Sewdass Sadhu Shiva Mandir Temple in the Sea

Waterloo, Trinidad, Trinidad and Tobago

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The Sewdass Sadhu Shiva Mandir, also known as the Temple in the Sea, is a Hindu temple located off the coast of Waterloo in Trinidad and Tobago. It was originally built by Sewdass Sadhu, an indentured Indian laborer, who after being forced to remove a temple he built on land owned by a sugar company, decided to create a new temple out in the sea where no private ownership applied.

Over more than 20 years starting in 1947, Sadhu single-handedly built the temple by extending a rocky causeway into the Gulf of Paria, transporting materials by bicycle and truck. The temple symbolizes faith, dedication, and resistance, serving as a cultural and spiritual landmark for the Indo-Trinidadian community.

Reconstructed and officially reopened in 1995, it remains accessible via a pedestrian walkway and continues to host religious ceremonies and festivals, especially during Hindu celebrations like Diwali.