Several of Singapore's best known Hindu temples are run by one statutory board, the Hindu Endowments Board, which publishes a shared set of etiquette and dress rules. Two things matter most for a visit: the temples close in the afternoon, when most walking tours pass them, and the published hours are not always consistent even on a temple's own website.
Sources checked 17 September 2026
One temple so far. It joins the register as Singapore's oldest Hindu temple, founded in 1827, and a National Monument in the middle of Chinatown.
Central Region
Singapore's oldest Hindu temple, founded in 1827 on South Bridge Road in Chinatown.
Open 06:00 – 12:00, 18:00 – 21:00 · different on FriTwo windows a day with a long closure between noon and the evening, and a slightly later close on Fridays. The temple's own site publishes a second, earlier set of times, and the temple page shows both.
| Temple | Published hours |
|---|---|
| Sri MariammanChinatown, Singapore | 06:00 to 12:00 and 18:00 to 21:00, to 21:15 on Fridays, closed in the afternoon. The temple's pooja schedule page gives earlier opening times. |
Published by the Hindu Endowments Board as temple etiquette rather than left to guesswork.
| Temple | The rule most likely to change your visit |
|---|---|
| Sri MariammanChinatown, Singapore | Shoulders must be covered and trousers or skirts must reach at least the knees; footwear is removed outside the temple. |
The Board adds that shawls, cover-ups and wraps are provided for anyone not appropriately dressed, and that it is generally better to wear too much than too little. Footwear comes off outside the temple.
Four things worth knowing before visiting a Hindu temple in Singapore, drawn from what the temple covered here and the board that runs it publish.
The Hindu Endowments Board is a statutory board that runs Sri Mariamman Temple along with Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple, Sri Sivan Temple and Sri Vairavimada Kaliamman Temple. Each has its own website built on the same template.
The etiquette page on the temple's site is published under the Board's name and speaks of Hindu temples in general, so its dress and conduct rules are a fair guide to what the Board expects elsewhere too, though this site has checked them only for the temple covered here.
Sri Mariamman Temple publishes operating hours of 6:00am to 12:00pm and 6:00pm to 9:00pm, to 9.15pm on Fridays. There is no afternoon window on its home page.
A sightseeing walk through Chinatown in the afternoon will pass the gopuram at a time when, on those hours, the temple is not open.
The same temple's daily pooja schedule gives an opening of 5.30am and an evening opening of 4.00pm. Neither page mentions the other.
This site shows both and uses the hours both agree on. It is a good reason to check before making a special trip, especially in the late afternoon.
Sri Mariamman Temple was gazetted a National Monument in 1973, and the National Heritage Board presents it as a heritage site. It is also a busy working temple with four daily poojas and the Theemithi firewalking festival every October or November.
The etiquette rules reflect that: do not enter the shrines or sanctums, keep your voice down, and do not sit with your feet pointing toward the deities.
Answered from what these temples publish, with the gaps left as gaps.
One so far: Sri Mariamman Temple on South Bridge Road. More will be added as demand for answers justifies them.
Sri Mariamman Temple does on the hours its home page publishes: 6:00am to 12:00pm and 6:00pm to 9:00pm, to 9.15pm on Fridays.
The Hindu Endowments Board asks that shoulders be covered and that trousers or skirts cover at least the knees, and advises avoiding anything too tight, too short or too revealing.
The Board says temples provide shawls, cover-ups and wraps for those who are not appropriately dressed.
Yes. Footwear is removed outside the temple, where a space is set aside for it.
Sri Mariamman Temple is run by the Hindu Endowments Board, a statutory board that also runs Sri Srinivasa Perumal, Sri Sivan and Sri Vairavimada Kaliamman temples.
None is published by the temple covered here. That has not been confirmed with the temple, so it is listed as unverified.
Not verified. A camera fee at Sri Mariamman Temple is widely reported but not published on the temple's own pages read here.
Do not enter the shrines or sanctums, do not sit with your feet toward the deities or priests, avoid public affection, keep your voice down, and do not smoke or drink.
They are the temple's own, but Sri Mariamman Temple's site gives two different sets. This site shows both, uses the overlap, and says so.
Every year in October or November, at Sri Mariamman Temple. The 2026 date has not been verified here.
Whichever readers ask for most. A temple name and its area is the most useful thing to send.
Send its name and its town. Requests decide what gets written next, and corrections to a temple already here are published faster than anything else.
