Ranganathaswamy Temple, Karamadai

The Ranganathaswamy Temple at Karamadai lies 23 km from Coimbatore on the Coimbatore–Mettupalayam highway. Vishnu is worshipped here as Ranganathaswamy and Lakshmi as Ranganayaki, and it counts among the 108 Abhimana Kshetrams and the five Pancharanga temples around Coimbatore. Legend says a cowherd of the Kottariyar tribe found his cow emptying its milk on an anthill; digging, he saw blood flow from it, and a temple was raised around the spot. Unlike other Ranganatha temples, only the deity's face is seen here.

The temple is believed to date from the Chola period of the 10th–11th centuries; Tirumalai Nayak (1623–59) added walls and halls, and Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar built more halls. The northern tower went up in 1944 and the seven-tier, 80 ft eastern rajagopuram in 2013. A later legend tells how a British general dropped plans to run a railway through the temple after a dream and gave a festival horse image. The fifteen-day Brahmotsavam in Maasi is the main festival.