10 Largest Temples in the World

Temples of Hindu deities are present not just in India but around the world. It is surprising to see the ancient Hindu temples that are known for their enormity and amazing architecture. These remarkable structures were constructed several hundred years ago without any technical or mechanical provision.

Largest Temples in the World

Largest Temple of the world

List Of 10 Largest Temples in the World

1. Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Angkor Wat is a temple complex at Angkor, Cambodia. It is the largest religious monument in the world, on a site measuring 162.6 hectares (1,626,000 m2; 402 acres) which were built by Khmer king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious center since its foundation — the first Hindu, dedicated to the god Shri Vishnu, the Buddha.

  • Location:  Krong Siem Reap, Cambodia
  • Country: Cambodia
  • Nearest Airport: Siem Reap International Airport
  • Built-In: 12th century 
  • Built-By: King Suryavarman II
  • Total Area: 1,626,000 m2
  • Architectural Styles: Khmer (Angkor Wat style)
  • Temple Timings:  7:30 am to 5:30 pm Every day
  • Festivals: Angkor Festival
  • Best Time To Visit In: November or March

2. Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Tiruchirappalli

The Srirangam Temple is often listed as the largest functioning Hindu temple in the world. Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple is the tallest temple in the world. It is dedicated to the deity Ranganatha, located in Srirangam, Tiruchirappalli district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. This Hindu temple is dedicated to Lord Ranganatha, also known as Maha Vishnu – a form of the Supreme God. It is one of India’s most prominent Hindu temples. The temple, occupies an area of 156 acres (631,000 m²) with a perimeter of 4,116m (10,710 feet), making it the largest temple in India and one of the largest religious complexes in the world.

The temple is enclosed by seven concentric walls (termed prakarams (outer courtyard) or mathil suvar) with a total length of 32,592 feet or over six miles. These walls are enclosed by 21 Gopurams. The Ranganathanswamy Temple complex with 49 shrines, all dedicated to Lord Vishnu, is so huge that it is like a city within itself. However, the entire temple is not used for religious purposes, the first three out of seven concentric walls are used by private commercial establishments such as restaurants, hotels, flower markets, and residential homes.

  • Location:  VM7R+44P, Srirangam, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu 620006
  • Country: India
  • Nearest Airport: Tiruchirappalli International Airport
  • Built-In: Vijayanagara period (1336-1565)
  • Built-By: Dharma Varma Chola
  • Total Area: 631,000 m2
  • Deity: Ranganathar (Perumal); Ranganayaki Thayar (Lakshmi);
  • Architectural Styles: Dravidian Architecture
  • Temple Timings:  6:00 am to 9:00 pm Every day
  • Festivals: Vaikuntha Ekadasi; Uriyadi; Jeeyarpuram
  • Best Time To Visit In: January to March

3. Chhatarpur Temple, South Delhi

The Chhatarpur Temple was established in 1974, by Baba Sant Nagpal ji, who died in 1998. His samadhi shrine lies on the premises of the Shiv-Gauri Nageshwar Mandir within the temple complex. This temple was considered the biggest temple in India and the second largest in the world before the Akshardham Temple was created in 2005 in Delhi. This temple is totally constructed from marble and on all the facets there is jaali (perforated stone or latticed screen) work. It can be classified a vesara style of architecture.

  • Location:  VM7R+44P, Srirangam, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu 620006
  • Country: India
  • Nearest Airport: Indira Gandhi International Airport
  • Built-In: Vijayanagara period (1336-1565)
  • Built-By: Dharma Varma Chola
  • Total Area: 280,000 m2
  • Deity: Ranganathar (Perumal); Ranganayaki Thayar (Lakshmi);
  • Architectural Styles: Dravidian Architecture
  • Temple Timings:  6:00 am to 9:00 pm Every day
  • Festivals: Vaikuntha Ekadasi; Uriyadi; Jeeyarpuram
  • Best Time To Visit In: January to March

4. Akshardham, Delhi

Akshardham is a Hindu temple complex in Delhi, India. Also referred to as Delhi Akshardham or Swaminarayan Akshardham, the complex displays millennia of traditional Indian and Hindu culture, spirituality, and architecture. The building was inspired and moderated by Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the spiritual head of the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, whose 3,000 volunteers helped 7,000 artisans construct Akshardham.

