And it’s no easy journey getting there. Still, many are willing to drive through the plantation, park their cars, then hike up to the temple to fulfil their vows after having their prayers answered.
The journey up to the temple, albeit barefoot, is scenic and spiritual. Bright red-and-white painted steps guide devotees on their way to the top and many are known to stop and worship the gods at the many shrines along the way.
If you’re there in the early morning, the temple’s caretaker, Krishnan Menon, can be seen performing his morning meditation in a secluded cave-like space.
Near to where he is seated are colourful statues of Naga Amma or snake gods, adorned with sarees and garlands of flowers. It is here that devotees perform their prayers, and leave offerings of milk, sweets and sarees.
The dream and the temple on the hill
According to Krishnan, the temple was discovered by his father, Gopal Menon, in 1972 after a dream he had in which Naga Amma appeared to him, telling him to look for the holy place.
Accompanied by two friends, Gopal braved the thick jungles, guided by a ‘strong force’. However, when finding themselves deep inside the jungle with absolutely no sign of the temple, his friends persuaded him to turn back for fear of getting lost for good.
However, Gopal could not shake off the urge to keep looking for the holy place. So, he ventured back into the jungle, this time with his wife and two sons in tow.
Once again, the journey was beginning to look futile. With still no sign of the holy place in sight, they reluctantly agreed to leave for home when Krishan spotted something unusual.
“I found a ‘kemenyan’, a sort of incense, that was pointing upwards. And at that point, it provided a ray of hope for us as a family. So, we decided to continue the journey upwards amidst the thick undergrowth and shrubs.
It was a good move as what they were in search of materialised before their very eyes.
“We saw a cave on our journey up. The stones were arranged in such a way that it resembled the heads of five cobras. It was a euphoric moment. We were all overjoyed and knew that this had to be a sacred place,” Krishnan told FMT.
The family cleaned the spot and adorned the ‘snake’ stones with garlands of flowers and sarees to represent Naga Amma’s presence. Hence the name, Nagamalai, meaning snake temple on a hill.
Their prayers, answered
Many Hindu devotees have strong faith in Nagamalai as they have heard of how people have had their prayers answered after coming to this temple. As such, many make the long trek up the hill to offer milk and sweets at the temple as a sign of gratitude to the gods.
“There was a man who had some sort of physical sickness some time ago. When he came here and prayed, he was cured of his ailment. He then helped to build the stairs for the temple.
“A couple also came to ask for a child as they couldn’t have any for years, and they soon had one. These are some of the many stories told by devotees,” Krishan said.
Due to its location, many Johoreans and Singaporeans, sometimes even busloads of them, visit the temple. And during specific festivals, there are communal fellowships here as well.
Today, Krishnan, a former supervisor at the plantation, is happy to spend his retirement with his wife here, doing spiritual work at the temple.
“Doing good work has always been more of what I like to do, and I’m glad to be here in the temple just meditating or taking in the views of the jungle.
“It’s a great place to retreat and be away from the city. It’s really relaxing,” he said.
Nagamalai Alayam
Jorak
84300 Bukit Pasir
Johor
Contact: 010- 887 4118