Arayoor Mahadevar Temple

Arayoor Sree Mahadevar Temple is a Shiva temple at Arayoor in Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala, close to the Tamil Nadu border. Shiva here is fondly called Arayoorappan, and the temple is run by the Travancore Devaswom Board. Subsidiary shrines honour Ganesha, Durga, Murugan, Nandikesan, Ayyappa, Bhoothathan, Nagaraja and Yakshiyamma.

Its ten-day festival, usually in February or March, is one of the grandest in Neyyattinkara taluk. It opens with the hoisting of the temple flag, the Ghoshayathra procession comes on the ninth day, and on the tenth evening, after the flag comes down, the deity goes for the Aarattu, a ritual bath in the nearby temple pond, with cultural programmes throughout. The temple opens from 4.30 to 10.30 am and from 5.30 to 8.30 pm.