Srirangam Temple

Ranganathaswamy temple at Srirangam covers around six hundred and thirty thousand square metres inside seven concentric walled enclosures, which makes it the largest functioning Hindu temple complex in the world; the outer enclosures contain streets, shops and houses where people live, so entering the temple means walking into a town and gradually inward through gopurams to the sanctum. There are twenty-one gopurams, the largest at the southern entrance reaching about seventy-two metres, completed only in 1987 after standing unfinished for centuries. The presiding image is Vishnu reclining, and the site sits on an island between the Kaveri and its branch.

What you actually see

• The seven enclosures - concentric walled precincts with streets inside them.
• The Rajagopuram - a seventy-two metre tower finished in 1987.
• The reclining Vishnu - the presiding image in the innermost shrine.
• The thousand-pillar hall - the great mandapa with carved rearing horses.

When to go

October to March; the Vaikunta Ekadasi festival in December or January is the largest, when a particular door is opened and enormous crowds pass through it.

Honest expectations

Non-Hindus are not admitted to the innermost enclosure. Phones and cameras are restricted in the inner areas. The complex is large and walking it in heat is tiring. Guides at the gate press hard.

Nearby

The Rockfort lies south in Trichy; Thanjavur is southeast.