🇬🇷 Greece · Temple complex
Delphi Sanctuary
Geometric to Hellenistic-Roman 8th c. BCE–395 CE; temple 510 BCE · Ancient Greek (pan-Hellenic)
Apollo's oracle sanctuary on Parnassus - spiritual center of ancient Greek world.
🇮🇳 India · Archaeological wonder
Rani ki Vav (Queen's Stepwell)
Solanki Chaulukya 1022–1063 CE · Gujarati / Solanki Hindu (Maru-Gurjara)
Jewel-box stepwell (1022–1063 CE) built by Queen Udayamati in memory of Bhima I, 64 m long with seven descending galleries and 500+ principal sculptures.
🇹🇷 Turkey · Temple complex
Ephesus Arsinoeion-Octagon — Sanctuary Terrace of Arsinoe
Hellenistic to Roman (288 BCE – 262 CE) · Ptolemaic to Roman Ephesian
Curetes terrace with 36 m Arsinoeion rotunda and Octagon princess tomb.
🇮🇳 India · Temple complex
Konark Sun Temple
Eastern Ganga 1243–1255 CE · Odia / Kalinga Hindu (Surya)
13th-century (1243–1255 CE) Kalinga-style Sun temple built as colossal 30-m high chariot of Surya with 24 giant stone wheels (9.5 ft sundials) pulled by seven horses, originally 68 m shikhara…
🇮🇳 India · Temple complex
Khajuraho Group of Monuments
Chandela period 950–1050 CE · Chandela / Bundelkhand Hindu and Jain
Eighty-five (25 surviving) sandstone temples (950–1050 CE) of Chandela dynasty, celebrated for Nagara shikharas rising in clustered peaks and intricate sculptures.
🇺🇿 Uzbekistan · Temple complex
Shāh-i-Zinda Necropolis
Qarakhanid to Timurid 11th–15th century CE · Qarakhanid / Timurid Islamic
Eleven medieval mausolea (11th–15th c) lining narrow alley on Afrasiyab tell above Samarkand, enshrining Kusam ibn Abbas (cousin of Prophet) and Timurid royal women and generals.
🇱🇰 Sri Lanka · Ancient city
Ancient City of Polonnaruwa
Polonnaruwa Period 1070–1232 CE (Chola 993–1070 preceding) · Sinhalese / Chola Tamil Buddhist and Hindu
Second Sinhalese capital (1070–1232 CE) after Anuradhapura's sack, 12th c metropolis of Parakramabahu I with 3,400-ha Parakrama Samudra reservoir, Atadage Dalada Maligawa tooth relic temple, and Gal…
🇮🇳 India · Ancient city
Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park
Early Hindu 8th–11th c + Gujarat Sultanate 1484–1535 CE · Rajput / Chalukya Hindu + Gujarat Sultanate Islamic
Concentrated ensemble of 8th–16th c heritage within 1,329 ha: Chalukya hill fort and Lakulisa temples on Pavagadh (737 m cone), and Sultanate Champaner – pre-Mughal Islamic city (1484–1535) of Mahmud…
🇨🇳 China · Megalith
Leshan Giant Buddha
Tang Dynasty 713–803 CE · Tang Chinese Buddhist (Maitreya cult)
71 m seated Maitreya monolith (713–803 CE) carved into Lingyun red sandstone cliff at confluence of Min and Dadu rivers, largest premodern Buddha worldwide.
🇹🇷 Turkey · Temple complex
Pergamon Trajan Temple — Upper Acropolis Traianeum Sanctuary
Hellenistic Attalid to Roman Hadrianic (300 BCE – 130 CE) · Attalid Pergamene to Roman Asia provincial
Upper terrace Trajan–Hadrian Corinthian sanctuary behind Zeus altar.
🇺🇿 Uzbekistan · Archaeological wonder
Registan Square at Samarkand
Timurid Shaybanid 1417–1660 CE · Timurid / Uzbek (Turko-Persian Islamic)
Timurid and Shaybanid plaza framed by three majestic madrasas: Ulugh Beg (1417–1420) with astronomical iconography, Sher-Dor (1619–1636) with tiger mosaics defying aniconism, and Tilla-Kari…
🇮🇳 India · Ancient city
Group of Monuments at Hampi (Vijayanagara)
Vijayanagara Empire 1336–1565 CE (Sangama to Tuluva) · Vijayanagara Hindu (Telugu-Kannada)
Ruined imperial capital of Vijayanagara Empire (1336–1565 CE) sprawling 25 km² on Tungabhadra River among boulder hills.
