Thousands of UAE residents are making a beeline to get the first glimpse of the new Hindu temple in Dubai after its soft opening earlier this month.
The temple, which will be officially open to the public from October 5 -- the day of the Dussehra festival, welcomes people of all faiths and has allowed entry to worshippers and other visitors for viewing the 16 deities and other interior works, the Gulf News reported on Sunday (11).
The soft opening of the temple was held on September 1 with the temple management activating the QR-code based appointment booking system via its website.
From day one, the temple has been receiving a large number of visitors, especially over the weekends. The restricted entry has been regulated through QR-coded appointments for crowd management and to ensure social distancing, the report said.
The temple is open from 6.30 am to 8 pm. Appointments for most weekends till the end of October have already been booked. The booking system will continue till the end of October after which members of the public will be free to visit the temple any time during its opening hours.
The only activity that is currently being done is the chanting of Vedic shlokas by a group of 14 pandits, who have specially come over from India. This takes place every day from 7.30 am to 11 am and again from 3.30 pm till 8.30 pm local time. Visitors are allowed to take part in the chants.
Majority of the deities are installed in the main prayer hall that has a large 3D-printed pink lotus unfurling across the central dome.
Located in what is described as the 'Worship Village' in Jebel Ali that houses several churches and the Guru Nanak Darbar Gurudwara, the temple has also installed the Guru Granth Sahib, the Holy Book of the Sikhs, in August.
Security personnel inspect the site in the aftermath of an attack as food stall chairs lie empty in Pahalgam, about 90 kilometres (55 miles) from Srinagar on April 23, 2025. Indian security forces in Kashmir carried out a major manhunt on April 23, a day after gunmen opened fire on tourists killing 26 people in the region's deadliest attack on civilians since 2000. Getty Images
Tourists visit Betaab Valley in Pahalgam, about 112 km south of Srinagar on June 26, 2025.Getty Images
Pilgrims gather at the Baltal Base Camp near Domel, en route to the sacred Amarnath cave in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India, on July 29, 2025. The annual Amarnath Yatra, which began on July 3, proceeds under heightened security following a deadly terror attack in Pahalgam that claimed the lives of 25 tourists and a local pony handler. Security forces have been deployed in large numbers across the pilgrimage route, with checkpoints, surveillance, and restrictions in place to safeguard the thousands of devotees undertaking the arduous journey. The Amarnath Yatra is one of the most important Hindu pilgrimages, drawing worshippers from across India to the high-altitude Himalayan shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva. Despite the threat of violence and challenging terrain, pilgrims continue their spiritual trek, determined to complete the sacred journey under the shadow of grief and resilience.Getty Images
