Varadaraja Perumal Temple

Varadaraja Perumal Temple, also called Hastagiri or Perumal Koil, is one of the 108 Divya Desams sacred to Vaishnavites and spreads across roughly 23 acres in the Vishnu Kanchi part of town. Its towering gopurams and hundred pillared hall carry detailed Chola and Vijayanagara era carvings, including chain sculptures cut from single stones and the temple's famous silver and golden lizards, which devotees touch for blessings. The original fig wood idol of Athi Varadar is kept submerged in the temple tank and brought out for public darshan only once every forty years, making the rare event one of the most anticipated in South Indian temple life.