Venue
397 Serangoon Road, Singapore 218123 to Sri Thendayuthapani Temple, 15 Tank Road, Singapore 238065
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Thaipusam in Singapore guide
A vow-fulfilling walk between two old temples.
In short
Thaipusam suits travellers ready for an intense, devotional day. It falls on the full moon of the Tamil month of Thai, usually late January or early February, and the temples confirm the date and times. Devotees carrying milk pots and kavadi walk ordinary city streets, and spectators simply watch from the pavement, with no tickets needed.
Thaipusam is the most intense day in Singapore's Hindu year. Thousands of devotees walk through the city centre in fulfilment of vows to Lord Murugan, some bearing towering frames of peacock feathers, some with their skin pierced, most carrying a simple pot of milk, between two temples founded in the nineteenth century.
What makes it remarkable to watch is how ordinary the setting is. The procession moves along everyday streets, past shops and offices that stay open, and spectators simply stand on the pavement. There are no tickets and no grandstands, only a long line of people completing a promise they made to their god.
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Key Facts & Stats:
Where: Singapore City, Singapore
Venue: Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple
Held: Every year
Type of event: Cultural Events, Religious Festivals
Currency: Singapore dollar (SGD, S$)
Time zone: Singapore Standard Time, UTC+8
Language: English, Malay, Mandarin, Tamil
Map
Close to the venue
- Gardens by the Bay Attraction · 3.6 km
- Raffles Singapore Hotel · 2 km
- PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering Hotel · 3.2 km
- Marina Bay Sands Hotel · 3.3 km
- Oasia Hotel Downtown Hotel · 4.3 km
Getting around
Hotels near the venue fill up around the event dates.
Giving way to kavadi bearers
Many devotees have fasted for weeks and are walking in deep concentration, some under heavy frames. Spectators are welcome, but the street belongs to them.
- Stay on the pavement. Never step into the procession or cross through a gap between devotees.
- Keep back from kavadi bearers as they turn and sway; the frames are wide.
- Ask before taking a close-up photograph, and switch off the flash after dark.
- Keep noise down near the temples, where families are praying.
- Inside any temple, cover shoulders and knees and leave your shoes at the entrance.
Heat, water and arriving early
January afternoons in Singapore are hot and humid, and the best places along the route fill well before the busiest hours.
- Choose your spot early, on Serangoon Road or near Tank Road, and plan to stay put.
- Carry water, a hat and sun cream; shade on the pavements is patchy.
- Wear light, modest clothing that also works if you step into a temple later.
- Comfortable shoes matter more than usual: standing for hours on hot concrete is tiring.
- Roads on the route close for the day, so do not plan on a taxi drop-off close to the procession.
What happens on the day
- Eve, 23:30
First devotees set off
In 2026 the walk began from Serangoon Road at 23:30. The night hours are cooler and the pavements emptier.
- Main day, 07:00-22:00
Music along the route
In 2026 musicians played at fixed points from about 07:00 to 22:00, and those corners are the liveliest places to stand.
- Midday
The hardest hours
The heat peaks, for devotees and onlookers alike. Find shade or watch from the finish.
- Evening
Last arrivals
The flow of devotees continues into the evening at Tank Road.
Etiquette and dress
Never cross a line of devotees
Stay on the pavement and walk round; cutting through a procession line breaks the walk for people fulfilling a vow.
Photographs
Keep a respectful distance from kavadi bearers and ask before close-up portraits. Avoid flash, and do not block the path to frame a shot.
Give way
Devotees carrying milk pots or kavadi always have priority on the route.
Choosing where to watch along the route
Decide first which end of the route you want, because the two feel quite different. The start, outside Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple in Little India, is where devotees make their final preparations and set off. The finish at Tank Road is where they arrive, tired and slow, after hours on the road. A long morning lets you see both, using the train in between.
Thaipusam is an ordinary working day in Singapore. Offices and shops on the route stay open, so the procession threads through commuters and delivery vans. Rooms near Little India put you within a few minutes of the first temple for the late-night start; somewhere near Dhoby Ghaut suits the finish. Our Singapore travel guide compares the neighbourhoods if you have more than a couple of nights.
The official Thaipusam Singapore site is where the temples publish the 2027 route, timings and advisories. In October 2026 it said only that preparations were under way, so check it again in early January, along with any road closure notices, before you settle on a spot.
The meaning of Thaipusam and the devotees' vows
Thaipusam honours Lord Murugan and his victory over the demon Surapadman. For the devotees on the road it is the fulfilment of a vow, prepared for with weeks of fasting and prayer.
Every offering on the route carries that weight. Most people carry pots of milk. Others walk under kavadi, frames dressed with peacock feathers and flowers that stand for the hills of the Murugan story, and some have the skin, cheeks or tongue pierced with small spears. None of it is staged for spectators, and watching respectfully is the whole of a visitor's role.
Both temples go back to the colonial city. The walk begins beneath the tall gateway tower of Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple on Serangoon Road, completed in 1855. At the far end, Sri Thendayuthapani Temple on Tank Road dates from 1859, when the Chettiar moneylending community built it, was rebuilt in 1983 and is dedicated to Murugan himself. Until 1968 the festival was a national holiday in Singapore.
