Situated about 40 Km from Kottayam town, Vaikom is famous for the Siva temple named Vaikom Mahadevar Temple. The temple, situated within the premise of 8 acres of land, was believed to be built by Parasurama - founder of Kerala. Built in typical Kerala style of temple architecture, current structure of the temple dates back to the sixteenth century. The temple sanctum is covered with a copper plated roof crowned with a golden dome. The wooden panels and murals in the temple depict Shiva, Parvati, Ganesha and Vishnu, and numerous other figures. A unique attraction for the Shiva Temple is the Kathakali performance that takes place each evening as a ritual offering.

Popularly known as Thekkan Kashi (Southern varanasi), Vaikom Mahadevar temple is famous for its Vaikathashtami festival. Here, two Ashtami festivals are held annually, one is in Kumbham (February-March) and the other is in Vrischikam (November-December) of which the latter is more popular. The temple is opened in the morning from 4 to 12 and in the evening from 5 to 8. The deity, Lord Shiva manifests himself as Dakshinamurthy in the 'pantheeradi' puja in the morning. He is worshipped as Kirata Murthy during the 'Ucha puja' at noon and as 'Satchitananda' in the evening. Prathal is the main offering. Here there is a school named Kshethrakalapeedhom meant for teaching temple arts.