Temples to visit in of Chennai: A travel guide!

The Ancient Temples of Chennai are famous as the city itself and they have survived through the ages as guardians and custodians of city’s rich past and legacy. The temples of Chennai are spread all over the city, with each area boasting of one or more of these architectural marvels. Almost all of these temples are living temples and that’s what makes visiting them even more interesting. You can see some of the oldest temple rituals conducted in these temples, just the way they were done in the past.

Temples of Chennai - Gopuram to a temple

Recently when I was in Chennai, I decided to dedicate the majority of my time exploring these temples. Somehow in all my visits in the past, I had skipped temples even though I visited many churches there.

I think inherently I am not all that religious, but when it comes to old temples, my heart just pulls me to them. History excites me and nothing can be more interesting than living temples which have survived the test of the time.

I visited four major Ancient temples in Chennai. Though I started early in the morning at 6.30am, the temple trail took the major part of the day, despite the fact that I had a cab with me. Of course, you can just do a few temples and not do the entire trail.

I also made a short video on the temple trail, do have a look and let me know how you liked it. If you do like it, don’t forget to subscribe to my travel channel for more such stories :)

Kapaleeshwarar Temple, Mylapore

Let us start our temple trail with the most famous temple in the city - Kapaleeshwarar Temple. Located in the Mylapore area, it is an ancient shrine glorified by the tamil hymns of Tirugnanasambandar in the 7th century CE. Shiva’s wife Paravati is worshiped here and goes by the name Karpagambal. Shiva is the residing deity at the temple and as was worshiped in the form of Peacock called Mylai in Tamil, the area is called Mylapore.

Small temples inside the compound

Bird with Gopuram

The majestic gopuram of Kapaleeshwarar temple

The original Kapaleeshwarar Temple was located on the shore not too far from the current location, but was destroyed by the Portuguese. The current structure dates back to the 15th Century. 

The best time to go there is early in the morning right when the temple opens to the public. Only the devout localities come at that time and that allows you to explore the beautiful temple in detail. There is also a good possibility that you might be able to attend a typical Tamil marriage ceremony at this early hour, not to mention you can also take some great pictures at this hour. 

Another view of the shrine

Kapaleeshwarar Temple Timings: Morning: 6.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m. Evening: 4.00 p.m. to 8.00 p.m 

Parthasarathy Temple, Tiruvallikeni

The second temple in our temple trail is also the oldest temple in Chennai and was built in the 8th Century. The Parthasarathy temple is dedicated to Lord Krishna and the name of the temple actually comes from his name. In the Mahabharata he was the charioteer to Arjuna which in Sanskrit means Parthasarathy and hence the name of the temple.

Parahasarathy temple interiors 

Priest offering prayers 

The Gopuram

The Parthasarathy temple is undergoing major restoration work right now so much of the gopuram is actually covered right now. I also found this temple to be one of the most strict of all the temples I visited that day. I was scolded twice by the priests when I tried taking pictures (outside, of course) but I didn’t really mind it. A temple visit is certainly not all about taking pictures after all.

There are many many weddings taking place that day in the temple and I could actually click quite a few of the couples from a close range. I think everyone assumed I was the official photographer at their wedding :)

A wedding ceremony inside the temple

This temple is also best visited early in the morning so come here right after you are done with the first temple.

Parthasarathy Temple Timings: Morning: 5.50 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. Evening: 4.00 p.m. to 9.00 p.m

Marundeeswarar Temple, Thiruvanmiyur

The third temple in the trail is hands-down my favourite of them all, and its primarily because of the chilled out ambience inside the temple. Dedicated to Lord Shiva, the Marundeeswarar Temple is spread over an area of about 1 acre with plenty of open spaces.

Gopuram of Marundeeswarar temple

The two gopurams seen together 

A wedding ceremony inside the temple

The temple has two entrances, one from East Coast Road and the other from West Tank Street both adorned by five-tiered gopuram. The holy water tank is located on the West Tank Street. The entrance from this side also has a nice hallway with lovely fresco work on the ceiling.

It’s also a good temple to take some rest before embarking on the the last temple in the trail.

Marundeeswarar Temple Timings: Morning 5.00 A.M to Noon 12.00 P.M  Evening 4.00 P.M to 9.00 P.M

Thyagaraja Temple, Tiruvottiyur

Tiruvottiyur is one of the oldest parts of Chennai and Thyagaraja Temple there also dates back to the 7th Century. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and has a very interesting legend associated with it.

Gopuram of Thyagaraja Temple

A priest offering prayers 

A local man offering prayers at the temple

Busy inside the temple...sun is not a deterrent of the devout

“Brahmā is the Hindu god of creation and one of the three primary gods of Hinduism, the other two being Viṣņu and Śiva. He created the Gods and demons - both these groups fight against each other. While the demons, called asuras use muscle power, the Gods called devas use the power of Veda, the sacred texts. Once, two demons, Madhu and Kaithaba tricked the gods to steal the Veda, chopped it to pieces and hid it in the bottom of the sea. Vishnu fought the demons, but could not defeat them. He prayed to Shiva and Parvathi and with the accomplishment, he was able to defeat the demons. He took the form of Matsya, a fish to search the Veda.The recovered Veda from the bottom of the sea was brought to the deity at this temple, who reunited and purified it. The wishing tree of gods, makizha tree, became the sacred tree of the temple.” - Wikipedia 

Thyagaraja Temple is actually a little different from the other temples. The gopuram here is simply huge and the most impressive part of the temple. The floor is not paved with stones and is basically just sand and mud, which also made walking extremely difficult.

As you walk out of the last temple, you would certainly be exhausted, but also rejuvenated at the same time. I do not connect to Gods as much in these space, but I do connect with their heritage and stories from the past.

Tips for the Ancient temple trail:

• Wear long clothes as some temples won’t allow you with short clothes
• Most places you need to buy a ticket for your camera, ask someone if you can’t locate the office. No photography allowed inside the sanctum sanctorium.
• Wear chappals (flip-flops) for ease of getting in
• Take a cab with a local driver so that he can easily take you all these places without the need to look at the maps always. Cab also helps to beat the afternoon heat!
• Carry loads of water with you, it would be useful throughout the trail
• Carry some change if you want to leave some money in the temple donation box
• Start very early at sunrise