Thirumalai Vaiyaavoor lies about 70 kms from Chennai and 18 kms from Chengalpattu. While going from Chennai, after crossing Chengalpattu, one can find Padaalam Cross Road (Koot Road) from where a road goes off GST Road on the right side. This road leads to Thirumalai Vaiyaavoor.
Thirumalai Vaiyaavoor has a beautiful temple for Sri Prasanna Venkatesa Perumaal on a small hill, which is also called Thirumalai. Goddess here is Sri Alarmel Mangai Thaayaar.This hill has various names like Sri Vaikundagiri, Dhakshina Garudagiri, Dhakshina Venkatagiri, Dhakshina Seshagiri, Varaaha Kshethram and Ramanuja Yogagiri. This ancient temple has some interesting legends attached to it.
During the battle between Sri Rama and Raavana, Lakshmana fainted on the battle field. Sri Rama sent Sri Hanuman to bring the Sanjeevi hill to cure Lakshmana. Sri Hanuman brought the Sanjeevi hill as told by Sri Rama. It is said that Sri Hanuman worshipped Sri Varaaha Perumaal and Sri Prasanna Venkatesa Puramaal on this hill, on the way back to Lanka, carrying the Sanjeevi hill. As Sanjeevi hill should not be placed on ground, it is said that Sri Hanuman shifted the hill from His right hand to left hand to offer obeisance to the Gods here. As the holy Sanjeevi hill was not kept on ground here by Sri Hanuman, this place came to be known as Thirumalai Vaiyaavoor (திருமலை வையாவூர்).
Once a demon king called Hiranyaakshan took the earth and kept under his custody, hiding it deep inside the ocean. Lord Vishnu took Varaaha Avatar, killed the demon and brought back the earth to its position. After this Sri Varaaha Perumaal wished to take abode on a hill to bless the world. He directed Sri Garuda to bring a hill from Vaikuntam itself. Sri Garuda Bhagavan brought a hill from Vaikuntam and placed it near the banks of Swarnamuki River, which was called Garudagiri (present Thirupathi). While Sri Garuda carried the hill, a small part of it broke and fell near the banks of the river Palar and came to be known as Dhakshina Garudagiri (Thirumalai Vaiyaavoor).After placing the hill in the banks of river Swarnamuki, Sri Garuda prayed God to see His Viswaroopa Dharsanam. As wished by Sri Garuda, Lord Vishnu gave him Viswaroopa Dharshan in the form of Sri Varaaha Perumaal here at Dhakshina Garudagiri.
Once, Lord Vishnu told Sri Aadhiseshan to take the form of a mountain on Garudagiri, for Him to take abode and bless the world during Kaliyugam. Sri Aadhiseshan took form of a hill on Garudagiri and from then the place (Thirupathi) came to be known as Seshagiri. Lord Vishnu took abode as Sri Srinivaasa Perumaal on Seshagiri in the Thamizh month of Purattaasi, on the day of Dwadasi when ‘Thiruvonam’ star occurred.
Sri Aadhiseshan prayed Sri Srinivaasa Perumaal and told that he had a wish to serve as an umbrella to the Lord. Sri Srinivaasa Perumaal agreed and told that his wish would come true at Dhakshina Garudagiri. In Thirumalai Vaiyaavoor Sri Aadhiseshan is seen above the deity Sri Srinivaasa Perumaal’s head as an umbrella. Hence, this place came to be known as Dhakshina Seshagiri.
There was an ancient king called Thondaimaan who was an ardent devotee of Lord Venkateswara at Thirupathi. Once, Lord Venkateswara helped the king with His Conch (Sangu) and Chakra to defeat the enemies. The king after defeating his enemies built a beautiful temple for the Lord at Thirupathi. As directed by the Lord, he also built a temple here at Thirumalai Vaiyaavoor. Lord Venkateswara gave him dharshan here on a chariot with a Sengol (செங்கோல்), the symbolic weapon held by kings. The foot marks of the horse and the marks of the chariot wheel are seen on some rocks of the hill here.
