Sri Vadapathira Kaliamman Temple

Sri Vadapathira Kaliamman Temple is a Hindu place of worship on Serangoon Road in Little India and a distinctive religious landmark in Singapore. Singapore’s National Heritage Board traces its beginnings to a small tree shrine dedicated to the goddess Kaliamman in the 1830s. The temple was further developed by the Tamil community living nearby in the 1870s. Its architecture later gained sculpted entrance gopurams and a richly decorated interior. The main shrine is dedicated to Kali, with smaller shrines to Vinayagar, or Ganesha, and Murugan on either side. A tiered vimana above the main shrine is adorned with figures of deities and can be seen from the street, making the temple easy to recognise among the surrounding city blocks. It remains an active place of worship and an important part of Little India’s cultural landscape. Visitors should keep quiet, respect ongoing prayers and follow the rules at the entrance; footwear is generally removed before entering the inner spaces. From outside, the carved ornament and the different levels of the temple towers are easy to appreciate, while the interior reveals the arrangement of the main hall and its side shrines. The temple fits naturally into a walking route along Serangoon Road with the other religious and historic sites of the neighbourhood.

Address

555 Serangoon Road, Singapore

On the map