Meenakshi Amman Temple

Madurai's city-sized wonder — fourteen gopurams crawling with 33,000 painted deities rise over a 6-hectare complex where the fish-eyed goddess rules; evenings bring the ritual procession carrying Sundareswarar to her chamber amid drums and oil lamps.

Why visit: Dravidian architecture at full volume — a living temple-city.

History: Rooted in two millennia of Sangam-era worship and rebuilt to glory by the Nayaks (16th–17th c.) after earlier destruction; the Thousand-Pillar Hall is a sculptural encyclopedia.