Nallur Kovil

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A prestigious Hindu shrine with a golden roof and an orange gopuram, Nallur temple a shrine dedicated to God Murugan, or Kataragama Deviyo was originally built in the 10th century. It was recorded that during the 15th century the third Nallur temple was built by a regional ruler of the Kotte Kingdom “Sapumal Kumaraya” also known as “Chempaha Perumal” or “Bhuvanaikabahu VI”.

Nallur was the ruling center for Jaffna from ancient times, there are ruins of the royal palace closer to the Kovil. Being closer to the royal palace and the ruling center, Nallur Kovil received royal patronage. The kovil underwent a few destructions during various invasions. The current temple is believed to be the fourth temple which was built in 1734 by a shroff named 'Don Juan' Ragunatha Maapaana Mudaliyar who served at the Dutch Katchery. The temple demonstrates South Indian Dravidian style architecture with its magnificent five storied gopuram with deity figure carvings.

The temple hosts an annual festival in the month of August which takes place for about twenty five days with various religious poojas.

When you visit the temple, wear appropriately and you’d be expected to walk barefooted, and all men entering the temple will have to go bare-chested.