Marudhamalai Murugan Temple

Getting there

• By road

  Public buses connect Marudhamalai with Coimbatore city, including Gandhipuram Town Bus stand.

Rules to know

• On special occasions four-wheelers are barred from the ghat road; visitors then go by the HR&CE bus or on foot.
• The temple trust planned an online e-pass for four-wheelers, allowing 300 vehicles up the hill per day.

Why devotees come here

Marudhamalai Murugan Temple stands on a hill in the Western Ghats, about 15 km northwest of central Coimbatore. Devotees consider it the seventh abode of Murugan, and it is about 1200 years old. Public buses connect it with the city, including the Gandhipuram Town Bus stand.

Devotees consider Marudhamalai the seventh abode of Murugan. The temple is known as Arulmigu Subramaniaswamy Temple, and a large number of devotees visit it every day. It is a suburb of Coimbatore, set on the hills of the Western Ghats, so the approach to the shrine is itself a climb.

The temple is about 1200 years old. The Thiruppugal, rendered by Arunagirinathar, features it. Pilgrims reach the top either by a 3 km ghat road or by stepped footpaths of about 837 steps. A new road now lets visitors drive up the hill in their own vehicles.

Rituals, processions and cultural shows mark the festivals here. Crowds grow on festival days. On special occasions four-wheelers are barred from the ghat road, so visitors go by the HR&CE bus or on foot. The temple administration was also working on a lift for elderly and differently-abled visitors, from the hilltop staircase to the entrance. Adjacent to the temple is a cave temple dedicated to Pambatti Siddhar.

Tips for your visit

• Parking holds only around 60 cars and 350 bikes at a time.
• Crowds grow on Sundays, Tuesdays, Kiruthigai days and festival days.
• A cave temple dedicated to Pambatti Siddhar stands next to the temple.

Questions people ask