Annamalaiyar temple thiruvannamalai - Hindu temple in Tiruvannamalai, Annamalai R.F. - Tiruvannamalai, India

Annamalaiyar Temple The Annamalai temple, located in Thiruvannamalai, Tamilnadu, India, is one of the famous temples of Hindu religion and is dedicated to worshipping Lord Shiva. The saivism sect of Hindu religion, specifically are involved in being the ardent followers of this temple. This temple is one of the temples which have been associated with Pancha Bhoota Stalas, the five elements and specifically with the Agni or fire. Lord Shiva here at Annamalai temple is worshipped with the name Arunachaleswara or Annamalaiyar and Goddess Parvati is celebrated as Unnamulai Amman. Lord Shiva is worshipped in his Lingam form which is called as Agni Lingam. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TEMPLE For the followers of Shaivite, the temple is believed to be the biggest place to visit for it, representing one of the sacred five elements of the Universe, the fire. In the past, many ardent saints have been considered to have lived here in and around the temple. Some of those saints who lived here were Shri Ramana Maharishi, Sheshadri Maharishi and Yogi Ram .One of the well known traditions, here at the temple is "Giri Valam". As per the tradition, one has to worship the Lord by making rounds of mountains and the temple. A gigantic lamp is lit on the top of the mountain and the temple to observe the festival of Karthigai and devotees from across the country come here to dive into the celebration of the festival. Eight Lingas, one for each of the eight directions has been incarnated in the path of the Girivalam. Nearest Town - Tiruvannamalai HOW TO REACH The temple can conveniently be reached by all three modes of transportation from air to rail to road. Nearest Road - It takes, for the travellers, around 3.5 hours to reach the temple by road. It's quite comfortable to travel by car or by any mode of public transportation. Plethoras of bus services are also available from Chennai, Salem, Madurai, Tirupathi and other important cities of Tamil Nadu. Nearest Railway Station - The Tiruvannamalai is located, on the railway route of katpadi and Villupuram. By Air - Chennai is the most convenient route when it is considered as the mode of travel. The nearest airport is, Chennai which is 185 km away from the temple by road. Those who are planning to come from the major metro cities can take the route through Chennai. TEMPLE TIMING Morning: 5:00 AM to 1:00 PM Evening 3:30 PM to 9:00 PM Puja here at the temple is done six times every day Pournami (Full Moon) Day and karthigai deepam which is celebrated once a year. ADDRESS Sri Arunachaleswarar Temple, Tiruvannamalai - 606601

One of the oldest Shiva Temple in Tiruvannamalai, Tamilnadu. Biggest temple with so many nice stone carvings. Very beautiful architecture work process was done on every pillar and roof of this temple. There are 4 entrances available for entry into the temple. Lord Shiva and Goddess Unnamulaiamman of this temple shower their blessings to the devotees. Almost all the building work and floor are almost covered by beautiful stone carvings only. Calm and quiet atmosphere available here gives the peace of mind to the devotees. Devotees can get the power and strength to run their life peacefully with the positive vibes of this temple. Very famous Ramana Ashram is situated near this temple, where so many foreigners visited for their peace of mind and body. Every Full Moon day is very auspicious day to visit this temple and walking around the hill at the back of this temple...

Splendid experience at this historic temple built in the 9th century. It was my wish to see the complex from inside that finally got fulfilled. We entered from the complex from the east Gate / Raja Gopuram side. This is the tallest Gopuram there. I could see one more gate open from the north side I think. Entry is free but you need to leave your sandals outside. Please note there is no proper Footwear collection place where u get tokens. We kept ours with a flower lady who we bought offerings from and earthen lamps that we instantly lit right outside the entrance. There's a place designated for the same. She dint charge us extra for keeping our shoes. Entry is free and the temple is Pretty much open all day from 5:30 am to 9pm or so. The architecture is lovely. And the thousand pillar Mandapam is worth seeing. It will be the first one on your right if you enter from this gate. There are little temples for Ganesha and other gods before the main deity ie Shiva Take the special ticket which is of nominal value to get faster darshan. We went on a regular weekday so it was fairly smooth, no waiting time anywhere. But special days like festivals etc will see traffic I'm sure. Overall the temple is well maintained. Very beautiful architecture. Loved visiting this place. Highly recommend seeing this place for sure. It's worth taking a trip to this sleepy town.

One of the Lord shiva's ancient shrine and must visit place in life time. You get peace and such a Divine feeling when you step into this temple and there are mediations places around this area and thr temple is open at morning and closes in the noon and again reopens at evening. You get to see lot of people performing girivalam night walk during full moon day for about 14km surrounding the temple. You also get free food in the noon but u will have to wait for a long time.

Annamalaiyar temple Where I can get some peace and calmness Love to visit again

U must visit alteast once. Prefer to walk without slippers /chappals.. around the hill ..it's take almost 5 hours to walk.

SivaSivaMy favorite DadMy Lord Sivan GodVery powerful & good blessings got from Lordhappiest moment in my lifeAnnamalaiyar Temple... Om Nama Shivaya

It was a great experience while staying for 3 nights. Staff was fantastic in the expectations. Kids was safe while they were alone. Will definitely recommend to our family and friends.