What is Girivalam?

Mythology has it that Brahma and Vishnu got into an argument over their supremacies and finally sought Shiva’s help to resolve the issue. Shiva then created a cosmic column of fire and asked Brahma and Vishnu to find the end of the fire. Whoever found its end would be declared as the supreme god. Bramha went towards Akaasha and Vishnu went towards Pathaala to find the top and bottom ends respectively. However, both returned unsuccessful, thus renouncing Shiva to be supreme. This place came to be called Arunachala hill or Tiruvannamalai. The name of the hill is derived by combining three Tamil words, Thiru- meaning sacred, Vann meaning fire, and Malai meaning mountain, thus meaning “the holy fire mountain”.

Girivalam, also called as Giri Pradakshina is a combination of two words, ‘Giri’ meaning mountain and ‘Valam’ meaning circumambulation. It is a sacred walk covering an approximate distance of 14-kilometer in the clockwise direction around the Arunachala Hill in Tiruvannamalai town of Tamil Nadu. Since the hill is considered a physical manifestation of Lord Shiva, conducting the Giri Pradakshina is believed to offer spiritual purification and liberation.

To commemorate the day of establishing Shiva’s supremacy, a large bonfire is lit atop the hill during the Karthika month of the Tamil calendar. This Karthigai Deepam lit on the previous night of the full moon symbolizes Shiva’s cosmic fire and burns continuously for the next eleven days attracting millions of devotees from all over for this annual festival.

How to do Girivalam?

• The Pradakshina must start and end at the same spot, usually at the east entrance tower of the Arunachaleshwara temple located at the foothills.
• Start the Pradakshina by visiting the Kalabhairava and Ganesha shrines, followed by breaking a coconut in front of the east Gopuram of the Arunachaleshwara temple.
• Traditionally done barefoot, it is not wrong if one opts to wear just socks or footwear during the walk and removed before entering the temples passing along the path.
• A visit to the Ashta Lingam shrines and other significant temples along the way is believed to enhance the benefits.
• Girivalam can be conducted on any day and time of the year. However, offering it on full-moon days is considered more auspicious.

When did I go?

Since my friend and I had been contemplating doing Girivalam for a very long time, it was a spontaneous decision to perform it as the last full-moon day of the 2025 calendar year, and a weekend had arrived together. Coincidentally, it also happened to be the Karthika Month and hence, the Karthika deepam would be lit over the eleven-day period.

We chose to go there on a Friday, which was a day after the full moon, assuming that the crowd of the full moon day would have subsided and the weekend crowd wouldn’t have poured in yet. It turned out to be a smart decision.

We also got lucky that we saw the flames deepam atop the Arunachalar hill, all the décor of the town and all the decoration inside the temple that had been done for the annual festival.

How did I go?

• There are plenty and frequent public buses run by Karnataka and Tamil-Nadu Road transportation services. We boarded a TNSRTC bus onwards to Tiruvannamalai and KSRTC bus for our return to Bangalore, both without prior bookings.
• We arrived at Tiruvannamalai at around 07.00.p.m. had a filling dinner and retired early at a hotel we had pre-booked close to the east tower of the temple.
• We started our pradakshina by around 03.45.a.m. and finished it by 08.00.am.
• We stood in the ticketed queue for Darshana and were done by noon we ate temple prasada (more like brunch).
• We then checked out of our hotel and reached Bangalore by night.

Some tips from my first Girivalam experience

• The temple closes at night and opens by 06:00. a.m. and there will be a long queue for the Darshan. Hence, it is best advised to reach the temple gate as early as possible to get the earliest darshan with the shortest queue.
• It is best to do the Pradakshina after sunset and finish it before sunrise to avoid the blazing sun- but also time it well to be able to visit the Ashta Lingams while they too are open.
• I highly recommend buying the 50Rs. special entry ticket to reduce the walking distance in the queue and thus a faster Darshana.
• Book a stay as closer to the East Gopuram as possible. This will help to reduce the overall walking distance and ease the accessibility to the Girivalam path.
• I chose to skip going through the Moksha dwara, a small structure along the path. The queue was extremely long.
• If possible, offer small donations to as many sanyasis and beggars sitting along the path. It will enhance the benefits of your prayers.
• There are ample food stalls, water stations and clean public toilets all along the way to keep you going. However, we chose to break our fast only with the temple Prasada after the Darshana was completed.
• The entire walk will be on an asphalted road / paved footpath. So, expect littering to be normal.

Other noteworthy things to do and places to see during Girivalam

• Do not miss eating the Pongal and Puliyogare (Tamarind rice) at the paid prasada counter at the exit of the temple. It tastes delicious.
• Check the timings of the free meals served at the Ramanashram, or simply pay a visit there to experience calmness.
• You can walk a small distance from the Skandashram to reach a viewpoint where you can see the entire temple premise and Gopurams from.
• Do not miss the Rudraksha beads distributed for free by volunteers anywhere along the Girivalam path.
• The deity and the structure of the Ardhanareeshwara temple were unique.
• Observe how the direction of the Nandi changes in each temple depending on the direction of the holy hill with respect to the location of the Nandi, it always faces the mountain: The Arunachalar.
• If you’re visiting Tiruvannamalai anytime after ‘Arudra Darshana’ (next full moon after Karthika Deepam, Do not miss collecting the holy Arudra Kajal / Kohl from the temple. It is made from the soot formed by the ‘Karthika deepam’ itself and will be distributed until stocks are available each year.

Do you have anything to share or ask about Girivalam? Comment below.