Top 15 Religious Places In India

• Golden Temple: Golden temple, which is popularly known as Harmindar Sahib or Sri Durbar Sahib is the popular holy shrine of Sikhs, located in Amritsar, Punjab,India. The temple is named after the god Hari. It is the revered and cultural center of Sikhs. This vital Sikh shrine magnetizes more tourists  than the Taj Mahal with more than 100,000 tourists per a day. A holy bath at Amritsar Golden temple is believed to purify the soul of the devotees.
  
  


• Badrinath Temple: Badrinath Temple is also known as Badrinarayan temple, situated along the Alaknanda River, in the hill town of Badrinath, Uttarakhand in India. The temple is devoted to Lord Vishnu and is extensively considered to be one of the holiest Hindu temples in India. The temple and town are also regarded as one of the four Char Dham and Chota Char Dham pilgrimage sites. It is one of the five associated shrines called as Panch Badri and also one of the 108 Divya Desams, holy shrines for Vaishnavites.
  
  


• Kedarnath Temple:  Kedarnath temple is one of the holiest Hindu temples devoted to Lord Shiva and also one of the 12 Jyotirlingas in India. It is located near the Mandakini River at the Garhwal Himalayan range near in Kedarnath, Uttarakhand in India. The temple is open only between the ends of April to Kartik Purnima  due to the extreme weather conditions of the place.
  
   
• Tirupathi/Tirumala:  The revered and one of the prehistoric temples of Sri Venkateshwara is nestled in the verdant Eastern Ghats - a mountain range that runs along south-eastern India. These hills are called as Tirumala Hills and are 3200 feet above the sea level. Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala is considered as the world’s richest temple in with an estimated annual income of over 300 crores.
  
  
• Srisailam: Srisailam is a popular pilgrimage centre known for the abode of Lord Shiva and goddess Parvathi in the form of Lord Mallikarjuna and Goddess Brahmarambika. The temple of Sri Mallikarjuna and Brahmarambika in Srisailam is considered revered and must-visit after the temple of Lord Venkateshwara in Tirupati. Over years the popularity of this place has increased so much that Srisailam has gained recognition all over India.
  
  
  
• Murudeshwara Temple: The Murudeshwar temple situated atop a small hill called Kanduka Giri is a major tourist attraction. A huge towering idol of Lord Shiva, visible from great distances in Murudeshwar is a sight worth remembering forever. The statue is 123 feet (37 m) in height, which took about 2 years to build. The idol is designed such that the sun s rays fall
  directly on its face.
  
  
• Mecca Masjid: Mecca Masjid is a magnificent building with a main hall that is 75 feet high, 220 feet wide and 180 feet long. It can accommodate about ten thousand worshippers at a single go. Fifteen graceful arches support the roof of the main hall, five on each of the three sides.
• Kali Temple - Kali ghat: Kali temple is devoted to Hindu Goddess Kalika and is one of the most revered pilgrimage destinations of India. The Kali Temple (originally a small hut), was built in 1809 by Raja Basanta Roy of the Sabarna Roy Chowdhury clan - who offered 595 bighas of land to the Temple deity.
  
  
• Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple: Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple at Syanandoora or today’s Thiruvananthapuram has shed its radiance in continuous flow down the annals of oral tradition and written history. Its evolution reflects the social, historic and sacred growth of the region over which its influence was felt, which often extended to territories lying well inside present Southern Tamil Nadu. Ranking among the best known temples in Kerala, this shrine retains its position as the most important in Travancore standing in majestic splendor in the heart of Thiruvananthapuram, capital of Kerala.
  
  
• Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi Temple: Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi Temple is also known as Keshava Deo or Keshava Dev Temple. It is the most sought after religious centers in Mathura city. Its prevalence compared to other holy spots is because of the belief that the temple stands on the birthplace of Lord Krishna. Krishna was born to Vasudeva and Devaki in the prison.
• Meenakshi Amman Temple: Meenakshi Amman Temple is one of the most popular Hindu Pilgrimage places, located in the heart of Madurai, Tamil Nadu. This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, who is also known as Sundareswarar (Beautiful God) along with his wife Parvati who is also known as Meenakshi. The Temple was first built 2000 years ago and then expanded substantially during the reign of Thirumalai Nayak in the years 1623- 1655 A.D.
• Medak Church: Made of solid white granite Medak Church stands at 173 feet tall. The church, the single largest diocese in Asia and the second largest in the world after the Vatican is built in solid white granite. Medak Church was constructed between 1914 and 1924 and Thomas Edward Harding who is an architect put in all his best efforts building the cathedral.
   
  
• Shirdi Sai baba Temple - Samadhi Mandir of Shri Sai Baba: The Samadhi Mandir of Shri Sai Baba was constructed by a famous Sai devotee Shreemant Gopalrao. It is believed that he wanted to enshrine an idol of Murlidhar there but Sai Baba manifested himself as Murlidhar and the temple became the Samadhi Mandir of Baba.
• Vaishno Devi Temple: Mata Vaishno devi Temple – a cave shrine dedicated to the Hindu Mythological Goddess ‘Shakti’ – the All-Supreme Goddess of creative power. Most Hindu traditions believe that the Vaishno Devi Temple is the holiest of all the ‘Shakti peetas’ – places of devotion dedicated to Goddess Shakti. Vaishno Devi Temple is also the second most visited temple in India after the Tirumala Venkateshwara Temple in Andhra Pradesh.
• Amarnath Yatra: The toughest Yatra of them all – the Amarnath Yatra – the Hindu Annual Pilgrimage of Lord ‘Shiva Linga’ is here, beckoning all the strong-willed on a spiritual journey all the way up to13,000 feet altitude to the 130-foot high Amarnath Cave where the ice Shiva Linga naturally forms every year. Amarnath Yatra is open for 37 days this year between 25 June and 2 August. Registrations – online and over the counter are open. On-spot registrations are also possible.
  
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