The Pancha Ishwarams: Sri Lanka's Five Ancient Shiva Temples

Hindu tradition holds that five great temples to Lord Shiva have stood around the coast of Sri Lanka since ancient times, protecting the island from the sea on every side. They are known as the Pancha Ishwarams, the five abodes of Ishwara. Some are praised in Tamil devotional hymns more than a thousand years old. All five were destroyed during the Portuguese period, in the 16th and 17th centuries. Four have been rebuilt and are active places of worship today.

This guide introduces each temple and suggests how to visit them.

1. Naguleswaram (north)

The northernmost of the five stands at Keerimalai, on the coast of the Jaffna peninsula. It's best known for the Keerimalai springs beside it, where pilgrims bathe in fresh water just metres from the sea. The temple was destroyed by the Portuguese, rebuilt in the 19th century, and badly damaged again during the civil war, when the area was closed to civilians. It has been restored since.

Visit from: Jaffna, about 40 minutes away.

2. Thiruketheeswaram (north-west)

Thiruketheeswaram lies near Mannar, beside the ancient port of Manthai. The Tamil saints Sambandar and Sundarar sang of it in the 7th and 8th centuries. The Portuguese pulled it down and used the stones for their fort. It was rediscovered and rebuilt from 1903, and it has recently been reconstructed in carved granite. The Palavi tank beside it is a sacred bathing place, and Maha Shivaratri draws huge crowds.

Visit from: Mannar, 20 minutes away, or as a stop between Anuradhapura and Jaffna.

3. Koneswaram (east)

Koneswaram crowns Swami Rock, a cliff above the sea at Trincomalee. Its setting is the most dramatic of the five. Once known as the "temple of a thousand pillars", it was thrown down in 1622, and the Portuguese built Fort Frederick with its masonry. The present temple dates from the 1950s. Statues recovered from the ground and the sea are worshipped there. Tradition also counts the adjoining shrine to the goddess as one of the Shakti Peethas.

Visit from: Trincomalee, 10 minutes from the town centre.

4. Munneswaram (west)

Munneswaram, near Chilaw, is the easiest to reach, only about an hour from the international airport. It's a large complex with five shrines, including a Buddhist one, and it's popular with worshippers of every community. Ramayana tradition says that Rama prayed to Shiva here after the war. The Portuguese destroyed the temple twice, and it was rebuilt under the Kandyan kings. The festival season in August and September lasts about four weeks. The small Manavari Temple nearby is usually visited on the same trip.

Visit from: Negombo or Colombo, as a half-day trip.

5. Tondeswaram (south)

The fifth Ishwaram stood at Devinuwara, or Dondra, at the southern tip of the island, close to today's Dondra Head lighthouse. In the Middle Ages it was a vast and wealthy temple city, visited by travellers such as Ibn Battuta, and its golden roofs were a landmark for sailors. A Portuguese force destroyed it in 1588. It was never rebuilt as a Shiva temple. A shrine to Vishnu, worshipped by Buddhists as the guardian deity Upulvan, stands on the site today, and a few granite pillars, a stone doorway and a recovered lingam and Nandi are all that remain of the old complex.

Visit from: Matara, 15 minutes away.

A route around all five

Seeing all five means circling the island, and it takes at least 8 to 10 days.

1. Days 1–2: Arrive, and visit Munneswaram and Manavari from Negombo. Continue to Anuradhapura.
2. Days 3–5: Drive to Thiruketheeswaram, then on to Jaffna for Naguleswaram, Keerimalai and Nallur Kandaswamy Temple.
3. Days 6–7: Travel down the east side to Trincomalee for Koneswaram.
4. Days 8–10: Cross to the south coast by way of the hills or the east coast road, and finish at Dondra before returning to Colombo on the expressway.

If you have less time, Munneswaram and Koneswaram are the two most rewarding for a first visit. Our north itinerary and east coast itinerary help with the detail.

Visiting tips

• Timing. Temples generally open early in the morning, close around midday and reopen in the late afternoon. Plan visits around the puja times.
• Dress. Modest clothing is expected everywhere. In the north and east, men are often asked to remove their shirts before entering the inner temple.
• Footwear is left outside. The stone can be very hot, so mornings and evenings are kinder to your feet.
• Photography inside the shrines is often not allowed. Ask first.
• Season. January to September is best for the north. May to September suits Trincomalee, and December to April suits the south and west.

For more temples, festivals and etiquette, see our guide to the Hindu temples of Sri Lanka, and for the legends of Rama and Ravana, the Ramayana sites guide.