Tiruvannamalai temple guide · checked 6 November 2026
Arunachaleswarar Temple, Tiruvannamalai: timings, booking and history
அருணாசலேஸ்வரர் (அண்ணாமலையார்) கோயில் · நேரம் · வரலாறு
Everything pilgrims ask before visiting the great temple of Arunachala — darshan hours from the official website, what can and cannot be booked online, tickets, abhishekam and the temple's history — from the ashram at Adi Annamalai on the Girivalam path.
Quick answer · Tiruvannamalai temple timings
Darshan timings
When the temple is open.
தரிசன நேரம்
- Monday – Friday5:30 AM – 8:00 PM
- Sat, Sun, Pournami, holidays5:30 AM – 7:30 PM
- EntrancesEast Rajagopuram · North Ammani Amman gopuram
Festival days such as Karthigai Deepam follow a special schedule. For the Girivalam calendar see the Pournami dates 2026–27.
Six daily poojas · ஆறு கால பூஜை
5:30 AM
Ushathkalam
உஷத்காலம்
8:00 AM
Kalasanthi
காலசந்தி
10:00 AM
Uchikalam
உச்சிகாலம்
6:00 PM
Sayarakshai
சாயரட்சை
8:00 PM
Irandamkalam
இரண்டாம் காலம்
10:00 PM
Ardhajamam
அர்த்தஜாமம்
Approximate pooja times as generally published; the temple may change them on festival days.
Tickets, special darshan & online booking
What you can — and cannot — book.
Many websites still repeat old ticket prices. This is what we could confirm on 6 November 2026.
General darshan
No ticket is needed. Queues are shortest early in the morning on weekdays.
Special (₹50) darshan
The HR&CE department ordered the ₹50 special darshan ticket stopped in July 2023 so that more devotees could have darshan each day. Some older websites still list it.
VIP / break darshan
A paid 'break darshan' for Tiruvannamalai was announced in 2025. We could not confirm that it is running or its price — check the official website before you plan around it.
Abhishekam
Abhishekam is arranged at the temple counter; prices quoted online vary widely and are not official. Ask at the temple office for the current list.
Online services
The official HR&CE website takes online donations, annadhanam contributions, postal prasadam and the Karthigai Deepam ghee-pot (gheepot) offering. It does not list online darshan or abhishekam booking.
History
Who built the temple, and why it is the temple of fire.
Inscriptions date the first construction to the early Chola kings in the 9th century. The temple grew for 700 years after that: later Cholas, the Hoysalas — who made Tiruvannamalai their capital in 1328 — and the Vijayanagara and Nayak kings all added halls, walls and towers. The 11-tier east Rajagopuram, about 66 m tall, was begun under Krishnadevaraya and completed under Sevappa Nayaka in the 16th century.
Arunachaleswarar is worshipped as the lingam of fire, one of the five Pancha Bhoota Sthalams. The Shiva Purana tells how Shiva appeared as an endless column of fire: Vishnu, as a boar, dug for its base and Brahma, as a swan, flew for its top. Neither found the end, and Arunachala is that column of light made hill — which is why its summit is lit each year at Karthigai Deepam.
- Deity
- Arunachaleswarar (Annamalaiyar) with Unnamulai Amman
- Element
- Fire (Agni) — one of the five Pancha Bhoota Sthalams
- Built
- From the 9th century (early Cholas), enlarged by later Cholas, Hoysalas and Vijayanagara and Nayak kings
- East Rajagopuram
- 11 tiers, about 66 m (217 ft)
- Size
- About 25 acres, 9 gopurams, 5 prakarams
- Inscriptions
- About 450 stone inscriptions
- Thevaram
- A Paadal Petra Sthalam, sung by Appar and Sambandar
- Hill
- Arunachala, about 2,668 ft
தமிழில்
திருவண்ணாமலை அண்ணாமலையார் கோயில் வரலாறு
பஞ்சபூதத் தலங்களில் அக்னித் தலமான அருணாசலேஸ்வரர் கோயில், 9ஆம் நூற்றாண்டில் முற்காலச் சோழர்களால் முதலில் கட்டப்பட்டது. பின்னர் பிற்காலச் சோழர்கள், ஹொய்சாளர்கள், விஜயநகர மற்றும் நாயக்க மன்னர்கள் விரிவுபடுத்தினர். சுமார் 25 ஏக்கர் பரப்பில் 9 கோபுரங்களும் 5 பிரகாரங்களும் கொண்டது. 11 நிலை கிழக்கு ராஜகோபுரம் சுமார் 66 மீட்டர் உயரம். அப்பர், சம்பந்தர் பாடிய தேவாரப் பாடல் பெற்ற தலம்.
தரிசன நேரம்: காலை 5:30 முதல் இரவு 8:00 வரை; சனி, ஞாயிறு, பௌர்ணமி, விடுமுறை நாட்களில் இரவு 7:30 வரை. பொது தரிசனம் இலவசம். அதிகாரப்பூர்வ இணையதளம்: annamalaiyar.hrce.tn.gov.in.
கோயில் தரிசனத்திற்குப் பின் கிரிவலப் பாதையில் ஆதி அண்ணாமலையில் உள்ள எங்கள் சிவ ஸ்ரீ தியானேஸ்வர் அம்மா ஆசிரமத்திற்கு வாருங்கள் — தினமும் இலவச அன்னதானம், மௌனசாமி சித்தர் தரிசனம்.
Questions people ask
Visiting Arunachaleswarar Temple.
Karthigai Deepam 2026 guide Places to visit in TiruvannamalaiWhat are the Arunachaleswarar temple timings in Tiruvannamalai?
What is the official website of Tiruvannamalai temple?
Can I book Tiruvannamalai temple darshan or abhishekam online?
Is there a special darshan or VIP darshan ticket at Tiruvannamalai?
Who built the Tiruvannamalai Arunachaleswarar temple?
திருவண்ணாமலை அண்ணாமலையார் கோயிலைக் கட்டியவர் யார்?
When is Karthigai Deepam 2026 at Tiruvannamalai?
Sources: Official temple website (HR&CE) · Tiruvannamalai district · Wikipedia: Annamalaiyar Temple · DT Next, July 2023 · ETV Bharat, Deepam 2026
Visiting Tiruvannamalai?
After darshan at the temple, walk the Girivalam path — and rest with us.
Siva Sri Thiyaneswar Amma Ashram is on the Girivalam road at Adi Annamalai, the quiet side of Arunachala. Every visitor is welcome to a free meal, to sit with Mounasamy Siddhar — the silent sadhu of Tiruvannamalai — and to join satsang. There is no fee.
- Annadhanam 9–11 AM · 4–6 PM
- Mounasamy stands 7–8 PM
- Vediyappanur Road