Madurai
The Meenakshi Amman Temple is one of the greatest masterpieces of Dravidian architecture ever built — a 45-acre complex of towering gopurams covered in thousands of hand-carved and brightly painted deities, corridors of columns stretching hundreds of metres, sacred tanks reflecting the towers in still water, and the constant sound of music, bells, and chanting. It is not just a temple but an entire sacred city, and no number of photographs can prepare you for the scale and intensity of being inside it.
The evening ceremony where the deity Sundareswarar (Shiva) is ritually carried to sleep with Meenakshi is one of the most dramatic religious rituals in India — timed for around 9 PM daily. Climb the South Tower for an extraordinary bird's eye view over the entire complex (separate ticket).