Kotappakonda is a holy hill, situated in Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, India. It is famous for the temple of Lord Siva which is constructed on it with a stairway of about 1000 steps. The hill appears with three peaks in any direction, “These three peaks are known as Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra” so also called Trikutadri. It has four temples, one at the base, and the other at an elevation of 600 feet (180 m). The main temple is at a height of 1,500 feet (460 m). The village situated at the foot of the hill is named after Kotappakonda and is called Kotappakonda village.
According to a legend about the main deity used to reside at a height of 1500 feet, people used to worship this idol for a long time. A lady from the neighbouring town used to worship the idol for a long time, and lord Shiva got impressed by her and started to follow her one day. After some time, the lady realized someone was following her and turned back to inspect and because of this Lord Shiva turned himself into an idol. The fact, that there is another idol at 600 feet reflects this story.
One interesting story is that in the temple surroundings one won’t find crows flying around. Once a lady used to worship Lord Shiva with fruit, flowers etc. One day when she was on the way to temple, one crow disturbed the lady’s offerings. She got angry and cursed them, saying that crows cannot enter this temple premises. Since then one cannot find a crow there even today.
A very big fair is held on the eve of Mahashivaratri every year and lakhs of people throng this temple. This is called Kotayya thirunalla or Kotappakonda thirunalla. ‘Prabhas’, rectangular frames tapering at the top made of bamboo and decorated with colored cloth and paper, of different sizes are taken in procession as part of the festival.
Source:
http://www.kotappakonda.com/page/about-the-temple
http://gotirupati.com/trikoteswara-swamy-temple-kotappakonda/