Erumbeeswarar Temple

Erumbeeswarar Temple crowns a 60 ft hill in Thiruverumbur, reached by a flight of granite steps; locals call it Malai Kovil, the hill temple, and the Kailash of South India. The name comes from erumbu, meaning ant. Legend says the gods, escaping the demon Tharukasuran, came here as ants to worship, and when they could not climb the slippery lingam, Shiva became an anthill and tilted his head for them. The temple is a Paadal Petra Sthalam, praised in the Tevaram.

The present temple is the work of Aditya I (871–907 CE), a Chola king who raised a series of temples along the Cauvery after his victory at Tirupurambiyam. It holds 49 Chola-era inscriptions and is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India. The main shrines and two prakarams are on the summit, where the lingam is a mound of mud, while a hall and the tank lie at the foot. On full-moon days, tens of thousands of pilgrims walk barefoot around the hill on the 900 m Girivalam path.