A comparative guide to the largest Hindu temples outside India — comparing ancient Khmer and Javanese stone monuments with modern hand-carved stone complexes across North America and Europe.
Hindu temples outside India span from the 9th-century Prambanan in Indonesia to the 2023 BAPS Akshardham in New Jersey. Below is a ranked overview of the largest and most significant.
How to read this ranking:"Largest" is measured by the temple's built footprint or campus area, and the figures here mix modern functioning temples with ancient archaeological monuments. Angkor Wat (162.6 hectares) is the largest religious structure ever built, but it is now an active Buddhist site and largely a monument. BAPS Akshardham (183-acre campus) is the largest modern Hindu temple built in a single phase. No single number cleanly crowns both categories, so both are shown.
The temple footnotes quote each organisation's own published measurements. Perimeters and burial grounds (as at some Jain & Buddhist sites) are excluded; complex areas include temple grounds rather than the full pilgrimage town.
Robbinsville, New Jersey, USA
Area / Scale
183-acre campus (main mandir: 255 x 345 x 191 ft)
Built
2023 CE
Deity
Swaminarayan
The BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham in New Jersey is the largest modern Hindu temple outside India.
View Temple Guide →Siem Reap, Cambodia
Area / Scale
162.6 hectares (402 acres)
Built
1113–1150 CE
Deity
Vishnu
Angkor Wat is the largest religious monument in the world. Built by Khmer king Suryavarman II, it was dedicated to Vishnu and designed to represent Mount Meru in stone.
View Temple Guide →London, United Kingdom
Area / Scale
3.2 acres (mandir footprint)
Built
1995 CE
Deity
Swaminarayan
The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Neasden, London, was the first traditional Hindu stone mandir built in Europe.
View Temple Guide →Central Java, Indonesia
Area / Scale
39.8 hectares
Built
850 CE
Deity
Trimurti (Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma)
Prambanan is the largest Hindu temple complex in Indonesia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The main compound contains eight major temples, with the central Shiva temple rising 47 metres.
View Temple Guide →Bali, Indonesia
Area / Scale
3 km along the slopes of Mount Agung
Built
10th century CE (earliest structures)
Deity
Shiva (Batara Guru)
Pura Besakih, known as the Mother Temple of Bali, is the largest Hindu temple complex on the island.
View Temple Guide →Bali, Indonesia
Area / Scale
Perched on a rocky islet
Built
16th century CE
Deity
Sea Gods (Bhatara Segara)
Tanah Lot is a Balinese Hindu sea temple situated on a coastal rock formation off southwestern Bali.
View Temple Guide →Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Area / Scale
Limestone cave complex; 42.7 m (140 ft) gold statue at entrance
Built
1891 CE (temple established); statue 2006
Deity
Murugan
Batu Caves is one of the most famous Hindu temples outside India, featuring a massive 42.7-metre (140-foot) gold statue of Murugan at the entrance.
View Temple Guide →Kathmandu, Nepal
Area / Scale
246 hectares (Temple complex and surrounding forest)
Built
5th century CE (earliest references); current structure 17th century
Deity
Shiva (Pashupatinath)
Pashupatinath Temple is the most sacred Hindu temple in Nepal, dedicated to Shiva as Lord of All Beings.
View Temple Guide →The largest Hindu temples outside India reflect the historical spread of Hinduism through trade, diplomacy, and cultural exchange. Southeast Asian kingdoms — the Khmer, Mataram, Balinese, and Chola-influenced states — adopted Hindu cosmology and built temple complexes that rivaled their Indian counterparts in scale and ambition.
In the modern era, the Hindu diaspora has built increasingly ambitious temples in countries with growing Hindu populations. The United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia now feature temples that not only serve religious needs but also function as cultural centres that preserve and transmit Indian heritage to future generations.
The BAPS organization, in particular, has been responsible for several of the largest temples outside India, following a tradition of mandir construction that emphasizes hand-carved stone, traditional iconography, and community engagement across generations.
Explore more about Hindu temples around the globe.
These are the published records this page draws on. Each entry names the body that issued it and the specific claims on this page that it backs, so you can check them yourself rather than taking our word for it.
Archaeological Survey of India
Archaeological Survey of India — monument records and conservation reports
Protection status, dating, architectural classification and published conservation records for the monuments named on this page.
Primary archaeological record
Open source (opens in a new tab)UNESCO World Heritage Centre
UNESCO World Heritage List — India
World Heritage inscription criteria, Outstanding Universal Value statements and the year of listing for the sites named on this page.
World Heritage documentation
Open source (opens in a new tab)Encyclopædia Britannica
Encyclopædia Britannica — reference entries on Indian art, religion and history
Reference background on the historical figures, dynasties and religious traditions named on this page.
Reference source
Open source (opens in a new tab)— every record linked above was re-requested for this release, so the link still resolves and the publisher still serves the document. It is a link check, not a re-verification of every sentence on this page.
Missing something, or found an error? Send us a correction with the record that supports it, or read how we choose sources.
Explore historical timelines, architectural traditions, and primary documentation across India's sacred temples and pilgrimage circuits.
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