Overnight in Hotel Arudra
The Arunachaleswarar Temple in the town of Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu is one of the most venerated and ancient places. We drove down to this place from Chennai in April of 2025. It is a 190km drive and took us a little more than 4 hours. Our hotel was only a few yards from the temples’ south gopuram (tower) entrance. The temple is one of the 5 Pancha Bootha Sthalams representing the element agni or fire element of Shiva. After checking into our hotel, we spent a couple of hours inside the temple visiting the main shrine as well as all the other shrines.
Girivalam – involves circumambulation of the sacred Arunachala Hill which is considered a manifestation of Lord Shiva. Devotees walk a path of approximately 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) around the hill, often barefoot and in silence, as a form of prayer and devotion. We started our walk at 9pm and were done by 12:30 pm.
Some information if you want to embark on Girivalam:
- The path you follow is partly on road and partly on footpath and clockwise circuit around the Arunachala Hill. Advisable to wear a thick socks or flat slippers, else you will get pricked by stones
- There are restrooms but most are closed or dirty
- Avoid Girivalam during the day (10am-5pm) as it will be really hot and humid
- Carry water and some healthy food like banana
- There is a map of your progress at every km and there are important Shiva lingams, or Ashtalingams, along the way. These lingams are Indra Lingam (East), Agni Lingam (South East), Yama Lingam (South), Niruthi Lingam (South West), Varuna Lingam (West), Vayu Lingam (North West), Kubera Lingam (North), and Esanya Lingam (North East). Each lingam is associated with a different direction and astrological sign.
- There are shops and restaurants along the way, we avoided all of them. There are massage machines on the way if you need to take a break and massage your tired feet.
We were tired and sweating by the time we were done at 12:30 pm. We had a nice hot bath at our hotel and crashed out for the rest of the night.
Next day morning, after breakfast, we visited the temple again to admire the architecture and take some pictures. The temple has in all 9 magnificent Gopurams.
Raja Gopuram (East): This is the tallest gopuram, standing at 217 feet (66 meters), and is considered the second tallest in Tamil Nadu. It was built by King Krishnadevaraya. There is also the thousand pillared mandapam close to the Raja gopuram.
Thirumanjana Gopuram (South): This gopuram is situated on the south side of the temple. Our hotel was located just outside this gopuram.
Pey Gopuram (West): This is another notable gopuram, potentially the oldest, with its base attributed to Hoysala King Vallaladeva III.
Other points of interest in the 25 acre Arunachaleswarar Temple complex – There are a couple of kolams (Tanks), stunning view of Arunachala hill, several pillared courtyards including the prominent thousand-pillared hall, a few shrines of other gods, and a view of all 9 gopurams.
The temple complex features a significant number of Nandi statues (5), including a large Periyar Nandi or Big Nandi located in the fifth prakaram (outer enclosure). Nandi is a sacred bull considered to be the vahana (mount) and guardian of Lord Shiva.
There is a location in the temple complex from where you can see parts of all the 9 gopurams. There is also a sacred tree, known as wilwa tree or bilva tree where childless couples traditionally tie small cradles to its branches. The tree is said to be a place where Rishis (sages) reside, and sightings of these Rishis in disguise, like a lizard, are considered rare and auspicious.
