Tiruvannamalai (Arunachala)

The hill that the Tamil tradition identifies with Shiva's pillar of fire, the fire element among the five element shrines. Parvati did penance here and was reunited with Shiva on the Karthigai full moon, when a beacon is lit on the summit; pilgrims walk the 14 km girivalam on full moons and at Shivaratri. The temple dates from the ninth-century Cholas with Vijayanagara towers.