  • Location: Noida Mor, Pandav Nagar, New Delhi, Delhi 110092
  • Country: India
  • Nearest Airport: Indira Gandhi International Airport
  • Built-In: 6 November 2005
  • Built-By: Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha and Pramukh Swami Maharaj
  • Total Area: 240,000 m2
  • Deity: Swaminarayan, Sita-Rama, Radha-Krishna, Shiva-Parvati and Lakshmi-Narayana
  • Architectural Styles: Maharishi Vastu Architecture
  • Temple Timings:  9:30 am to 8:00 pm; closed on Mondays ( Entry closes at 6:30 pm)
  • Festivals: Major Hindu Celebrations
  • Best Time To Visit In: July to September, or March

5. Besakih Temple, Indonesia

The Besakih Temple is a pure complex in the village of Besakih on the slopes of Mount Agung in eastern Bali, Indonesia. It is the most important, the largest, and holiest temple of the Hindu religion in Bali, and one of a series of Balinese temples. Perched nearly 1000 meters up the side of Gunung Agung, it is an extensive complex of 23 separate but related temples with the largest and most important being Pura Penataran Agung. The temple is built on six levels, terraced up the slope. The entrance is marked by a candi bentar (split gateway), and beyond it the Kori Agung is the gateway to the second courtyard.

  • Location: Besakih, Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia
  • Country: Indonesia
  • Nearest Airport: Jakarta International Airport
  • Built-In: 15th-century
  • Built-By: Rakai Pikatan (or, believed to be built by Dhaksa, a king of Mendang-Mataram (Hindu-Mataram))
  • Deity: Creator (Brahma), the Preserver (Vishnu) and the Destroyer (Shiva)
  • Architectural Styles: Hindu architecture traditions based on Vastu Shastra
  • Visiting Timing: 6:00 am to 6:00 pm .
  • Best Time To Visit In: Dry season (April to October) or Wet season (November to March) 

6. Belur Math, Howrah

Belur Mutt is the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission, founded by Swami Vivekananda, a chief disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. It was built in 1897 by Swami Vivekananda, who wanted to establish a center for pan-Indian cultural activities in Calcutta. It is located on the west bank of Hooghly River, Belur, West Bengal, India and is one of the significant institutions in Calcutta. This temple is the heart of the Ramakrishna Movement. The temple is notable for its architecture that fuses Hindu, Christian, and Islamic motifs as a symbol of the unity of all religions.

  • Location: Belur, Howrah, West Bengal 711202
  • Country: India
  • Nearest Airport: Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport
  • Built-In: 1897 (Later in 1938)
  • Built-By: Swami Vivekananda and Later by Ramakrishna Mission
  • Total Area: 160,000 m2
  • Temple Timings:  06:00 am to 09:00 pm
  • Festivals: Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda and Sarada Devi’s birthdays, Durga Puja, Janmasthami, Christmas, Kali Puja, Shiva Ratri 
  • Best Time To Visit In: September and October

7. Thillai Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram

The Chidambaram Thillai Natarajar-Koothan Kovil, or Chidambaram Temple, is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located in the center of the temple town of Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu in east-central South India. Chidambaram is a temple complex spread over 40 acres (160,000 m2) in the heart of the city. It is truly a large temple that is completely used for religious purposes. The main complex of Lord Shiva Nataraja also contains shrines to deities such as Sivakami Amman, Ganesh, Murugan, and Vishnu in the form Govindaraja Perumal.

