Kottayam is one of fourteen districts in the state of Kerala, India. Kottayam district comprises six municipal towns: Kottayam, Changanassery, Pala, Erattupetta, Ettumanoor, and Vaikom. It is the only district in Kerala that neither border the Arabian Sea nor any other states.
Changanassery, IPA: [t̠͡ʃɐŋːɐn̺ɐːʃːeːɾi], is a municipal town in Kottayam district in the state of Kerala, India. Changanassery is the gateway to the Western Ghats and Kuttanad. It is one of the major educational and religious centres of Kerala, with nearly 100% literacy. There are five colleges, eight higher secondary schools, one vocational higher secondary school and ten high schools within a four-kilometre radius of the town.
Mundakayam, is a town in Kanjirappally Taluk in the Kottayam District of Kerala. It is the doorway to the high ranges of southern Kerala, and is at the border of Kottayam and Idukki districts. The next nearest town, Kanjirappally, is 14 km (8.7 mi) & Erumely is 12 km from Mundakayam. Mundakayam has rubber plantations, and greenery. The Manimala River runs through Mundakayam. It is located 48 km east of the district headquarters at Kottayam and 148 km from the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram. The name Mundakayam is said to be derived from the Mundi cranes that used to be seen along the Manimala River banks.
Pampady is a fast-growing town in Kottayam district of Kerala, Southern India. It lies midway between the backwaters of Western Kerala and the mountains of the Western Ghats.
Kottayam, IPA: [koːʈːɐjɐm] is a city in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west, Kottayam is a place that is known for extraordinary qualities. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south-west Kerala. Kottayam is located in the basin of the Meenachil River at an average elevation of 3 metres (9.8 ft) above sea level, and has a moderate climate. It is located approximately 155 kilometres (96 mi) north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram.
The Kingdom of Thekkumkur was an independent kingdom in the southern part of Kerala in India from 1103 CE until 1750 CE. It was ruled by the Thekkumkur Royal Family. Thekkumkur lies between the Meenachil River and the Pamba River, from the Western Ghats to the Vembanad Kayal. Thekkumkur emerges as a result of administrative changes in the princely states at the end of the Chera Kulasekhara dynasty of Mahodayapuram. The literal meaning of the title is the southern regent and the attribute southern distinguished them from another kingdom known as Vadakkumkur which bordered it in the northern side. The royal household, Thekkumkur Kovilakam, were at Vennimala and Manikandapuram near Puthuppally, later it shifted to Neerazhi Palace at Puzhavathu of Changanassery and Thalilkotta at Thaliyanthanapuram (Kottayam).
Kangazha is a panchayath and village in the Changanacherry Taluk of the Kottayam District of Kerala State in India. It is located 21 kilometers east of Kottayam and 10 kilometers north of Karukachal. It lies midway between the backwaters of Western Kerala and the misty mountains of the Western Ghats.
Chengalam is a village situated in the eastern part of Kottayam District in India.
Vakathanam is a Panchayat in Kottayam district of Kerala, India. It is 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) from Kottayam on the way to Changanassery via Puthupally. Vakathanam panchayat consists of two villages: Vakathanam and Thottakkad.
Pallickathodu, also spelled Pallikkathodu which includes Anickadu village, is a panchayath in eastern Kottayam district, Kerala, India. It falls under the Kanjirappally assembly constituency.
Yendayar is a village in Kottayam district, Kerala, India that is totally surrounded by hills. According to local tradition, Mr. J.J. Murphy named the place, which was to be his home until death in 1957, after his mother and the local river. Yendayar is a combination of 'yen' (my) 'thai' (mother) and 'ar' (river). Murphy had come in 1904 to the place which was a thick forest and had no name or people then. He had traveled a long way to reach there. There he established India's first successful rubber plantation. He brought workers from near and far – Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka.
Elanji is a village in Ernakulam district, Muvattupuzha Taluk in the Indian state of Kerala.
Lakkattoor is a small village in Kooroppada panchayat, about 17 km east of Kottayam, Kerala located between Kottayam, Ettumanoor, Pala & Ponkunnam. Surrounded by small hills, valleys, streams and rubber trees. Lakkattoor is a unique name. It is believed that the name might have changed from 'Plakkattoor', because the area has lot of jack fruit trees known as 'Plavu'. Jack fruit is also known as 'Plakka'.
Kothala is a village 21 km east of Kottayam in Kerala, Southern India. National highway 220 passes through Kothala village. It is located 3 km from Pampady. Elamkavu Devi Temple is located in the center of Kothala village. Poet Viduan V.T. Ipe was born here.
Mathrumala is a hill located 16 km (9.9 mi) east of the town of Kottayam in Kooroppada, Kottayam District, Kerala, India. The hilltop has a temple shrine dedicated to Rajarajeshwari (Devi).
Kottayam district is a centre of education in Kerala state. The Orthodox Theological Seminary at Chungam was the first institution to teach English in South India. It was founded in 1815 by Colonel John Monroe. The C.M.S High School was founded by the British missionary, Benjamin Bailey. The first college in Kerala state and the second established under British rule in India was the C.M.S. College (1840). Mahatma Gandhi University is located in Kottayam district.
Reflecting the religious constitution of the population, a large number of Hindu temples and Christian churches dot the townscape of Kottayam district. Some of them are the Thirunakkara Mahadeva temple, Kumaranalloor Devi temple, Thiruvarrpu Sri Krishna Temple, Thaliyil Mahadeva Temple, Pallippurathukavu Bhagavathi Temple, Elia Cathedral, Kottayam Valiya Pally, Manarcad Cathedral, Cheriya Palli, CSI Holy Trinity cathedral, Puthuppally St. George Church and Thazhathangadi Juma Masjid. All the temples of Kottayam were also built under royal patronage of Hinduism during the 2nd millennium.
Kottayam Diocese is one of the 30 dioceses of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. The diocese was created in Mulanthuruthy Synod in 1876.
Neerazhi Palace was the royal palace of the Thekkumkur kingdom. Palace is located at Puzhavathu in Changanassery. The palace was used by the Thekkumkur dynasty until 1750 and later by the Parappanad dynasty who settled in Changanassery from North Malabar. It was here that the last king of Thekkumkur, Aditya Varman Manikandan escaped to Nattassery of Kottayam in the Travancore invasion of 1790. The Neerazhi palace was earlier known as Neerazhikettu.
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