🇮🇳 India · Temple complex
Great Stupa at Sanchi
Maurya to Gupta 3rd century BCE–12th century CE (great stupa 260 BCE, gateways 25 BCE–50 CE) · Maurya / Sunga / Satavahana / Gupta Buddhist
Earliest stone Buddhist stupa (Maurya 3rd c BCE, enlarged Sunga 1st c BCE–1st c CE) crowning hilltop at Sanchi, 36.5 m diameter hemispheric brick-and-stone dome encasing relics.
🇮🇳 India · Temple complex
Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram
Pallava Dynasty 580–728 CE (Mamalla and Rajasimha phases) · Tamil / Pallava Hindu (Shaiva/Vaishnava)
Pallava (7th–8th c CE) coastal temple town with 40 rock-cut shrines: Shore Temple granite seaside, Five Rathas monolithic chariot-temples cut from single boulders, Arjuna's Penance 27 m bas-relief,…
🇰🇭 Cambodia · Temple complex
Angkor Wat
Khmer Empire, early Angkor period 1113–1150 CE · Khmer (Hindu then Theravada Buddhist)
Vishnuite then Buddhist temple-mountain and world's largest religious monument (162.6 ha), built early 12th century by Suryavarman II as state temple and center of Khmer Empire; oriented west with…
🇮🇳 India · Rock-cut
Badami Cave Temples
Early Chalukya, 6th–7th century CE · Hindu and Jain under Early Chalukya dynasty
Four 6th-c. Chalukya sandstone cave temples at Vatapi with Nataraja and Vishnu iconography.
🇮🇳 India · Temple complex
Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya
Mauryan 260 BCE to Pala 12th c CE; temple late Gupta 5th–6th c · Indian Buddhist (Mauryan → Gupta → Pala)
Holiest Buddhist site where Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment c.528 BCE under Bodhi Tree descendant.
🇮🇹 Italy · Temple complex
Agrigento Valley of the Temples
Archaeic-Classical Greek 6th–5th c. BCE, peak 480–406 BCE · Greek (Doric Greeks from Gela/Rhodes-Crete)
Greek city ridge with best-preserved Doric temple in world: Concordia.
🇨🇳 China · Temple complex
Mogao Caves (Caves of the Thousand Buddhas)
Sixteen Kingdoms to Yuan 366–1368 CE (peak Tang 618–907) · Multi-ethnic Buddhist (Han, Tibetan, Uyghur, Sogdian)
492 temple caves on 1.7 km Mingsha cliff with 2,000 painted sculptures and 45,000 m² murals spanning 366–1368 CE (Sixteen Kingdoms to Yuan).
🇧🇩 Bangladesh · Temple complex
Paharpur (Somapura Mahavihara)
Pala Buddhist 8th–12th c CE · Pala Buddhist Mahayana–Vajrayana
Somapura Mahavihara at Paharpur — largest single Buddhist vihara south of Himalaya (27-acre cruciform complex) built c.781–820 CE by Dharmapala Pala on Barind alluvium. Excavated 1923–34 by D.R.
🇫🇲 Federated States of Micronesia · Archaeological wonder
Nan Madol
Saudeleur Dynasty 1200–1500 CE; construction ~1180–1628 · Pohnpeian / Saudeleur
Abandoned basalt-and-coral city covering 18 km² of reef flats southeast of Pohnpei with ~92 artificial islets bounded by sea walls and tidal canals, with walls up to 8 m high built from columnar…
🇰🇷 South Korea · Temple complex
Seokguram Grotto & Bulguksa Temple
Silla Unified · Silla (Kim Dae-seong)
Seokguram Grotto & Bulguksa Temple in Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea is a Silla Unified temple complex attributed to Silla (Kim Dae-seong) culture. Inscribed UNESCO World Heritage Site (ID 736).
🇹🇭 Thailand · Temple complex
Ayutthaya Historical Park
Ayutthaya Period 1351–1767 CE · Siamese / Thai (Ayutthayan)
Ruins of second Siamese capital (1351–1767) on an island at confluence of Chao Phraya rivers, with prang-pattern temples like Wat Mahathat (Buddha head in tree roots), Wat Phra Si Sanphet and Wat…
🇮🇳 India · Temple complex
Ajanta Caves
Satavahana early phase 200 BCE–100 CE; Vakataka renaissance 460–480 CE · Buddhist (Hinayana → Mahayana)
Thirty horseshoe-gorge rock-cut caves overlooking Waghora River with exquisite murals and sculptures: early 2nd century BCE–1st century CE Hinayana phase and later 460–480 CE Mahayana phase under…