  • Location: Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu 608001
  • Country: India
  • Nearest Airport: Indira Gandhi International Airport
  • Built-In: 10th century
  • Built-By: Cholas
  • Total Area: 160,000 m2
  • Deity: Nataraja (Shiva); Shivakama Sundari (Parvati)
  • Architectural Styles: Dravidian Architecture
  • Temple Timings:  6:00 am – 12:00 pm and 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm
  • Festivals: Margazhi Arudra, Aani Thirumanjanam
  • Best Time To Visit In: October to March

8. Prambanan, Trimurti Temple, Indonesia

Candi Prambanan is a 9th-century Hindu temple compound in Central Java, Indonesia, dedicated to Shiva. It also houses shrines of Vishnu, Brahma, and their consorts. The temple compound is located approximately 17 kilometers (11 mi) northeast of the city of Yogyakarta on the boundary between Central Java and Yogyakarta province.

The temple compound, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the largest Hindu temple site in Indonesia, and one of the biggest in Southeast Asia. It is characterized by its tall and pointed architecture, typical of Hindu temple architecture, and by the towering 47-meter-high (154 ft) central building (Lord Shiva shrine) inside a large complex of individual temples.

  • Location: Bokoharjo, Prambanan, Sleman Regency, Special Region of Yogyakarta & Prambanan, Klaten Regency, Central Java
  • Country: Indonesia
  • Nearest Airport: Jakarta International Airport
  • Built-In: 8th century (850 CE)
  • Built-By: Rakai Pikatan (or, believed to be built by Dhaksa, a king of Mendang-Mataram (Hindu-Mataram))
  • Total Area: 152,000 m2
  • Deity: Creator (Brahma), the Preserver (Vishnu), and the Destroyer (Shiva)
  • Architectural Styles: Hindu architecture traditions based on Vastu Shastra
  • Visiting Timing: 6:00 am to 6:00 pm.
  • Best Time To Visit In: Dry season (April to October) or Wet season (November to March) 

9. Brihadeeswarar Temple, Thanjavur

The Brihadeeswarar Temple, also called the Big Temple, was built by Rajaraja I in 1010 CE and is dedicated to Shiva. The Big Temple is not only a magnificent edifice with its majestic vimana, sculptures, architecture, and frescoes but also has a wealth and richness of Tamil inscriptions engraved on stone in superb calligraphy. The temple is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. One wonders how such a big temple could be built in the flat for 6 years taking into account the amount of stone and soil to be moved and the lack of powered machinery available in those days.

The massive-sized main Vimanam (Tower) is 216 feet high. The Vimanam has 16 elaborately articulated stores and dominates the main quadrangle. It has a monolithic Nandhi weighing about 25 tonnes and is about 12 feet high and 20 feet long. The presiding deity of the f lingam is 12 feet tall.

  • Location: Membalam Rd, Balaganapathy Nagar, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu 613007
  • Country: India
  • Nearest Airport: Tiruchirappalli International Airport (TRZ)
  • Built-In: 1010 AD
  • Built-By: Rajaraja I
  • Total Area: 102,400 m2
  • Deity: Lord Shiva
  • Architectural Styles: Chola Architecture
  • Temple Timings:  6:00 am – 12:30 pm, 3:00 pm – 8:30 pm
  • Festivals: Maha Shivaratiri
  • Best Time To Visit In: Winter Season

10. Annamalaiyar Temple, Tiruvannamalai

The Annamalaiyar Temple is a noted Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, and it is the second largest temple (by the area used completely for religious purposes). It has got four stately towers on all four sides and four high stone walls just like the rampart walls of a fort. The 11-tiered highest (217 feet (66 m)) Eastern Tower is called the Rajagopuram. The fortified walls pierced with four gopura entrances offer a formidable look to this vast complex.

  • Location: Pavazhakundur, Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu 606601
  • Country: India
  • Nearest Airport: Indira Gandhi International Airport
  • Built-In: 9th century
  • Built-By: Cholas
  • Total Area: 101,171 m2
  • Deity: Arunachalesvara (Shiva) Unnamalai Amman (Apitakuchambaal – Parvati)
  • Architectural Styles: Dravidian Architecture
  • Temple Timings:  5:30 am – 12:30 pm, 3:30 pm – 9:30 pm
  • Festivals: Karthigai Deepam
  • Best Time To Visit In: October to March

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