Thrissur's heart is the Thekkinkadu Maidan, the great oval ground around which the city is built, with the Vadakkunnathan Temple on the hillock at its centre. This is where the Thrissur Pooram takes place each spring, the most spectacular of Kerala's temple festivals. Outside festival season, the city has a genuine cultural life — theatre, classical music, visual arts — that reflects its historical role as the centre of learning for the Cochin kingdom. The Punnathur Kotta elephant sanctuary and the Athirappilly waterfalls are the major draws beyond the city itself.