Once, Sri Brahma went to Thirupathi and worshipped Lord Venkateswara by lighting two lamps. He prayed the Lord that the lamps should glow non stop till Kaliyugam exists. The Lord granted his wish and said that He would give dharshan to devotees in the form of Jyothi on all Thiruvonam days at Thirumalai Vaiyaavoor and till that Jyothi dharshan continues, the lights lit by Sri Brahma would be alive. Lord Brahma then came here to this place and worshipped the Lord and got dharshan in the form of Jyothi.
It is also said that Sri Rama after the battle with Raavana came here, bathed in Varaaha Theertham and worshipped the Lord, on His way back to Ayodhya.Sri Ramanuja had worshipped the Lord here and named the place ‘Vaikundagiri’. He also had stayed in this place and meditated the Lord. Hence this place is also called as Ramanuja Yogagiri.
About 500 years back, a Vijayanagara King called Raja Thodarmaal had contributed much to this temple and has helped the temple for Poojas and festivals in a grand scale. He had installed an idol for Sri Ramanuja and also for himself in this temple.
The temple is beautifully located on the hill top. There are about 500 steps on the hill to reach the temple. There is a proper road also to reach the temple by vehicles. Though the main deity is Sri Venkatesa Perumal the Aadhi Murthy here is Sri Varaaha Perumaal. One has to first visit Sri Varaaha Perumaal before visiting the main deity. Sri Varaaha Perumaal is seen with Sri Lakshmi facing west. Also, when the temple is opened, Sri Varaaha Perumaal’s shrine is opened first and all the offerings are made to Him first, before others.
The main deity Sri Srinivaasa Perumaal is seen facing west. The Lord is beautifully decorated with ornaments and gives dharshan exactly as in Thirupathi. Goddess Sri Alarmel Mangai Thaayaar has a separate shrine here. There are separate shrines for Sri Aandaal and Sri Ramanuja too.The inner praakaarams have lot of stone pillars and spread on a wide area. The pillars have some exquisite carvings on them.
The Theertham for this temple is called Varaaha Theertham which is at the foot of this hill. The path to the Theertham is not motorable but looks beautiful when seen from the hill top.
Sri Anjaneyar shrine is present facing the hill opposite to the stair way to the temple.The temple has a vast outer praakaaram with huge stone walls surrounding it. Sri Garuda Bhagavan is seen on specific corners on the wall, guarding the Lord.
It is also said that people visiting Thirupathi should also visit Thirumalai Vaiyaavoor and bathe in Varaaha Theertham and worship Sri Prasanna Venkateswara Perumaal here, only after which the pilgrimage gets complete.This beautiful hill temple for Sri Venkatesa Perumaal gives the feeling of being in Thirumala itself.
Temple contact - Venkatesa Battachariar - 99940 95187, Balaji Battachariar - 99404 22353
Sembakkam has an ancient temple for Lord Shiva where the main deity is Sri Jambugeswarar and Goddess Sri Azhagaambigai. This temple is also called Vada Thiruvanaikkaa or Uthara Jambugeswaram as this temple also represents Water element. Moreover, this temple is also built by the same king Ko Chengannan who built the 
It is said that Sri Aadhiseshan along with Vasuki and other Naga Kanyas came here and worshipped Lord Shiva to get relieved of their sin as Sri Aadhiseshan spit Poison while churning the mighty ocean. Another story has it that Sage Naradha was explaining the sanctity of Sri Uthara Jambugeswarar to Lord Indra who didn’t pay much attention in listening to the sage. Because of this, Indra got into difficulties and came personally and worshipped Lord Shiva here.
As per Sthalapuraanam, the king Ko Chengannan who was childless was traveling across the country worshipping Lord Shiva at various places. When he reached Sembakkam the axle of his Chariot broke down here and he was resting at this place. Lord Shiva appeared in his dreams and directed him to build a temple here, where He would be called Sri Jambugeswarar along with Goddess Sri Azhagaambigai. The king built this temple for Lord Shiva and was blessed with a child.
This beautiful temple has a wide landscape inside the compound where a beautiful garden is maintained. Sri Jambugeswarar is facing east from a small sanctum with Dwarapaalakas guarding it. A beautiful Nandhi is facing the Lord here towards the sanctum.
There are beautiful Urchava Murthies like Sri Natarajar, Sri Somaskandhar etc., kept in the Mandapam just outside the sanctum.
