Also known as Kaltrikkovil in Malayalam, it is located in Kottukkal village, close to Anchal. The name Kottukkal translates as “Kothiya Kallu” or carved rock, alluding to the rock-cut shrine. The sculpture of the primary deity Ganapathy is located between two irregularly shaped caves that face east and are of different sizes.
According to historians, the rock-cut temple dates back to the seventh century AD, built under the auspices of Nedila Paranthaka Nedumchadayan, the ruler of the nearby town of Chadayamangalam. The temple is now under the administration of the Travancore Devaswom Board which oversees the daily rituals, now performed in the middle of a sizable area of paddy fields. The temple, hewn from a massive piece of rock, comprises two rooms cut into the rocks, each 10 feet long and 8 feet wide, topped by a single rock.
The Kottukkal Thrikovil Cave temple, built on a single piece of rock, features a Shiva linga flanked by Nandi and Hanuman, thought to date back to the Pallava dynasty (8th century BC), making it contemporaneous with the Shore Temple at Mahabalipuram near Chennai. The Kottukal cave temple also has an eternal well with the mandapam being yet another attraction.
