Haripad Subramanya Temple

Haripad is 15 km away from Ambalapuzha. The temple built in 16th century was eaten by a fire many years later. The idol was spared by the fire. The temple was rebuilt by the Travancore king with additional shrines for some other deities in the courtyard.

This temple is very famous and attracts a good number of pilgrims. There is an interesting story surrounding the idol. A Brahmin in the village had a dream to the effect there is an idol of Subrmanya in the nearby Kandaloor lake. The Brahmin along with the village chieftain traveled criss-cross in a boat in the lake to locate the idol. Ultimately they spotted a flower scattered spot where, they guessed, is the idol. Divers searched the spot and located a four-armed idol. The idol was brought to the shore and installed it after constructing a temple. The event of bringing the idol from the lake is celebrated annually with a boat race in the Payippad River on the 4th day of Onam in Chingam (August/Septrember). The temple celebrates two festivals – Chithira festival in April and Avani festival in August/September. Both the festivals are larger crowd pullers