Ananthapura Lake Temple

The Ananthapura Lake Temple is the only lake temple in Kerala, dedicated to Ananthapadmanabha (Vishnu reclining on the serpent Ananta). According to legend, the presiding deity at Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram originally resided here before being persuaded to move south.

What makes this temple utterly unique is its guardian: a vegetarian crocodile (Babiya) who lives in the lake and is believed to be a devotee of Vishnu. The crocodile has protected the temple for centuries, and when one dies, another appears mysteriously — a phenomenon that has no scientific explanation.