Getting there
Flying in
Singapore Changi Airport is linked to the city by the East-West Line: ride the shuttle train to Tanah Merah, then a westbound train. Trains leave every 6 to 9 minutes, the last at 12:06 am, so if you land late on the eve, come a day early. Regional flights include Bangkok to Singapore and Dhaka to Singapore. Travelling on a Bangladeshi passport? See our Singapore visa page.
The start
Little India station, on the Downtown and North East Lines, puts you on Serangoon Road. Walk north to number 397.
The finish
Fort Canning station on the Downtown Line lies under River Valley Road and serves the temple at 15 Tank Road.
Taxis
A cab from the airport costs more with the surcharge and cannot get near the route once roads close. Dhoby Ghaut, the three-line interchange at the end of Orchard Road, is the other useful station on the day.
Where to stay during the festival
We have no hotels listed in Singapore City yet, so the ones below are in Singapore, the nearest area where we list hotels. The next date is 21 January 2027. Book as soon as your dates are fixed, since rooms close to the festival are the first to go.
Singapore
Raffles Singapore5-star hotel
No reviews yet
from$1,000.00/ night
- Free WiFi
- Swimming pool
- Parking
3 Rooms available
Book Now
Singapore
Marina Bay Sands5-star hotel
No reviews yet
from$600.00/ night
- Internet – Wifi
- Airport shuttle
- Swimming pool
6 Rooms available
Book Now
Singapore
Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa, Singapore5-star hotel
No reviews yet
from$310.00/ night
- Internet – Wifi
- Swimming pool
- Parking
3 Rooms available
Book Now
Singapore
Oasia Hotel Downtown4-star hotel
No reviews yet
from$196.00/ night
- Internet – Wifi
- Swimming pool
- Parking
4 Rooms available
Book Now
Singapore
PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering5-star hotel
No reviews yet
from$309.00/ night
- Internet – Wifi
- Swimming pool
- Car park
4 Rooms available
Book Now
Weather and what to pack
January is one of Singapore's wetter months. The average high is about 31°C and the low about 24°C, with some 220 mm of rain on around 13 days (1991-2020 normals).
Showers are often brief, but the humidity makes a long day on the pavement tiring.
Worth packing
- Clothes that cover shoulders and knees, if you want to enter a temple
- Slip-on shoes
- A compact umbrella for sun and rain
- A refillable water bottle
Car hire in Singapore City
Airport transfer to Thaipusam in Singapore
Met at arrivals at Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) and driven door to door to Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple.
- Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) → Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple
- 21 km · 25 min
Restaurants and food in Singapore
Places to eat in Singapore before or after the celebrations.
JUMBO Seafood (Riverside Point)
#01-01 Riverside Point, 30 Merchant Road, Singapore 058282
Cuisine:SeafoodSingaporean
- Dine-in
Burnt Ends
#01-02, 7 Dempsey Road, Singapore 249671
Cuisine:BarbecueWood-fire grill
- Dine-in
- Bar
- Counter seating
Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle
Blk 466 Crawford Lane, #01-12, Singapore 190466
Cuisine:HawkerBak chor mee
- Dine-in
- Takeaway
Odette
#01-04 National Gallery Singapore, 1 St. Andrew's Road, Singapore 178957
Cuisine:Modern FrenchTasting menu
- Dine-in
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Timing & weather
Most likely on Friday 22 January 2027, the date Malaysia has gazetted, with the first devotees setting off late on the night of Thursday 21 January. The temples confirm the date closer to the festival.
Getting there
Because Thaipusam stopped being a national holiday in 1968. Today it is a normal working day, and the walk shares the streets with office traffic.
Vishnu, worshipped there as Perumal. Thaipusam itself honours Murugan, so the walk sets out from a Vishnu temple and ends at a Murugan one on Tank Road.
General
A divine spear. In the story behind the festival, the goddess Parvati gave it to her son Murugan, who used it to defeat the demon Surapadman. The small skewers some devotees wear echo it.
A pot of milk carried as an offering, a symbol of purity. It is by far the most common way of fulfilling a Thaipusam vow, and you will see far more milk pots than kavadi.
Bearers often move in time with the drums and chanting around them, turning and swaying under the frame. That movement is why the kavadi walk is sometimes called a burden dance.
It leaves Tank Road in the morning and calls at Sri Mariamman Temple on South Bridge Road and Sri Layan Sithi Vinayagar Temple on Keong Saik Road, carrying a statue of Murugan, before returning in the evening.
Through the official Thaipusam Singapore website, which also carries the route, schedules and official advisories once the temples release them for the coming festival.
Yes, Malaysia stages much larger processions, the best known at Batu Caves outside Kuala Lumpur. As both countries usually mark the same day, you cannot see the main day in both.
Visitors who dress modestly and remove their shoes are welcome, but on the day it is packed with devotees completing their vows. A quieter visit on another day gives you a better look at the temple, which was rebuilt and consecrated again in 1983.