516 Items Tagged

Temples

The inner dome of the Monopteros.

Munich, Germany

Monopteros

This beautiful 19th-century temple stands atop the ruins of its predecessor.

Sculpture of a Hindu goddess.

Sasbahu Temples

A pair of nearly 1,000-year-old temples profusely covered in meticulous stone carvings.

Hacienda Heights, California

Hsi Lai Temple

An unexpected and peaceful oasis on a hillside.

Buddha statue in the ruins of the bombed temple in Muang Khoun.

Muang Khoun, Laos

Wat Phia Wat

This ruined temple's giant Buddha statue bears the scars of the Second Indochina War.

Round pyramid at Calixtlahuaca.

Calixtlahuaca, Mexico

Calixtlahuaca

The striking and little-touristed ruins of an ancient city destroyed and rebuilt by the Aztecs.

Mythical canaries adorning the ceremonial hall.

Tambon Pong Ngam, Thailand

Wat Tham Pla

A Buddhist shrine in a cave protected by macaques next to dark passages lined with creepy paintings.

Kakku Pagodas.

Kakku Pagodas

This unique temple complex remains off the typical tourist trail.

Guanyin.

Chongyuan Temple's Guanyin Statue

An enormous effigy of the goddess of compassion hides within the sanctuary.

Kenmure Hill Temple.

Johnstone, Scotland

Kenmure Hill Temple

A mysterious ruin shrouded in more folklore than fact.

A demon-like creature guards the entrance.

Hachioji, Japan

Yakuo-in Temple

This incredible mountainside temple is home to intriguing statues of demon-like creatures.

Da Nang, Vietnam

Lady Buddha

Vietnam's largest Buddha statue depicts a female sage.

The Crocodile Stone at the ruins of Wat Phu.

Champasak, Laos

Crocodile Stone

This mysteriously shaped boulder may have been used for human sacrifice in ancient times.

The Maiden Tower.

Baku, Azerbaijan

The Maiden Tower

This mysterious but iconic tapered tower appears in many Azeri fairytales and legends.

Coricancha

A Christian monastery stands on what was once a holy Incan temple.

The pyramid atop 5D-33 is long gone.

Archaeologists Dismantled a Maya Pyramid in Guatemala and Never Put It Back Together

They tore it down in the 1960s to solve the puzzle below.

Jessica Leigh Hester February 14, 2019

Changu Narayan after earthquake in 2015.

Changunarayan, Nepal

Changu Narayan

Dating back to the fourth century, it's the oldest Hindu temple still in use in the Kathmandu Valley.

Rocks of Rovigliano

Torre Annunziata, Italy

Rock of Rovigliano

This tiny islet has somehow housed an ancient temple, two monasteries, a church, a fortress, and a restaurant.

Baha'i House of Worship of Samoa.

Baha'i House of Worship of Samoa

The "Mother Temple of the Pacific Islands" stands at the center of 20 acres of lush, tropical prayer gardens.