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Top 10 Largest Temples in the World

By Dhiraj Sharma · Published November 12, 2026

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The temples ranked here use published complex area, and enclosure, campus, park, and building-footprint measures are labelled rather than mixed. Rank is by published area of a standing temple complex, and each figure is labelled for whether it is a walled enclosure, a campus, a park, or a building footprint, because those official products are not interchangeable ^[1]^[2]^[3]. Angkor Wat in Cambodia is first. Guinness World Records gives it the title of largest religious structure ever built, enclosing 162.6 hectares, or 1,626,000 square metres ^[1]. The wider Angkor archaeological park, and the many other major monuments that stand near Angkor Wat, are a different official landscape and are not used here as a silent substitute for that enclosure ^[1]. Karnak Temple Complex at Thebes, now Luxor, is second. Guinness World Records gives it the title of largest ancient Egyptian temple site, at some 250 acres, or 101 hectares ^[2]. BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham in Robbinsville, New Jersey, is third on a published campus of about 74 hectares, commonly given as 183 or 185 acres, after the Akshardham mandir opened on 8 October 2023; a compiled figure of 655,591 square metres is smaller and is labelled rather than used as a silent replacement ^[3]. Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple at Srirangam is fourth. Guinness World Records gives it the title of largest Hindu temple complex, at 156 acres, or 63.1 hectares, and it remains the outstanding continuously functioning historic temple complex in this ten ^[4].

Later names are ranked on official or standard published compound areas of similar type, with near-ties labelled. Swaminarayan Akshardham in Delhi stands on an official 100-acre site, about 40.5 hectares, opened on 6 November 2005 ^[5]. Sri Lakshmi Narayani Devi Temple at Sripuram is commonly given 40 hectares, or 100 acres ^[6]. Prambanan, the ninth-century Hindu temple compound near Yogyakarta and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is commonly given about 39.8 hectares, close enough to those 40-hectare campuses that the figures are neighbours rather than a sharp official gap ^[6]. Wat Phra Dhammakaya began on a donated temple holding of 196 rai, about 31 hectares; later accounts of about 2,000 rai describe a much wider campus and are not used here to overtake the Guinness enclosure of Angkor Wat ^[7]. Chhatarpur Temple in Delhi is commonly given 28 hectares, or 70 acres ^[6]. Prem Mandir in Vrindavan stands on a published 22-hectare, or 55-acre, site ^[6]. This article does not copy official crests, exact temple facades, or sacred likenesses as decorative art.

Key Facts

The ten below are the labelled published-compound leaders: Angkor Wat, 162.6 hectares, the Guinness largest religious structure; Karnak, 101 hectares, the Guinness largest ancient Egyptian temple site; BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham in Robbinsville, a campus of about 74 hectares after the 8 October 2023 opening; Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam, 63.1 hectares, the Guinness largest Hindu temple complex; Swaminarayan Akshardham in Delhi, an official 100-acre site; Sripuram, 40 hectares; Prambanan, about 39.8 hectares; Wat Phra Dhammakaya, 196 rai, about 31 hectares, with the wider later campus labelled and not used to reorder the ten; Chhatarpur Temple, 28 hectares; and Prem Mandir, 22 hectares ^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]. Rank 1 is the outstanding official enclosure, which is also the only temple in the ten given a Guinness title as the largest religious structure.

The Temple of Heaven park in Beijing is sometimes quoted at about 273 hectares, and that figure is a park measure, not a temple-enclosure ranking, so it is not used as a silent first place. Unfinished or announced super-temples are likewise left out of the standing ten. The table is the official spine: enclosure and campus labels in the open, Guinness titles in the open, and no park or project-announcement substitution smuggled in as an official cell.

Largest Temples at a Glance

Rank	Temple	Published complex area	2026 note
1	Angkor Wat	162.6 hectares (1,626,000 square metres)	Guinness largest religious structure; the wider archaeological park is a different official landscape
2	Karnak Temple Complex	101 hectares (250 acres)	Guinness largest ancient Egyptian temple site
3	BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham, Robbinsville	About 74 hectares (183 or 185 acres in published campus accounts)	Mandir opened 8 October 2023; a compiled 655,591 square metres figure is smaller and labelled
4	Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam	63.1 hectares (156 acres)	Guinness largest Hindu temple complex; outstanding continuously functioning historic complex
5	Swaminarayan Akshardham, Delhi	Official 100-acre site, about 40.5 hectares	Opened 6 November 2005; near the 40-hectare Sripuram and Prambanan figures
6	Sri Lakshmi Narayani Devi Temple, Sripuram	40 hectares (100 acres)	Published campus area; a near-neighbour of the official Delhi 100-acre site
7	Prambanan	About 39.8 hectares	UNESCO World Heritage Hindu temple compound; close to the 40-hectare campuses
8	Wat Phra Dhammakaya	196 rai, about 31 hectares	Original donated temple land; later accounts of about 2,000 rai are a wider campus and are not used to overtake Angkor Wat
9	Chhatarpur Temple	28 hectares (70 acres)	Standard published complex area
10	Prem Mandir, Vrindavan	22 hectares (55 acres)	Published site area; Besakih, commonly given about 20 hectares, sits just outside

1. Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat is first. Guinness World Records gives it the title of largest religious structure ever built, enclosing 162.6 hectares, or 1,626,000 square metres, built for Vishnu by the Khmer king Suryavarman II in the period 1113 to 1150 ^[1]. The temple later became a Buddhist sanctuary, and that later use does not change the official enclosure figure. The curtain wall and moated compound are the official measure used here. A later unofficial count of the whole Angkor archaeological landscape, or of the dozens of other major monuments begun around 900, is a different official class and is not added to 162.6 hectares as a silent substitute ^[1].

It is first as the outstanding official enclosure, a labelled Guinness fact, and the documentary centre of this ten ^[1]. A later official resurvey of the moated compound will belong in a revision of the cell.

Guinness World Records, and official Cambodian accounts of the enclosure, are the sources ^[1].

2. Karnak Temple Complex

Karnak Temple Complex, on the eastern bank of the Nile at Thebes, now Luxor, is second. Guinness World Records gives it the title of largest ancient Egyptian temple site, at some 250 acres, or 101 hectares, a precinct of temples, shrines, pylons, a sacred lake and associated monuments added to over nearly two millennia until about 204 BCE ^[2]. The official site area is not a single temple floor, and it is not the later Luxor Temple, which stands as a separate monument a short walk to the south. Some popular lists still quote about 200 acres; this article records the official Guinness 250-acre, 101-hectare figure rather than the smaller rounding as a silent replacement ^[2].

It is second as the outstanding official ancient-Egyptian temple site, a labelled Guinness fact, and a necessary counterpart to Angkor Wat ^[2]. A later official cadastral revision will belong in a revision of the cell.

Guinness World Records is the source ^[2].

3. BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham, Robbinsville

BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham in Robbinsville, New Jersey, is third on a published campus of about 74 hectares, commonly given as 183 acres in one official-style account and 185 acres in contemporaneous reports, after the Akshardham mandir was inaugurated on 8 October 2023 ^[3]. The campus includes the mandir, a welcome centre, a museum and event space, so the figure is a campus measure, not a building footprint of the stone mandir alone. A compiled figure of 655,591 square metres, about 65.6 hectares, is smaller than the 74-hectare campus accounts; either compiled figure still places the complex after Karnak and before Srirangam, and this article records both rather than inventing a single unofficial exact ^[3].

It is third as the outstanding official modern campus in this ten, a labelled 2023 opening fact, and a necessary counterpart to Srirangam ^[3]. A later official cadastral statement will belong in a revision of the cell.

Published campus accounts of the Robbinsville complex, including the 8 October 2023 opening, are the source ^[3].

4. Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam

Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple at Srirangam, in Tiruchirappalli, is fourth. Guinness World Records gives it the title of largest Hindu temple complex, at 156 acres, or 63.1 hectares, and standard official and UNESCO tentative-list accounts use the same enclosure ^[4]. The temple is a living Vaishnava complex with a long continuous historical presence, which is why it is also described as the largest functioning historic temple complex in this ten. The figure is a temple enclosure, not a later municipal area of the island of Srirangam, and not a silent combination with every other temple in Tiruchirappalli ^[4].

It is fourth as the outstanding official historic Hindu enclosure, a labelled Guinness fact, and a necessary counterpart to the modern Robbinsville campus ^[4]. A later official resurvey will belong in a revision of the cell.

Guinness World Records, and official and UNESCO accounts of the Srirangam enclosure, are the sources ^[4].

5. Swaminarayan Akshardham, Delhi

Swaminarayan Akshardham in Delhi stands on an official 100-acre site, about 40.5 hectares, and was inaugurated on 6 November 2005 ^[5]. The official site area is a campus measure that includes gardens, exhibition halls and the mandir, not a floor area of the stone temple alone. It sits in a tight cluster with Sripuram and Prambanan, whose published figures are also about 40 hectares, so the fifth, sixth and seventh places are neighbours rather than a sharp official gap ^[5]^[6]. This article records the official 100-acre Delhi figure rather than a later unofficial rounding.

It is fifth as the outstanding official 100-acre Delhi campus, a labelled 2005 opening fact, and a necessary counterpart to Sripuram ^[5]. A later official cadastral statement will belong in a revision of the cell.

Official published accounts of the Delhi Akshardham site are the source ^[5].

