his dismay realized that it had gotten rooted to the ground. Kharan therefore installed the other two shivalingams at Ettumanur and Kaduthuruthy. He entrusted the shivalingam at Vaikom to the care of Vyagrapadar. Vaikom therefore acquired the name Vyagrapuri which ultimately became Vaikom for short. The elliptical sanctum here is covered with a copper plated roof crowned with a golden kalasam. The height of the wall of the sanctum is just about a third of that of the roof. The building dates back to the 11th century, and the wooden panels and the murals date back to the 15th and 18th centuries respectively. The mukhamandapam in front of the sanctum houses the nandi.

The wall of the inner prakaram is lined with columns of lamps (vilakkumaatam) on a wooden framework. The flagstaff rises to a height of 317 feet. As mentioned before, the annual festival is celebrated in the month of scorpio, and the twelfth day of the festival is Vaikkattu Ashtami. Each day witnesses special rituals, elephant processions, music and dance performances etc. The Ashtami festival involves a special darshan in the wee hours of the morning under the peepul tree, a feast at noon and a procession at night from the nearby Udayanapuram Subramanya temple. This procession involves the meeting of Shiva and Subramanya in celebration of Subramanya's victory over the demons. No poojas are carried out on the Ashtami festival inside the temple as it is believed that Mahadeva fasts, feeds guests and prays for his son's victory in the battle against demons.

Cheriyapalli, Kottayam - Kottayam Cheriyapally (small church) is one of the oldest churches in Kerala. Built and consecrated by Portuguese in 1579, the church is well preserved. The architectural style of the church is European, with galleries, pillars, cornices and pediments. The walls are adorned with beautiful murals made in oriented and western styles on bibical and non bibical thems. The mural paints on the wall depict various Christian stories and are as old as the church itself. Also nearby is the Valiapalli, built in 1550.

Vembanad Lake, Kottayam - It is an intermingled and immense network of rivers and canals, it is so to say, just another paradise. It incidentally forms the joining point of all the rivers. This makes it a wonderful picnic spot. It is slowly being commercialised and developed into a backwater destination. The lake has in store for you, certain thrilling activities like boating and fishing. The otherwise quiet and peaceful lake comes alive bustling with joy at the dawn of Onam. It forms the centre of attraction during that time as the snake boat races are held there. The vigour of the boatmen, their cheerful and competitive spirit and the enthusiasm of the silent watchers is worth the money spent on a trip to this place. 

Snake Boat Races, Kottayam- In the festive months of August and September, the rivers in and near Kottayam are turned into festival centres. The serene lakes comes alive during onam with a spectacular water regatta- the snake boat races. It is amazing to watch oars men, atleast a hundred in one boat, slice their way through the waters to the fast rhythm of their own full throated singing. In the Kumarakom boat race, about 50 types of boats viz; veppu, ody, churulan and few snake boats participate.