TEMPLE TOURS

From South to North to East to West, India has temples almost everywhere - being diverse in culture and religion, each one is unique from the other. The list is endless. The itineraries mentioned has the most prominent and famous amongst them.

Akshardham temple is a huge temple built in pink stone & white marble. It is a beautiful architectural masterpiece and enshrines the golden murti (idol) of Lord Swaminarayan, the founder of the Swaminarayan Faith.

Iskon Temple - ISKCON is the abbreviation for International Society for Krishna Consciousness. This temple depicts Lord Krishna with his beloved lover Radha, who is regarded as the epitome of true love. The building, blending Gujarat Sompura, and Rajasthani Khamira architectural styles, sits on four acres and features one of the largest temple rooms in India.

Vaisno Devi Temple - This temple is placed around few kilometers from Ahmedabad is one of the prominent attraction to the town. Vaisno Devi temple is very Popular Temple to the Goddess Vaishno Devi in Ahmedabad. It is modeled after and is a scale replica of the Vaishno Devi Temple in the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir in northern India.

Dwarkadish temple is also known as Jagat temple or temple of the world dedicates the place where 'Sambah' the great grandson of Shree Krishna built a temple more than 2500 years ago. The present temple dates from 15th - 16th century. It is splendidly set on the sea coast.

Rukhmani Temple, is a fine example of Hindu architecture of Gujarat of 12th - 13th century. Rukhmani Temple is located 2 KMS away from Dwarka There is a myth associated with it once Krishna and Rukhmani went to 'Durvasha rushi' to invite him at Dwarka.

Nageshwar Jyotirling is located on the route between Dwa rka and the Beyt Dwarka Island, on the coast of Saurashtra in Gujarat. This temple enshrines one of the 12 Jyotirling in INDIA. This powerful Jyotirling symbolizes protection from all poisons. It is said that those who pray to the Nageshwar Ling become free of poison.

Somnath is a Lord shiva temple known as Jyotirling built by Moon God. Somnath is one of among 12 jyotirlings. The current temple was built to traditional designs on the original costal site.

Lord jagannath temple, Sankaracharya's Maths located on the downtown area of Puri, Orissa.
Konark, visit the temple Chariot of the Sun God, built by King Langula Narasimha Deva in the 13th century AD in the golden era of Orissa art.

Iskon Temple - ISKCON is the abbreviation for International Society for Krishna Consciousness.

Swaminarayan Akshardham in New Delhi epitomises 10,000 years of Indian culture in all its breathtaking grandeur, beauty, wisdom and bliss. It brilliantly showcases the essence of India's ancient architecture, traditions and timeless spiritual messages. The Akshardham experience is an enlightening journey through India's glorious art, values and contributions for the progress, happiness and harmony of mankind.

Lakshmi Narayan Temple or the Birla Temple as it is popularly known enshrines the preserver of the Hindu Trinity, Lord Vishnu.

Bahai Temple - Also known as the Lotus Temple for its lotus shape, this is an architectural marvel of Bahai faith and is made of marble, dolomite, cement and sand.

Mansa Devi Temple - Dedicated to Mansa Devi, an incarnation of Goddess of power, Durga , it is the most visited is perched on a hilltop, called Bilwa hill.
Some premier temples in Rishikesh are Raghunath Temple, Pushkar Temple, Venkateshwar Temple, Chandra Mauleshwaran Temple, Shatrughan Temple, Bharat Mandir and Lakshman Temple.

Kashi Vishwanath temple, also known as the Golden Temple, is dedicated to Lord shiva, the presiding deity of the city.

Annapurna Temple, near Kashi Vishwanath temple, is believed as the "Godess of Fooding".

Kalbhairav Temple is the ancient temple of Varanasi n ear the Head Post Office, VishesharGanj. It is a belief that he is "Kotwal Of Varanasi" and without his permission no one can stay in Kashi.

Mritujjay Mahadev Temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva.
New Vishwanath temple, situtated within the premises of BHU is a modern place of worship planned by Pandit Malviya and built by the Birlas.

Durga Temple, also commonly called the 'Monkey temple', was built in the 18th century is one of the best-known temple. Godess DURGA is believed as the symbol of Strength and Power which govern the entire world.

Sankotmochon Temple, dedicated tom Lord Hanuman, the god who protects from troubles.

Bharat Mata Temple was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi in 1936 and houses one perfect relief maps of India carved out of marble.

Eastern Group of Temples - The sculptural embellishment and profundity of architectural designs in Temples of Khajuraho is well ostensible here and can be subdivided into two groups, one representing some of the finest Jain temples and another scattered through the neighboring village. They include Parsvanath Temple, Adinath Temple, Ghantai Temple, Hanuman temple, and Brhama Temple.

Western Group of Temples constitutes some of the most splendid and architecturally marvelous specimen of temple architecture in India. The group includes such magnificent temples like Kandariya Mahadeo Temple, Chaunsat Yogini Temple, Chitragupta Temple, Lakshamana Temple, Matangeswara Temple, and Varaha Temple.

