As the name suggests, Ananthapura Lake Temple is located in the middle of a lake in the village of Ananthapura. It is an ancient temple believed to have been built in the 9th century. It is the only lake temple in Kerala and is known as the moolasthanam (the original abode) of Lord Padmanabha of Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple of Thiruvananthapuram. The main deity of Lord Mahavishnu is found to be in a sitting posture here unlike the Ananthashayanam posture in Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram. The deity is seated on the serpent king Anantha. The temple also displays impressive wood carvings on the ceilings of the mandapam that depict the stories of dasaavatharam (ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu). To reach the temple, one has to take the deviation from Nayakkap on the Kumbala-Badiadka road.