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Kottarakkara is a town located in the district of Kollam, formerly known as Quilon, in the Kerala state of India. It is 72 km to the north of the State Capital, Thiruvananthapuram, on the Main Central Road, a State Highway and 25 km to the east of Kollam on the National Highway.
It served as a place of residence for the King. Thus, it is named 'Kottarakara', or "the land of the palace". (Kottaram means Palace and Kara means Land)The 'Elayidath Swaroopam' was the last ruling family of the area. The last queen of the dynasty voluntarily surrendered to King Marthanda Varma of Travancore in the 18th century.
Kottarakara is the place where the classical art form of Kathakali was conceived. It was developed by Kottarakkara Thampuran (the King of Kottarakkara) in competition with Krishnanattom which had its origin in Kozhikode.
Kottarakkara is a famous pilgrim centre for the Hindus as the seat of the famous Ganapati Temple. It is believed that the idol was sculptured by Perumthachan from the root of the jack tree.This temple is famous for its 'Unniappom'. There are lots of churches in the area, mostly of the 'Malankara Orthodox Church 'and the 'Marthomma Church'. Kottarakara also has a good number of Muslims with their mosque at market junction.
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