Sugavaneswarar Temple is situated at cherry road, fort, Salem.

The temple is 500 years old and exhibits our country’s heritage at its best. Evidences of the rule of the great kings Cheran, Chozan, and Pandian can be witnessed here.

This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva who is in the name Sugavaneswarar along with his consort Goddess Parvathi in the name Maragathavalli or Sornambigai.

The other deity here is valamburi Vinayagar with two faces. The temple spread over two acres of land has Shiva, Parvathi and Vinayaga who are known as the “Mummoorthigal” and the place is quite popular among Shivites.

The Story goes like this. Lord Brahma was sharing a secret with few while Sage Shuka an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva eavesdropped and was cursed by Lord Brahma and he turned into a parrot. Brahma said, that he would be relieved of the curse when he worships Lord Shiva at Papanasam. One day Sage Sukha came along with other parrots to worship Shiva. An hunter seeing this wanted to drive away all the parrots. Hence, all the parrots hid in the nearby ant hill. Hunter started attacking the parrots while Sage Shuka spread his wings over the lingam to protect it. In this course he was killed and the Lingam also was damaged a little and got tilted to a side. Thus, Sage Shuka was relieved of his curse and he pleaded Shiva to stay there in the name of Sugavaneswarar (Parrot+eswar). Obliging the request, Shiva stayed there to bless his devotees.

The speciality of the temple is the tilted Lingam which cannot be seen anywhere else. People pray Shiva for good health, wealth, prosperity, effects of planets, bad omen of Lizard falling anywhere on the body etc.

The temple is open from 6.00 a.m. to 12.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m. to 9.00 p.m. You must visit the temple when you are here at Salem to have a different experience as it is one of its kind.

Skandasramam Murugan Temple is located at Udayapatti, Salem. The temple resides on a hill lock surrounded by the serene beauty of the nature.

As the name suggests, here main deity is Lord Muruga along with other deities. Lord Ganesha is huge and has five faces and is named as Panchamukha Vinayagar. Even Lord Anjaneya is five faced here. This temple is the only place where Goddess Shakthi and her son Lord Muruga face each other to give bliss and blessings to the devotees.

People pray for child birth, wealth and prosperity. Skandasramam was built by Skandananda in the 20th century.

It is believed that Lord Muruga appeared in the dreams of Skandananda and ordered him to build a temple dedicated to him. Since then, the sage started searching for an apt place and finally settled down at the Udayapatti hill lock and raised a temple.

There are two small hairpin bends that take you to the temple. You can climb up the hill enjoying the natural beauty surrounding the place.

The temple is open from 6.00 a.m. To 12.00 a.m. And from 4.00 p.m. To 9.30 p.m. Visit the place when you visit Salem and stay blessed.

1008 Shiva Temple, Salem

Temples are a place that can give peace to a great extent. One such temple is the 1008 lingam temple that is located at Kanyakumari Hwy, Ariyanur, Salem.

1008 Shiva Temple was constructed by Vinayaka Mission Institutions on a hill on the Sangagiri highway near to the center. The temple with 1008 lingams is constructed on a hill and on the foothills, there is a huge Ganesha idol that welcomes the devotees.

The specialty of the temple is that the Nandi placed in front of each Lingam looks the same. The guide of the place explains every detail of the temple and the best way to enjoy the visit is to walk up the hill if you can walk provided you are healthy and young.

While you walk, you get to see each and every lingam clearly with a better view. Nevertheless, a bike ride or a car drive up the hill is also allowed to see the beauty of the temple.

Surrounded by greenery all over, the temple also has other sannidhis dedicated to Lord Muruga, Goddess Mahalakshmi, Goddess Raja Rajeshwari, Lord Anjaneya etc.

The main deity here happens to be Umaiyambigai Samedha Sri Arunachala Sundareswara which is about 17 feet tall. Sincere prayers to him make the climbing a cakewalk.

A place to be surely visited in Salem. So, make it a priority to visit the place to enjoy the nature combined with divinity.