Colorful gopuram tower covered in sculpted deities above the entrance of a Hindu temple, under a blue sky.

Sri Mahamariamman Temple

A Hindu temple founded in 1873, with a five-tier entrance tower covered in carved and painted deities, tucked into the middle of Chinatown.

  • Religion and art
  • Suggested time:30 to 45 min
  • Area:Chinatown

About Sri Mahamariamman Temple

On Jalan Tun H.S. Lee, between Chinese shops, rises the gopuram: a five-tier entrance tower almost 23 meters tall, with more than two hundred figures of gods and guardians. The temple began in 1873 as a private shrine of K. Thamboosamy Pillai's family and moved to this address in 1885.

This is where the silver chariot is kept that, since 1983, carries the image of Murugan through the streets to Batu Caves during the Thaipusam festival. Take your shoes off before going in, cover your shoulders and knees, and remember this is a temple in active use: photograph worshippers only with permission.

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Image credit

  • The gopuram of Sri Mahamariamman: thousands of painted deities stacked on a tower, right in the middle of Chinatown.Photo: Chainwit. · CC BY-SA 4.0 · original

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