Imagine being a guest at the biggest wedding on Earth. Keep that in mind as you walk, in awe, around a Hindu temple fizzing with colour, 33 million carvings, ornate decorated pillars, elaborate shrines and 14 spectacular towers – the tallest rising to 170ft. The Meenakshi Temple, in the Tamil Nadu city of Madurai, is a celebration of the love and marriage of Meenakshi (the incarnation of the Hindu goddess Parvati) and Sundareshvara (Shiva in Hinduism). Rumour has it that all gods, goddesses and living beings were invited. Some party.
‘Old’ doesn’t really do justice to a temple that was started in 600 AD, destroyed, and then rebuilt in the 14 th and 17 th centuries. It’s claimed to be one of the most significant in India, too. In fact, some here will tell you it’s as important to South India as the Taj Mahal is to North India. Also, you’ve got to love a site that’s one of the few religious monuments in India devoted to a female deity. Real girl power.
Don’t expect to have the place to yourself, though. More than 10,000 devotees make a daily pilgrimage – it’s a place of worship remember – but things get even busier every April to May, when nearly a million visitors arrive for the 10-day Chithirai Festival, which honours Meenakshi and Sundareshvara’s big day.