Southern India Sights

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The gopuram of Kapaleeswarar temple, Chennai

The Shore Temple at Mamallapuram, a 7th-century Pallava masterpiece

South India's Dravidian architecture is quite different from the rest of India. The most obvious, and often striking, feature is the gopuram perched on every temple entrance, a stepped, steeply rising pyramid carved with layer upon layer upon layer of fantastically detailed and brightly painted statues.

Important historical temples include Mamallapuram (7-9th century) and Hampi (14-16th century),Jewish syngagoue in Kochi, while the busiest active pilgrimage sites today are Tirupati, by some measures the entire world's busiest, and Madurai, which has been operating continually for over 2,500 years.

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