Kalpathy Viswanatha swamy temple is the oldest Siva temple in Malabar. It was build around 1425 AD by Kombi Achan, the then Raja of Palakkad. Legend has it that a Brahmin widow named Lakshmiammal went to Banaras and brought Lingam and installed in the present site on the southern bank of river Neela Bhagirathi. The location of the temple and steps leading to the river brings mind of a visitor the Banaras temple on the bank of Ganges. Hence this temple is called "Kasiyil Pakuthi Kalpathy" (Half Banaras).
Kalpathy Car festival is based on vedic Tamil Brahmin culture. The main centre of the festival is Kalpathy Sree Viswanathaswamy temple. The three satellite temples in the village of new Kalpathy, old Kalpathy and Chathapuram also celebrate the festival this period.
Chittur Kongan Pada
Tradition says that one 'Singamanan' the ruler of Ramapattinam Zamin, west of Pollachi, waged war on Chittur on the pretension that the people of Chittur and Pattanchery had stolen like silver, muslin etc from Tamil merchants. In the war, people of Chittur who were not familiar with the warfare were faced with defeat and finally with the help of the Bhagavathy, the female deity of the place, were able to inflict a crushing defeat. The leader of the Kongu army was slain in the battle. As a gratitude to the Bhagavathy, the people decided to celebrate the victorious day every year in the name at this temple and the festival was born.
Manappullikavu Vela
Manappullikavu Vela is a major festival held every year at the Manappullikkavu Bhagavathy temple. It is believed that the temple is about 1200 years old, It is different from other Bhagavathy temples by way of rites and rituals. Namboodiries, that is, the Kerala Brahmins perform the daily rituals according to tantric traditions. Both Saiva and Vaishnava traditions are observed in the poojas.
Nenmara-Vallengi Vela
Nenmara-Vallengi Vela is a renowned festival of Palakkad attracting people from far and wide. It is held annually on the Pooram day of the Malayalam month Meenam. The festival starts with the hoisting the sacred flag on the first day of Meenam. Five villages take part in the festival. The festival is famous for the fireworks display.
Jain temple Festival
One of the few existing Jain temples in Kerala is the Jain temple at Jainmedu, near Palakkad town. According to legend, one sutar (head of the Jains) built this temple 500 years ago for the Jain sage, Chandranathaswami. The Jain who came here from Mysore fled from this place during the invasion of Tipu Sultan. This temple comprises four divisions and is 32 feet high and 20 feet wide.
Ottappalam Nercha Festival
Ottappalam Nercha Festival held in the month of January - February and is celebrated to commemorate the death of saint Uthaman Auliya. An important ritual of this Festival is the distribution of food prepared during the festival to the poor.
Kunnathurmedu Sreekrishna Temple
Kunnathurmedu Sreekrishna temple is located at the heart of the Palakkad town. A beautiful Vigraha (idol) depicting Sree Krishna as a child is an attraction of this temple. The main festival of the temple is Ashtami Rohini (Sreekrishna Jayanthi). It is the only Sreekrishna temple in Palakkad town.
