Agastheeswarar Temple, Vettavalam

Pavalakunru is a small rocky hillock on the eastern spur of Arunachala with an ancient Shiva temple traditionally hallowed by the sage Gautama Rishi. In late 1898 the young Ramana Maharshi lived in this temple, where his mother found him seated motionless and pleaded with him to return home. It is a revered stop for pilgrims and devotees of Ramana Maharshi near the Girivalam path.

One of the five Pancha Bhoota Stalams representing the element of fire, this vast temple complex sprawls across roughly 25 acres at the foot of Arunachala hill and hosts the annual Karthigai Deepam festival.

Ashram and samadhi shrine of the saint Seshadri Swamigal (1870-1929), a contemporary of Ramana Maharshi, located adjacent to Sri Ramanasramam.

Ashram at the western base of Arunachala where sage Ramana Maharshi lived from 1922 until 1950, built around his mother's samadhi shrine; a major international centre for self-enquiry pilgrimage.

Ashram built around the samadhi of the mendicant saint Yogi Ramsuratkumar (1918-2001), noted for its large domed meditation hall on the Chengam road.

Cave on the south-east slope of Arunachala where Ramana Maharshi lived for about 17 years (1899-1916), named after the 13th-century saint Virupaksha Deva entombed there.

Annual November-December festival at Arunachaleswarar Temple in which a giant ghee lamp is lit atop Mount Arunachala, visible for miles around.

The sacred red hill worshipped as an embodiment of Shiva; focus of the Girivalam circumambulation and the site of the Karthigai Deepam beacon flame.

Ancient Shiva temple on the girivalam path on the far side of Arunachala, regarded as the original ('adi') Annamalai shrine and an important stop for pilgrims circling the hill.

A major dam built in the 1950s across the Thenpennai (Ponnaiyar) river below the Chennakesava hills near Chengam, about 30 km from Tiruvannamalai, popular for its landscaped riverside park.

Goddess Renugambal temple at Padavedu, a historic village near Polur once a Vijayanagara-era administrative centre with several old shrines.

A Jain temple complex on a hillside near Polur with a tall monolithic Neminatha statue, rock-cut caves, and medieval cave paintings dating back over a thousand years.