Goddess Sri Azhagaambigai is facing south. At the entrance on the southern side, there is a well just near the entrance itself. It is said that the well was created by the Goddess itself which contains the powers of several crores of mantras.
Sri Dhakshinamurthy, Sri Mahavishnu, Sri Brahma and Sri Durga are present around the sanctum at their respective directions.
A new Dwajasthambham was being installed in the temple on 16.03.08 (when I visited).
A small, age old natural pond is found just near the temple entrance, which is said to be the source of water to enter the Sanctum. The temple is originally made in such a way that the water from this pond will always be percolating inside the sanctum to keep the deity always in water. But in later stages, as the temple has risen from the ground level, the water now does not enter the floor of the sanctum but remains in the pond and also under the ground level of the sanctum. Hence this Sthalam also represents ‘water’ similar to 
The Sthala Viruksham for this temple is ‘Naaval’ tree as same as Thiruvaanikkaaval. In Sanskrit ‘Jambu’ means ‘Naaval fruit’, and hence the Lord here is called Sri Jambugeswarar. The Naaval tree is present at the south east corner of the temple.
Thiru Idaichuram (Thiruvadisoolam) is a small village surrounded by many hills. This village has an ancient temple for Lord Shiva. The main deity here is Sri Gnanapureeswarar, also called as Idaichura Naadhar. Goddess here is Sri Govardhanaambigai.
As per the legend, Goddess Parvathi took the form of Kaamadhenu (cow) and came to this village. One day villagers here saw the cow pouring its milk by its own, on an ant hill. They dissolved the ant hill to find a beautiful Shiva Lingam inside. They installed the deity in the same place and formed this temple.
As the cow poured milk by itself on God, the place came to be known as Thiru Idaichuram, and Goddess is called as Govardhanaambigai (In Sanskrit ‘Go’ means cow).
It is also said that this place got its name as this village is surrounded by hills. In Thamizh, the place between hills is called “Churam”.
The Yadhava man told Sambandhar that there is a Shiva temple nearby and took him to this temple. Sambandhar followed the Yadhava and went inside the temple where the Yadhava vanished near the sanctum. Sambandhar overwhelmed by the mercy of God, sung in praise of Lord Shiva here. The pond in which Sambandhar took bath (pic above) is still seen in this village, a little away from the temple. The Lord here is also said to have been worshipped by an ancient sage called Gowthama Rishi.
The temple looks too ancient amidst serene atmosphere surrounded by paddy fields. There is no Rajagopuram for this temple. The praakaarams are vast and have concrete pathways. The structure of this temple is unusual, looking like an old village house when viewed from outside. The temple is facing south.
There are beautiful stone pillared mandapams inside the temple. The ceiling is a bit lower and the whole mandapam allows limited sunlight. The interior structures are too good making us forget the present materialistic world.
The main deity Sri Gnanapureeswarar is seen facing east from a small, beautiful sanctum. The deity is made of Maragatha (dark green) stone and hence called as Maragatha Lingam, which is not too visible to make out while having dharshan. It is said that the actual color and the glow of this Maragatha Lingam will clearly be visible when ‘Then Abishegam’ (Honey Abishegam) is performed to the deity.
Sri Vinayagar, Sri Dhakshinamurthy, Sri Sandigeswarar, Sri Durgai and Sri Brahma are seen around the sanctum.
The outer Praakaaram is spread on a vast space having a small shrine for Vinayagar. Sri Valli Devasena Samedha Subramanyar has a shrine on the outer praakaaram. On the northern side there is a small shrine where another Shiva Lingam is seen in the name of Sri Brahmaandeswarar facing west.
The Ambaal for Sri Brahmaandeswarar is called Sri Brahmaandeeswari located on the eastern side facing south.
The Nandhi is seen on the eastern praakaaram facing west toward the Lord.
The Sthala Viruksham here is Vilvam, which is on the eastern part of the temple. There is also a shrine for Sri Surya Bhagavan. There is an ant hill and a Nandhi on the southern praakaaram.
Outside the compound, on the eastern side there is the temple pond with ‘Alli flowers’ grown beautifully in it. This pond looks very natural without any steps or bathing ghat built to it.