Tiruvallur is a Grade I municipality in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of Coovum river about 46 km (29 mi) from downtown Chennai (Madras) and just 5 km from megacity border, in the western part of the Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA). It is a satellite town of Chennai and is the administrative headquarters of Tiruvallur District. The town is known for the Veeraraghava Swamy Temple, one of the 108 sacred shrines of Vaishnavites. The tank festival is held at a pond near this temple. A Shiva temple near this shrine which is popular among the locals. There is also a 40-foot (12 m) tall Viswaroopa Panchamukha Hanuman temple, where the murti is made of a single green granite stone.

Greater Chennai Metropolitan Area, or simply the Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA), is fourth-most populous metropolitan area in India and the 35th most populous in the world. The CMA consists of the core city of Chennai, which is coterminous with the Chennai district, and its suburbs in Kanchipuram, Chengalpattu, Thiruvallur and Ranipet districts. The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) is the nodal agency that handles town planning and development within the metro area. In 1974, an area encompassing 1,189 km2 (459 sq mi) around the city was designated as the metropolitan area which was subsequently expanded to 5,904 km2 (2,280 sq mi) in 2022.