Set in Jebel Ali, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Hindu Temple, Dubai (Jebel Ali) honours Lord Shiva as primary deity; also Ganesha, Krishna, Mahalakshmi, Ayyappan, Durga, Jhulelal, Guruvayurappan, Lakshmi Narayan, Venkateswara, Muruga, Sai Baba, Jalaram Bapa, Radha Krishna, Gautamswami, Mokhambika Devi. It is also known as Jebel Ali Hindu Temple, Shiva Mandir Jebel Ali, Dubai Hindu Temple.
Described as Dubai's first large-scale, purpose-built stand-alone Hindu temple, and the direct successor to a Hindu and Sikh place of worship that had served the community since 1958. It is a prominent symbol of the UAE's interfaith 'Corridor of Tolerance,' sharing its Worship Village site with a Gurudwara and Christian churches, and houses 16 deities under one roof. The temple sits in Dubai's Jebel Ali 'Worship Village' or 'Corridor of Tolerance,' alongside a Sikh Gurudwara and several churches.
United Arab Emirates carries a distinct temple identity of its own: Home to the BAPS Hindu Mandir, the first traditional stone Hindu temple in the Middle East, alongside a historic Bur Dubai shrine that has served the Gulf's Hindu trading community since 1958.
Darshan hours and daily worship
| Session | Timing (as published) |
|---|---|
| Morning | Opens around 6:00 to 6:30 AM (sources vary slightly) |
| Evening | Open until approximately 8:30 PM, with evening aarti around 7:30 PM |
Advance online booking for a QR-code entry slot is recommended for peak times; walk-ins are generally permitted during quieter periods.
History and architecture
Architecture
Four storey structure of about 70,000 square feet blending Hindu and Arabic design; nine brass spires, Nagara-style domes, marble hand carvings, mashrabiya screen facades, an octagonal main prayer hall of roughly 465 square metres with 108 brass bells and a pink lotus sculpture; construction reportedly used 900 tonnes of steel, 6,000 cubic metres of concrete and 1,500 square metres of marble at a cost of about AED 60 million
History
The temple sits in Dubai's Jebel Ali 'Worship Village' or 'Corridor of Tolerance,' alongside a Sikh Gurudwara and several churches. It was built as the planned successor to the historic Bur Dubai temple complex, established in 1958 with the permission of Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, which had originally housed a Shiva Mandir, Krishna Mandir and a Gurudwara together. The new Jebel Ali temple opened to the public on 5 October 2022, timed with the Dussehra and Diwali festival season. The adjoining Gurudwara and the Bur Dubai Shiva Mandir's congregation fully transitioned to the new site by 3 January 2024, when the original 66-year-old Bur Dubai facility closed, citing safety concerns and its inability to accommodate growing crowds of up to about 100,000 devotees during major festivals and roughly 5,000 weekly visitors. Reporting on the new complex has used differing names for it, including 'Hindu Temple, Dubai,' 'Jebel Ali Hindu Temple' and, in at least one report, 'Sindhu Guru Darbar,' reflecting the historically shared Sindhi Hindu-Sikh worship tradition carried over from Bur Dubai; the temple includes a dedicated space for the Guru Granth Sahib.
Planning your visit
How to reach
Located in the Worship Village, Jebel Ali, Dubai. Metro: M1 line to Energy or Ibn Battuta stations, then bus or taxi; bus routes F44, 966 and X92 also serve the area; reachable by car via Sheikh Zayed Road with on-site parking.
Where this information comes from
Confidence: Medium. Sources disagree on the complex's precise official name (Hindu Temple Dubai / Jebel Ali Hindu Temple / Sindhu Guru Darbar) and give slightly different opening/closing hours; the temple's own website (hindutempledubai.com) was a placeholder page at the time of research so timings could not be confirmed directly from the primary source