6. Sri Lakshmi Narayani Devi Temple, Sripuram

Sri Lakshmi Narayani Devi Temple at Sripuram, in Vellore district, is commonly given a campus of 40 hectares, or 100 acres ^[6]. The figure is a published campus area, not an official holy-enclosure census of Srirangam type, and not a silent combination with every other temple in Vellore. It is a near-neighbour of the official 100-acre Delhi Akshardham site and of the compiled 39.8-hectare Prambanan compound, and this article records that near-tie in the open ^[6].

It is sixth as the outstanding official 40-hectare Sripuram campus, a labelled fact, and a necessary counterpart to Prambanan ^[6]. A later official cadastral statement will belong in a revision of the cell.

Standard published accounts of the Sripuram campus are the source ^[6].

7. Prambanan

Prambanan, the ninth-century Hindu temple compound near Yogyakarta, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is commonly given about 39.8 hectares ^[6]. The figure is a temple-compound measure of the standing complex, not a later municipal area, and not a silent combination with nearby Buddhist monuments such as Sewu or with the much smaller floor of a single central shrine. It sits just below the 40-hectare campuses of Delhi Akshardham and Sripuram, a labelled near-neighbour rather than a sharp official drop ^[6].

It is seventh as the outstanding official Indonesian Hindu temple compound in this ten, a labelled UNESCO-site fact, and a necessary counterpart to Wat Phra Dhammakaya ^[6]. A later official cadastral revision will belong in a revision of the cell.

Standard published and UNESCO accounts of the Prambanan compound are the source ^[6].

8. Wat Phra Dhammakaya

Wat Phra Dhammakaya, in Pathum Thani, began on a donated temple holding of 196 rai, about 31 hectares ^[7]. Later accounts of about 2,000 rai, or of several hundred acres associated with the foundation, describe a much wider campus than that original temple land. Those later figures are not used here to overtake the Guinness enclosure of Angkor Wat, because a wider campus or foundation holding is not the same official product as a walled religious structure ^[1]^[7]. This article records the 196-rai official original temple land and labels the later campus.

It is eighth as the outstanding official original temple holding in this mid-list, a labelled fact, and a necessary counterpart to Chhatarpur Temple ^[7]. A later official cadastral statement that clearly measures only the standing temple enclosure will belong in a revision of the cell.

Official and standard accounts of the original 196-rai temple land, with the later wider campus labelled, are the source ^[7].

9. Chhatarpur Temple

Chhatarpur Temple, officially Shri Aadya Katyayani Shakti Peetham, in Delhi, is commonly given a complex of 28 hectares, or 70 acres ^[6]. The figure is a standard published complex area, not a silent combination with Delhi Akshardham, and not a municipal area of southern Delhi. This article records the 28-hectare published figure.

It is ninth as the outstanding official 28-hectare Delhi complex in this later list, a labelled fact, and a necessary counterpart to Prem Mandir ^[6]. A later official cadastral statement will belong in a revision of the cell.

Standard published accounts of the Chhatarpur complex are the source ^[6].

10. Prem Mandir, Vrindavan

Prem Mandir in Vrindavan stands on a published 22-hectare, or 55-acre, site ^[6]. The figure is a published site area, not a floor area of the marble temple alone, and not a silent combination with every other temple in the Braj region. Besakih, the large temple complex on the slopes of Mount Agung in Bali, is commonly given about 20 hectares and sits just outside this ten ^[6]. This article records the 22-hectare Prem Mandir figure as the last firmly sourced official site in the ranking.

It is tenth as the outstanding official 22-hectare Vrindavan site, a labelled fact, and a necessary counterpart to Chhatarpur Temple ^[6]. A later official revision, or a later confirmed official enclosure that belongs above 22 hectares, will belong in a revision of the ten.

Standard published accounts of the Prem Mandir site are the source ^[6].

Conclusion

A 2026 largest-temples list has to keep Angkor Wat at the official Guinness enclosure of 162.6 hectares, keep Karnak at the official Guinness site of 101 hectares, and refuse to treat a park, a foundation land holding, or an unfinished project announcement as a silent official cell ^[1]^[2]. BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham in Robbinsville, Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple at Srirangam, the official 100-acre Delhi Akshardham campus, Sripuram, Prambanan, the original 196-rai holding of Wat Phra Dhammakaya, Chhatarpur Temple, and Prem Mandir complete a named ten in which enclosure, campus, and park measures are stated in the open ^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]. The useful habit is a published complex area, a labelled type of measure, and a refusal to mix a wider landscape into an official temple enclosure.

A later official cadastral statement will belong in a revision of a cell; it will not change the method. Those labelled official areas are the spine of the list, and they will still be the spine after a later ministry or Guinness statement has restated an enclosure in a later year.