Jagdish Temple is located in the City Palace complex of Udaipur, is made in the Indo-Aryan style of architecture. In 1651, It was built by Maharana Jagat Singh, who ruled Udaipur during 1628-53.

Ranakpur Temples, one of the five major pilgrimages of the Jains are acclaimed world-wide for their intricate and superb architectural style.

Eklingji Temple is one of the most famous temples of Rajasthan and is located in the town of Eklingji (Kailashpuri).

Nathdwara Temple situated at a distance of 48kms in the north-east of Udaipur is famous for its 17th century temple and is dedicated to Lord Shrinathji (Lord Krishna).
Dilwara Jain Temple, at Mount Abu located 185 kms from Udaipur is the finest known world over for its extraordinary architecture and marvelous marble stone carvings.

Lakshmi Narayan Temple or the Birla Temple is also located here.
Govind Dev Ji Temple represents the royal past of Jaipur and is dedicated to Govind Dev Ji (Other name of Lord Krishna). It is situated in the City Palace complex, between the Chandra Mahal and Badal Mahal.

Temples in Punjab
Anandpur Sahib is one of the most important sacred places of the Sikhs and is closely linked with their religious traditions and history. it is second only to Amritsar, the city of Golden Temple. It was founded in 1664 by the ninth Guru, Sri Guru Teg Bahadur ji, near the ruins of an ancient place, Makhowal.

Golden Temple in Amritsar means the Pool of the Nectar of Immortality. Originally built during 1574 AD, the site of the temple was surrounded by a small lake in a thin forest. The Golden temple is considered holy by Sikhs bec ause the eternal Guru of Sikhism, the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, is always present inside in it and its construction was mainly intended to build a place of worship for men and women from all walks of life and all religion to come and worship God equally.

Birla Temple, is an important landmark in Kolkata decorated by marble slabs that depict the teachings of Lord Krishna which were imparted to Arjuna during the Bhagavad-Gita epic. The temple has been built on a slightly higher ground and is beautifully decorated with lights.

Belur Math - It is the headquarters of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission are twin organizations which form the core of a worldwide spiritual movement (known as Ramakrishna Movement or Vedanta Movement), which aims at the harmony of religions, harmony of the East and the West, harmony of the ancient and the modern, spiritual fulfillment, all-round development of human faculties, social equality, and peace for all humanity, without any distinctions of creed, caste, race or nationality.

Chennai - There are numerous temples and most of them are ancient. They are Guduvancheri, Shri Nandeeswarar temple, Sri Lakshmi Narayana Swamy Temple, Sri Yoga Hayagreevar temple, Agora Veerabadra Swamy (Shivan) temple, Sri Kothanda Ramaswami temple, Thirukkazhukundram amongst others.

Mahabalipuram & Kanchipuram - Shore Temple in Mahabalipuram occupies a most extraordinary site at the very margin of the Bay of Bengal and is the reason behind their sculptures, getting eroded by the winds and waves of thirteen centuries.

Vaikuntha Perumal Temple, Kanchipuram, is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and is considered among the most important ones. The construction of the temple was completed in the 7th century A.D and was built by the Pallava king Nandivarman Pallavamalla.

Kamakshi Amman Temple is one of the three most holily shrines dedicated to Sakthi. The other two are in Madurai and Varanasi. One can see a mixture of many cultures and styles in architecture.

Pondicherry - Some of the noteworthy temples here include the three century old Manakula Vinayagar Koil dedicated to Ganesha, The Varadaraja Perumal temple which dates back to 600 AD is dedicated to Lord Vishnu, in the form of Varadaraja, TheVedhapureeswara Temple dedicated to Lord Siva, Kanniga Parameswari temple dedicated to Goddess Sakthi and famous for its blend of French and Tamil architecture and Kamatchiamman Temple dedicated to Durga and unique due to its stark features.

Swamimalai Murugan Temple is a Hindu tem ple located 5 km from Kumbakonam on the banks of a tributary of river Cauvery is one of the Arupadaiveedu, believed to be the six main abodes of Muruga. According to Hindu belief, Swamimalai is where Muruga preached what as called as "Pranava mantra" to his own father, Shiva, at a tender age, after arresting 'Brahma' for not answering his question about Pranava Mantra.
Brihadeshwara Temple, Tanjore, listed as a World Heritage site, is a massive temple built by Raja of Chola, reflects the Cholas contribution to the development of arts in this area. It is also regarded as the Chola dynasty's finest contribution to the Dravidian temple architecture.

Shree Siddhivinayak Ganapati Mandir is one of the most popular and most visited temples located in Prabhadevi, Mumbai. Originally built up by Laxman Vithu and Deubai Patil in 1801, the temple is visited in hordes by all the sects of the society.

Mahalaxmi temple is the oldest temples in Mumbai and is situated at the Northern foot of the Malabar hills.

ISKCON temple or Hare Rama Hare Krishna temple, located at Juhu is among the most visited sacred temples dedicated to Lord Krishna or Lord Radha Rasabihari.