Jakarta Murugan Temple, Indonesia’s largest Hindu temple in Kalideres, West Jakarta, is temporarily closed to the public.
Radjen, Operations Administrator for Jakarta Murugan Temple, stated that the temple is temporarily closed due to ongoing building improvements.
“We are currently undergoing finishing work, so we are closing it,” said Radjen to the press on Sunday, the 20th of July.
Radjen explained that the closure is to ensure the comfort and safety of visitors while the work is being completed. However, the temple is not completely closed. Radjen emphasised that Jakarta Murugan Temple is still open for worship by Hindus. Furthermore, visitors are advised to continue monitoring the temple’s official Instagram account @jktmurugantemple for updates.
“You can see it on our official Instagram account when we reopen,” Radjen added.
Jakarta Murugan Temple was inaugurated in February 2025 and immediately attracted public attention because of its splendour. Located on Jalan Bedugul, RT 6, RW 17, Kalideres Village, this temple boasts a 20-metre-tall statue of Lord Muruga and a 40-metre-tall King Gopuram, known as the Visera Gopuram, which towers majestically at the front. It also features a 20-metre-tall statue of Lord Muruga in front of it. This temple symbolises cultural harmony, combining Balinese Hinduism, Javanese Hinduism, and Indian Hinduism within a single complex. Its construction involved 45 temple sculptors (Sirphi) brought directly from Tamil Nadu, India.
Meanwhile, once it reopens for tourism, the Jakarta Murugan Temple will implement a donation system for entry into the temple grounds. Kobalen, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Shree Sanathana Dharma Aalayam Foundation, explained that this donation system will be implemented to support operational costs and maintain cleanliness and security within the temple area.
“They [visitors] register, and [then] there will be a donation of around Rp10,000 to Rp15,000 for security and cleanliness — because we have to recruit and employ additional personnel for cleaning and security,” Kobalen told the press on Tuesday, the 22nd of July.
To avoid overcrowding, the temple will also limit the number of daily visitors and implement a group visit system. Each group will be limited to 25 people, with each visit lasting 20 minutes. The temple will only accept a maximum of 75 people per hour, with a total of approximately 200 to 225 daily visits.