Brihadeeswara Temple, Thanjavur

Built by Rajaraja Chola I in 1010 CE and consecrated to mark the 25th year of his reign, the Brihadeeswara Temple (locally Peruvudaiyar Kovil) is the apogee of Chola architecture. The 66-metre vimana over the sanctum is the tallest of any pre-modern South Indian temple; the 80-tonne capstone (shikhara) was hauled up an inclined ramp said to have stretched 6 km. Inside, a 3.7-metre lingam stands on a base of solid granite, and the inner walls carry some of the earliest surviving frescoes of the Chola period — discovered by accident in the 1930s beneath later Nayak overpainting. UNESCO inscribed the temple in 1987 as part of the 'Great Living Chola Temples' (with Gangaikondacholapuram and Airavatesvara). Photography of the inner mandapas is prohibited but the surrounding prakaram is freely walkable. The annual Maha Shivratri abhishekam (Feb-Mar) is the busiest day.